Adolescent Romantic Relationships Research Articles

Affection and Abuse: Technology Use in Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Communication technologies benefit romantic relationships in terms of connection, but can also bring potential harm. Positive relational outcomes of adolescent technology use (i.e., increased emotional connection) have been examined separately from negative outcomes (i.e., unwanted monitoring of whereabouts) in previous research. However, the current study utilized hierarchical multiple regression to explore whether variance in both positive and negative relational outcomes could be explained by time spent online. Results suggest that time spent online predicts both positive relationship quality and cyber dating abuse after controlling age and gender. Implications include a greater understanding of the intersection between technology and adolescent relationships.

Erika Bowen and Kate Walker: The Psychology of Violence in Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Erika Bowen and Kate Walker: The Psychology of Violence in Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Weekly variations in feelings of trust predict incident STI within a prospective cohort of adolescent women from a US city

ObjectivesFeelings of intimacy, perceptions of partner concurrency (PPC) and perceptions of risk for an STD (PRSTD) are meaningful and dynamic attributes of adolescent sexual relationships. Our objective was to examine...

Adolescent Romantic Relationship–Oriented Facebook Behaviors: Implications for Self-Esteem

Despite the consistent, high use of Facebook among adolescents, few studies have examined how adolescents use Facebook when forming and maintaining romantic relationships. Based on the Internet-enhanced self-disclosure hypothesis, romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behaviors are likely to relate to adolescent self-esteem. The goal of this study is to examine romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behaviors (private exchanges, monitoring, public displays, and oversharing information) between adolescents and their romantic partners or crushes, and then test how these behaviors relate to self-esteem. Data come from an online survey of adolescents from the Midwestern United States who are current Facebook users. Results demonstrated that the most common romantic relationship–oriented Facebook behavior was monitoring. Regression analyses revealed that monitoring predicted lower adolescent self-esteem. Relationship satisfaction moderated the association between self-esteem and both private exchanges and oversharing information. Implications for adolescent romantic relationship development are discussed.

Long-Term Risks and Possible Benefits Associated with Late Adolescent Romantic Relationship Quality.

Adolescent romantic relationships have the potential to affect psychological functioning well into adulthood. This study assessed adolescent romantic relationship qualities as long-term predictors of psychological functioning utilizing a longitudinal multi-method, multi-informant study of 80 participants (59% female; 54% Caucasian, 35% African American, 11% mixed or other race) assessed at age 17 along with their romantic partners and at ages 25-27. Controlling for gender, family income, and baseline mental health, partner-reported hostile conflict at age 17 predicted relative increases in internalizing behaviors from age 17 to 27. In contrast, observed teen support with their partner during a help-seeking task at age 17 predicted relative decreases in externalizing behaviors over time. The results are interpreted as suggesting qualities that may help determine whether adolescent romances have positive vs. negative long-term psychological health implications.

Adolescent girls in romantic relationship under child protection system – Issues and concerns: A study from India

Background: Existing literature shows the developmental significance of romantic relationships during adolescence and its influence on mental health and emotional well-being of adolescents. However, in recent years, this phenomenon has begun to receive more research attention in the Indian context. In India, many adolescent girls engage in risk-taking behaviors such as running away from home, child marriage, unsafe sexual relationships and teenage pregnancy, and consequently come into contact with child protection units. Methods: Adopting a retrospective exploratory research design, this study is a case report analysis of the psychosocial issues at individual level and family level in romantic relationship of adolescent girls who engaged in such risk-taking behaviors and were institutionalized in a State Children's Home in urban India. Results: In the present study, the mean age of the participants was 16.34 years with the range of 14–18 years. About 60% of the participants were in high school. Majority of them hailed from nuclear family with lower socioeconomic status and belonged to Hindu Religion. Psychosocial issues among adolescents and parents before and after risk-taking behaviors are varied and interlinked. Majority of the issues are related to the social norms and have significant impact on adolescents and their parents. Conclusion: Implications for future research, and for designing interventions for adolescents and their families, based on a mental health and development perspective, are highlighted. There is a need for enhancing skills among adolescent girls and for family interventions to enhance parent–children relationships to deal effectively with issues in the context of adolescent romantic relationships.

Youth relationship education: A meta-analysis

Recent focus on the developmental importance of adolescent romantic relationships led to the formation and implementation of curricula and programs that educate high school-aged youth about healthy romantic relationships. This meta-analytic study examines the efficacy of youth-focused relationship education (YRE) on multiple outcomes: conflict management, faulty relationship beliefs, and healthy relationship attitudes. Searches revealed 33 studies of YRE, however, meta-analytic procedures only included 15 studies which provided sufficient data on the outcomes of focus. Hedge's g effect sizes were significant for two of the three outcomes and are comparable with effects of other prevention programs. Overall, YRE programs are effective in changing conflict management and faulty relationship beliefs.

“Boys Should Have the Courage to Ask a Girl Out”: Gender Norms in Early Adolescent Romantic Relationships

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to explore how gender norms emerge in romantic relationships among early adolescents (EAs) living in five poor urban areas. MethodsData were collected as part of the Global Early Adolescent Study. The current research analyzed data from interviews with 30 EAs (aged 11–13 years) living in five poor urban sites: Baltimore, Cuenca, Edinburgh, Ghent, and Nairobi. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in English using Atlas.ti, focusing on how EAs experience and perceive gender norms in romantic relationships. ResultsAcross the five sites, only a few respondents described having been in love, the majority of whom were boys. Findings indicate that stereotypical gender norms about romantic relationships prevail across these cultural settings, depicting boys as romantically/sexually active and dominant, and girls as innocent with less (romantic) agency. In spite of the similarities, Nairobi was unique in that respondents referred to how sexual behavior and violence can occur within EA relationships. In all countries, heterosexuality was perceived to be the norm. Nevertheless, there were examples of EAs accepting homosexuality and expressing supportive attitudes toward equality between the sexes. ConclusionsWhile EAs across five different cultural settings seem to endorse stereotypical gender norms in romantic relationships, a few stories also illustrate more gender-equal attitudes. As stereotypical gender norms have a demonstrated negative effect on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and well-being, additional research is needed to understand which factors—at the interpersonal and structural level—contribute to the construction of these norms among EAs.

Romantic Relationship Characteristics and Adolescent Relationship Abuse in a Probability-Based Sample of Youth.

This study examines the longitudinal association between baseline adolescent romantic relationship characteristics and later adolescent relationship abuse (ARA). Data are from the first two waves of the National Survey on Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV). Girls and boys ages 10 to 18 were recruited randomly from the children of adults participating in a larger national household probability sample panel. About three quarters of the sample identified as White, non-Hispanic. Controlling behavior by a romantic partner consistently predicted later ARA. Higher levels of controlling behavior in the relationship was associated with higher rates of sexual and/or physical ARA victimization and higher rates for similar acts of perpetration. More controlling behavior by the partner was also associated with higher rates of psychological ARA victimization (and higher rates for psychological ARA perpetration). Our results suggest that ARA prevention programs should have explicit discussions of the deleterious effects of controlling behavior with adolescents. Respondents reporting higher feelings of passionate love were also at higher risk of experiencing sexual and/or physical ARA victimization. This finding will need to be considered by clinicians and prevention specialist in their work with youth as a potential risk marker for ARA. Baseline reports of at least one form of ARA were predictive of 1-year follow-up rates of ARA in all of our models, underscoring a long line of research that past aggressive or violent behavior is one of the strongest predictors of current aggressive or violent behavior. We also observed that female respondents were twice as likely to be perpetrators of physical and/or sexual ARA as male respondents. Prevention messaging often is focused on girls as ARA victims and our results imply that messaging should also be directed toward girls as perpetrators.

Young women\u2019s perceptions of transactional sex and sexual agency: a qualitative study in the context of rural South Africa

BackgroundEvidence shows that HIV prevalence among young women in sub-Saharan Africa increases almost five-fold between ages 15 and 24, with almost a quarter of young women infected by their early-to mid-20s. Transactional sex or material exchange for sex is a relationship dynamic that has been shown to have an association with HIV infection.MethodsUsing five focus group discussions and 19 in-depth interviews with young women enrolled in the HPTN 068 conditional cash transfer trial (2011–2015), this qualitative study explores young women’s perceptions of transactional sex within the structural and cultural context of rural South Africa. The analysis also considers the degree to which young women perceive themselves as active agents in such relationships and whether they recognise a link between transactional sex and HIV risk.ResultsYoung women believe that securing their own financial resources will ultimately improve their bargaining position in their sexual relationships, and open doors to a more financially independent future. Findings suggest there is a nuanced relationship between sex, love and gifts: money has symbolic meaning, and money transfers, when framed as gifts, indicates a young woman’s value and commitment from the man. This illustrates the complexity of transactional sex; the way it is positioned in the HIV literature ignores that “exchanges” serve as fulcrums around which romantic relationships are organised. Finally, young women express agency in their choice of partner, but their agency weakens once they are in a relationship characterised by exchange, which may undermine their ability to translate perceived agency into STI and HIV risk reduction efforts.ConclusionsThis research underscores the need to recognise that transactional sex is embedded in adolescent romantic relationships, but that certain aspects make young women particularly vulnerable to HIV. This is especially true in situations of restricted choice and circumscribed employment opportunities. HIV prevention educational programmes could be coupled with income generation trainings, in order to leverage youth resilience and protective skills within the confines of difficult economic and social circumstances. This would provide young women with the knowledge and means to more successfully navigate safer sexual relationships.

Shifting the Relationship Education Field to Prioritize Youth Relationship Education

ABSTRACTThe field of couple and relationship education is dominated by a focus on helping committed couples strengthen their relationship. This article reviews several lines of research to argue that the field should give greater priority to youth relationship education—individually oriented relationship literacy education for adolescents and young adults. Serious problems are common in adolescent and young adult romantic relationships and increasing numbers of youth follow paths from adolescence to marriage that make it harder for them to form and sustain a healthy marriage. Early evidence on the effectiveness of individually oriented youth relationship education provides some reason for optimism. The article concludes by exploring implications of this proposed shift in the field for practice and policy.

The Perceived Influence of Media and Technology on Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Contemporary adolescents rely heavily on technology and media to navigate romantic relationships. In this mixed-methods study, adolescents and young adults ( N = 204) detailed their perceptions of how entertainment media and interactive technology influence adolescent romantic relationships. The majority of adolescents and young adults perceived that entertainment media (95%) and interactive technology (97%) did influence adolescent romantic relationships. Using a qualitative analysis approach, we found six major themes. Although entertainment media provided media role models for expected behavior in romantic relationships, it was also associated with the development of unrealistic relational expectations and perceived pressure to be in a romantic relationship. Participants perceived that interactive technology has changed the way adolescents communicate with romantic partners, become integrated into the entire relationship life cycle, and led to a decline in face-to-face communication in adolescent romantic relationships.

The Symbolic Nature of Trust in Heterosexual Adolescent Romantic Relationships.

Trust contributes to young people's capacity for sustaining current and future successful relationships. To date, research has yet to examine the meaning of trust in early dating relationships and reasons for its deterioration. The present study focused on video-recorded conversations about trust between 34 heterosexual adolescent couples in dating relationships living in the U.S. Transcripts from these conversations were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis to identify adolescents' meanings of trust and reasons they provided for a lack of trust in their romantic partners. All 34 couples identified concerns specifically related to infidelity. Six major themes for not trusting romantic partners emerged. Results suggested that the lack of trust in romantic relationships might stem from several areas that are directly and indirectly related to the current relationship, including low self-esteem, the experience of betrayal in past romantic relationships, partners' extradyadic behaviors, and gossip among peers. Importantly, peers can play a defining role in influencing young people's perceptions of their romantic partners and developing or sustaining trust in their romantic relationships.

Adolescent Romantic Relationship Quality Reported by Early, Normative and Delayed Sexual Initiators of Varying Body Mass Indices

Adolescent Romantic Relationship Quality Reported by Early, Normative and Delayed Sexual Initiators of Varying Body Mass Indices

The Impact of Acute Relationship Insults on Trust and Pro-Relationship Behavior Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Systems Approach

The Impact of Acute Relationship Insults on Trust and Pro-Relationship Behavior Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Systems Approach

The Role of Relationship Length in Sexual Risk During Repeated Sexually Coercive Experiences in Adolescent Women's Romantic Relationships

The Role of Relationship Length in Sexual Risk During Repeated Sexually Coercive Experiences in Adolescent Women's Romantic Relationships

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation

Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation

How Much Does Love Really Hurt? A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Romantic Relationship Quality, Breakups and Mental Health Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults

A meta-analysis of 20 manuscripts reporting on 21 unique studies (N = 19,623) was conducted to investigate the magnitude of the association between adolescent romantic relationship quality (RRQ), romantic relationship breakups (RRB) and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, suicide ideation, deliberate self-harm, and suicide attempt). Potential moderators of these relationships were also explored. The sample included U.S. and non-U.S. adolescents (13–17 years old), and young adults (18–29 years old). Results indicated statistically significant but modest relationships between both RRQ and RRB and mental health, with the first showing a stronger association. There was some evidence suggesting this relationship may be stronger for women, but no evidence it differed as a function of nationality or age. Additional research is needed to address the distinction between clinical and non-clinical populations on specific outcomes and to further explore the role of mental health outcomes as related to romantic relationship quality and breakups. Implications for practice include the need for (a) services to individuals emotionally affected by romantic relationships, (b) relationship quality psycho-education, and (c) screenings of individuals at risk due to low romantic relationship quality or recent relationship breakup.

Predicting aggression in late adolescent romantic relationships: A short-term longitudinal study

This study sought to prospectively predict aggression in the romantic relationships of 1180 college students from the United States (807 females; 373 males) over the course of two months with a set of intrapersonal risk and protective factors, including personality characteristics that rarely have been examined in this population. After accounting for prior dating aggression, perpetration of verbal aggression was predicted uniquely by aggressive attitudes, emotion regulation, and for females, narcissism. Perpetration of physical aggression was predicted by aggressive attitudes, but only at low levels of emotion regulation, and the interaction of callous-unemotional traits, emotion regulation, and gender: males with low levels of callous-unemotional traits perpetrated less physical aggression when they reported greater emotion regulation. These findings are among the first to show that personality traits and emotion regulation prospectively predict partner aggression in late adolescence and suggest mechanisms for continuity in interpersonal aggression from early adolescence to adulthood.

Supportive behaviors in adolescent romantic relationships moderate adrenocortical attunement

This study investigated dyadic adrenocortical attunement within adolescent romantic relationships. An ethnically diverse sample (42% Latino) of adolescent heterosexual dating couples (N=91 dyads, Mage=16.5 years, SD=0.99) donated eight saliva samples (later assayed for cortisol) over the course of a 3-h laboratory session. Supportive behaviors were coded during a conflict and jealousy interaction task from video recordings, and participants completed pre-and-post task questionnaires. Parallel process latent growth models revealed a strong positive association between the couples’ cortisol intercept, indicating that couples show attunement in initial levels of cortisol. Further, observed supportive behavior moderated the strength of the association between dyadic cortisol slopes. The results imply that low levels of supportive behavior predicted stronger adrenocortical attunement in the change in cortisol levels over time between adolescent romantic partners. These findings indicate that even early romantic relationships exhibit coordination of physiological activity. Findings raise the possibility that adrenocortical attunement may be a dyadic pathway through which the proximal social context of early romantic relationships is translated into risk or resilience in health and behavior.