The Influences of Family, Peers and Media on Young Women’s Romantic Relationship Expectations

Abstract

This article aims to assess the origins of young women’s romantic relationship expectations, notably those surrounding cohabitation, marriage and gender roles. A review of previous literature demonstrated that the family, peers and media were highly influential in terms of these expectations, so these were incorporated as the main themes of study. The research followed a qualitative approach, interviewing eight young women between the ages of 18 and 22 who were in a romantic relationship at the time of the research. The interview data was analysed through thematic analysis to uncover any similarities and differences between participants’ answers, with family being cited as the most influential, followed by peers and then media.