Romantic Involvement Research Articles

“Unconditionally and Irrevocably”: Theorizing the Melodramatic Impulse in Young Adult Literature through the Twilight Saga and Jane Eyre

“Unconditionally and Irrevocably”: Theorizing the Melodramatic Impulse in Young Adult Literature through the Twilight Saga and Jane Eyre Katie Kapurch (bio) I cried and curled up in my bed. I was so sad I didnt come out of my room all weekend. Then when I went back to school my friends said they did the same the thing. After I got over the shock I read on and cried when Bella saved him. I want to see new moon throught (sic) his POV (team_Edward_4_ever, “I cried” on TwilightTeens.com)1 Responding to Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon (2006) in an online discussion forum for Twilight fans, team_edward_4_ever confides the personal and affective reactions associated with her reading experience of the second novel in Meyer’s saga. Another fan, manuela, agrees: “yeah, new moon is a very sad book. whenever Bella thought of the holes edward left in her, I felt so sad! and I remember this one paragraph after edward left in which Bella said something like : time passes, every aching second, even for me. I cried :/ haha.”2 These two preliminary responses on the thread “I cried” are followed by thirty more fan comments that detail emotional reactions to—and pleasure in reading about—the traumatic separation of first-person narrator Bella Swan from the perpetually seventeen-year-old Edward Cullen, a vampire whose moral convictions prohibit him from drinking human blood. Such fan reactions demonstrate how melodramatic conventions, particularly occasions of exaggerated suffering prior to a joyful reunion, speak to contemporary readers, in this case girls participating in an online fansite.3 The young adult novels of Meyer’s Twilight Saga are indeed brimming with melodramatic moments that motivate affective reading experiences. In the second novel, New Moon (2006), the characters’ high school romance initiated in Twilight (2005) is temporarily thwarted when Edward, driven by guilt over Bella’s safety, instigates [End Page 164] a break-up early in the book. The remaining three hundred-plus pages depict Bella’s depression and struggle to live without Edward. However, when she rescues the vampire from a suicide attempt, the young lovers reunite at the novel’s end. Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008) continue the tale of Bella and Edward’s romantic involvement, which eventually culminates in their marriage, a vampire-human hybrid child, and Bella’s conversion to vampirism—a happily-ever-after ending consistent with the melodramatic mode.4 Intriguingly, Twilight fan responses are comparable to reader sympathy with another pair of fictional lovers: first-person narrator Jane Eyre and the secretive, brooding Edward Rochester, who, like Edward Cullen, also happens to be ridden with guilt and in need of salvation only the heroine can supply. Sandra M. Gilbert offers a central insight into the appeal of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847), explaining how the novel challenged Victorian literary norms in part through the intensity of characters’ expressive discourse, another tenet of melodrama: Unlike most of her predecessors, too, [Brontë] endowed her main characters—hero as well as heroine—with overwhelmingly powerful passions that aren’t always rational and often can’t be articulated in ordinary language. This sense of unspeakable depth or fiery interiority imbues both Rochester and Jane with a kind of mystery that has always been charismatic to readers. (357) Accounting for Jane Eyre’s sustained popularity, Gilbert identifies the main characters’ passionate feelings as part of the reason for female readers’ continued captivation with Brontë’s text (357). One cannot deny the phenomenal (and global) popularity of Meyer’s series for contemporary readers, particularly (though not limited to) Western girls and adult women,5 who may be compelled by textual qualities that mirror those in Jane Eyre. While the Twilight and Jane Eyre readerships are not identical and cannot be regarded as one homogenous group, awareness of their sympathetic and empathetic reactions permits us to consider both texts through the framework of melodrama. As works characterized not only by similar heroines, heroes, and romantic plots, Brontë’s and Meyer’s novels share a melodramatic reader response. An exploration of melodrama’s significance in these female coming-of-age stories, then, yields insight into the important relationship between Jane Eyre and the Twilight...

Teacher–student interactions and attachment states of mind as predictors of early romantic involvement and risky sexual behaviors

Adolescents’ capacities to negotiate sexual behavior in romantic relationships have important implications for their reproductive and health outcomes. This study examined adolescents’ interactions with teachers and attachment states of mind as predictors of their romantic involvement and risky sexual behavior in an economically disadvantaged sample. Negative interactions with teachers predicted increased sexual risk-taking behaviors and females’ early romantic involvement. Preoccupied states of mind increased risk for early romantic involvement and the likelihood that females would engage in risky sexual behavior. The findings demonstrate how adolescents’ school experiences contribute to adaptation in romantic relationships in mid to late adolescence above and beyond representations of parent–child attachment.

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: ROMANTIC DISSOLUTION, OFFENDING, AND SUBSTANCE USE DURING THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD*

Recent studies have directed attention to the nature of romantic involvement and its implications for offending over the life course. However, this body of research has overlooked a defining aspect of nonmarital romantic relationships: Most come to an end. By drawing on insights from general strain theory, the age‐graded theory of informal social control, and research on delinquent peer exposure, we explore the impact of romantic dissolution on offending and substance use during late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we arrive at three general conclusions: 1) Experiencing a breakup is directly related to a range of antisocial outcomes; 2) the effect of a breakup is dependent on post‐breakup relationship transitions; and 3) a breakup is associated with increases in offending and substance use among males and in substance use among females. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the future of research on romantic involvement and crime over the life course.

The Nightmare of History: A Look at Time in the Novels of Eliade, DeLillo, and Mitchell

History, Stephen said, is nightmare from which I am trying to awake. (James Joyce, Ulysses)Joyce's character refers to the horrors of history in the aftermath of World War I. The novel would exert tremendous literary influence and would be regarded by many critics as the most outstanding novel of the twentieth-century. The nightmare of history did not end with World War I because of the many conflict after it, and the threat of world-wide terrorism that confronts citizens around the globe at the present time. Beyond the work of Joyce, the theme of the nightmare of history continues in the novels of Mircea Eliade, Don DeLillo, and David Mitchell. Eliade interprets Joyce's novel as a nostalgia for the myth of eternal repetition and, in the last analysis, for the abolition of time,1 an interpretation echoed in the novels of DeLillo and Mitchell.This essay proposes to compare and contrast the horrors of historical time in Eliade with similar themes in the novels of DeLillo and Mitchell, two critically acclaimed contemporary writers. Because Eliade is also an academic historian of religion, I will make use of his scholarly work, autobiography, and journals in addition to his novels, The Forbidden Forest in particular, to elucidate his grasp of the terror of history. I will call attention to the fact that this issue concerned him early in his career. Moreover, I will call attention to the problem of historical time in the novels of DeLillo and Mitchell and look for connections with Eliade' s notion of the terror of history. It is bit ironical to apply the comparative approach to Eliade' s literary works because of the importance of the comparative aspect of his method of interpretation. In contrast to the way that Eliade applied the comparative method, this essay uses what is called the comparativism.Within the context of the scholarly discussions about the possibility and viability of new comparativism, Eliade' s comparative method with its morphological classification is viewed as the old, static, and noncontextual form of comparison that seeks similar features across religious cultures. William E. Paden espouses, for instance, new comparativism that he defines as two-way process that reveals both similarities and differences.2 This quest for differences depends on the particular interests of the interpreter. According to Paden, this new comparativism is able to elucidate not only difference, but it can also expose unforeseen connections and embraces complexity, serving as heuristic device that keeps open possibilities for further discussions.3 Moreover, Paden' s conception of the new comparativism is something dynamic, using more self-control and enabling one to create generalizations. It is within the spirit of this new comparativism that I compare Eliade with DeLillo and Mitchell on specific topic.Eliade's literary career began with essays on scientific subjects as young student for newspapers, which was followed by salaried position as writer for Cuvântul (The Word), newspaper edited by Nae Ionescu. In 1933, Eliade published Maitreyi (published in the West as Bengali Nights) to critical acclaim and national literary award, recalling his fictional account of romantic involvement with member of an Indian family based on his stay in India while working on his doctoral dissertation at the home of Surendranath Dasgupta, renowned scholar of Indian philosophy. Other literary works during the 1930s included the following: Isabel si apele diavolului (Isabel and the Devil's Waters, 1930), Lumina ce se stinge (The Light that Is Failing, 1934), gantier (Building Site, 193 5), Intoarcerea din rai (The Return from Paradise, 1933), and Huliganii (The Hooligans, 1935). In 1937, two novels of fantasy appeared: Domnisoara Christina, tale about female ghost with an insatiable thirst for blood, and Saryele (The Snake), which resulted in charges of pornography that were finally dismissed by the state. …

Continuité entre les relations parentales et amicales à l'adolescence et les relations amoureuses à l'âge adulte émergent.

Research has shown continuity between romantic relationships in emerging adulthood and past relationships experienced with parents and friends (Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2010). This study examines this association by applying the triangular model of love developed by Sternberg (1986, 1988, 2006), the three main dimensions being intimacy, passion and involvement. The sample is comprised of 131 young adults who completed self-reported measures about their relationship with their parents and their same-sex best friend at age 17 and with their romantic partner at age 19. Regression analyses show that romantic intimacy experienced at age 19 is predicted by the quality of the relationship with the mother and the father at age 17. However, romantic involvement is predicted by the quality of the relationship with the father only. These effects apply for girls only.

Impact of running away on girls’ pregnancy

This study assessed the impact of running away on pregnancy in the subsequent year among U.S. adolescents. We also investigated interactions between running away and sexual assault, romance, and school disengagement. Pregnancy among females between 11 and 17 years (n = 6100) was examined utilizing the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data from Waves 1 and 2. The odds of pregnancy in the next year were 1.67 times greater for runaways net of other factors. A history of sexual assault and romantic involvement increased the likelihood of pregnancy. The relationship between pregnancy and runaway behavior in the general population is understudied. Our findings suggest that runaway youth have a multiplicity of needs that require a complex array of medical, social, emotional, and academic resources to promote positive sexual health outcomes.

The association between romantic relationships and delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood

This study examined the association between romantic relationships and delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood. Using a large, longitudinal, and nationally representative sample, results from negative binomial regressions showed a positive association between romantic involvement and delinquency in adolescence. Further, the cumulative number of romantic relationships from adolescence to young adulthood was positively related to delinquency in young adulthood even controlling for earlier delinquency in adolescence. These analyses also controlled for the effects of participant gender, age at initial assessment, puberty, race/ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics (e.g., family structure and parents' education). Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of romantic relationships in the development of young people and for stimulating future research questions.

Coparenting and Relationship Quality Effects on Father Engagement: Variations by Residence, Romance

We focused on coparenting support, partner relationship quality, and father engagement in families with young children that did not change structurally over 4 years of participation in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 1,756). There was a significantly stronger and more robust positive association between fathers' perceived coparenting support at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential (married or cohabiting) and nonresidential romantic parents. There was a significantly stronger and positive association between relationship quality at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential parents. The findings emphasize the importance of considering both family structure and romantic involvement contexts of fathering when tracking father engagement over time.

Shyness as a moderator of the link between advanced maturity and early adolescent risk behavior

Advanced maturity in early adolescence has previously been linked with several risk behaviors. In this study, we examine whether shyness and gender might moderate this link. The participants were 750 early adolescents (M(age) = 13.73; 390 girls and 360 boys), followed for one year. We conducted analyses with shyness and gender as moderators of the links between advanced maturity and different types of risk behavior, and between one risk behavior and another. Despite differential patterns for boys and girls, the results suggest that being shy or not being shy modifies the links between advanced maturity and risk behavior primarily for boys. For boys, shyness reduces relationships between advanced maturity and risk behavior, whereas not being shy exacerbates the relationships between advanced maturity and high-risk behavior. Controlling for romantic involvement and peer victimization did not alter the moderating effects, thus failing to support the idea that the weaker links for shy youths were due to shy youths not being drawn into advanced peer groups by romantic partners or peers. Thus, shyness might serve as a buffer against risk behavior in early adolescence.

Does the number of sex partners affect educational attainment? Evidence from female respondents to the Add Health

We use data on young women from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to explore the relationship between number of sex partners and educational attainment. Using the average physical development of male schoolmates to generate plausibly exogenous variation in number of sex partners, instrumental variables estimates suggest that number of sex partners is negatively related to educational attainment. This result is consistent with the argument that romantic involvements are time consuming and can impose substantial emotional costs on young women.

Romantic relationships and sexual activities of the first generation of youth living with HIV since birth

HIV-infected children, now maturing into adolescence and adulthood, must cope not only with adolescent developmental issues, but also with a chronic, socially stigmatised and sexually transmittable illness. Little research on this first generation of survivors has focused on romantic involvement and sexuality. This study, which employs a mixed-method embedded strategy (qualitative supported by quantitative), describes the perspectives of youth living with HIV since birth concerning: (1) romantic involvement and sexuality; and (2) risk management including the risk of HIV transmission and partner serostatus disclosure. Eighteen adolescents aged 13–22 from Montreal, Canada, participated in individual semi-structured interviews and completed self-report questionnaires. Most youths participated in non-penetrative sexual activities. Ten participants reported having had vaginal and three anal intercourses, at an average age of 14 for girls and 15 for boys. All sexually active youth reported having used a condom at least once. Of those who reported that their first sexual relationship was protected, over half had taken risks in subsequent relationships (e.g., unprotected sex, multiple partners, etc.). Interviews conducted with sexually inactive youths illustrate the interrelatedness of romantic involvement, sexual initiation and potential serostatus disclosure. Involvement in a sexual relationship would not be conceivable unless the partner was informed of their serostatus. For sexually active participants, risk management implies HIV transmission and partner disclosure. These youths have emotional issues regarding disclosure in romantic relationships and few risked potential rejection by disclosing. Condom use acts as a reminder of the infection and a barrier to intimacy. The narratives illustrate how risk perception changes and becomes relative with time and experience, especially when the viral load is undetectable and when past experience has convinced the adolescent that his/her partner might not become infected. Findings reinforce the need to prioritise sexual health issues for young people with perinatally acquired HIV.

Predicting romantic involvement, relationship cognitions, and relationship qualities from physical appearance, perceived norms, and relational styles regarding friends and parents

Using a sample of 199 adolescents, the present study examined Furman and Wehner’s (1999) hypothesis that the predictors of the degree of romantic involvement and the predictors of romantic relationship cognitions and qualities differ. As hypothesized, physical appearance and friends’ normative romantic involvement were related to the degree of casual and serious romantic involvement, whereas relational styles regarding friends and parents were unrelated in almost all cases. On the other hand, relational styles regarding friends and parents were related to supportive and negative romantic interactions and romantic styles. In contrast, physical appearance and friends’ normative romantic involvement were generally unrelated to interactions and romantic styles. Physical appearance was also related to romantic appeal and satisfaction.

An inventory and update of jealousy‐evoking partner behaviours in modern society

The goal of the present study was to identify the most important jealousy-evoking partner behaviours and to examine the extent to which these behaviours evoke jealousy. Based on the literature, a questionnaire was constructed containing 42 jealousy-evoking partner behaviours, including a partner's extra-dyadic involvement with someone else by means of modern communication devices, such as the Internet. A second study examined the extent to which undergraduates and a community sample experienced jealousy in response to these partner behaviours. Results showed that explicit unfaithful behaviours evoked most feelings of jealousy, followed by a partner's emotional or romantic involvement with someone else by means of modern communication devices. In general, older individuals responded with less jealousy in response to a partner's unfaithful and suspicious behaviours. Clinical implications are discussed.

Encouraging Connections: Integrating Expressive Art and Drama Into Therapeutic Social Skills Training With Adolescents

The effective use of social skills has been positively associated with career success, romantic involvement, academic achievement, and mood. In response, counselors often integrate social skills training into counseling interventions with adolescents to encourage authentic and effective interactions with others. We illustrate some therapeutic social skills training interventions developed in community mental health and educational settings that feature the expressive aspects of art and drama using the cases of Sarah and a teen peer group. The activities included target basic prosocial behaviors, interpersonal communication, and problem-solving skills development. Necessary considerations when using these activities are noted.

Violent Female Action Characters in Contemporary American Cinema

This research is a content analysis of violent female action characters (“VFAC”) shown in American action films from 1991 through 2005. The analysis focused on three aspects of VFACs: (1) gender stereotypes, (2) demographics, and (3) quantity and type of violence. Findings showed that 58.6% of VFACs were portrayed in a submissive role to the male hero in the film, and 42% were romantically linked to him. The average VFAC was young, white, highly educated, and unmarried. VFACs engaged in masculine types of violence yet retained feminine stereotypes due to their submissive role and romantic involvement with a dominant male hero character. The findings suggest continued gender stereotypes set within a violent framework of contemporary American cinema.

Differences in relationship investments between gay and heterosexual men

Previous Investment Model research found that investments are a weaker predictor of relationship commitment for gay men compared with heterosexual men. The present study examined whether this effect is characteristic of investments in general or whether it is specific to certain types of investments. Results indicated that tangible investments significantly predicted commitment among heterosexual men, but not among gay men. In contrast, intangible investments predicted commitment regardless of sexual orientation. Furthermore, adding measures of tangible and intangible investments to the traditional Investment Model variables significantly increased explained variance in commitment for both gay and heterosexual men. These findings highlight the importance of reevaluating how relationship investments are conceptualized and suggests that not all investments are equally consequential across different romantic involvements.

SOCIAL-CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES ON ADOLESCENT ROMANTIC INVOLVEMENT: THE CONSTRAINTS OF BEING A NUMERICAL MINORITY

This research explores white–black differences in adolescent heterosexual romantic involvement and how these differences are shaped by social context. We find that, parallel to patterns of marriage in adulthood, non-Hispanic white girls are more likely to be in a romantic relationship than African American girls. This is particularly true when we focus on heterosexual romantic relationships formed with schoolmates. Among boys, African Americans are more likely to be romantically involved than non-Hispanic whites. We investigate the contribution of two broad types of social-demographic factors to these race-ethnic differences, population composition and normative climate. We develop theory about why being a numerical minority should lead to lower levels of relationship formation, especially when interracial relationships are rare. Results support the population composition hypotheses, but not the idea that race-ethnic differences arise because of differences in normative climate.

Children's Gender Identity in Lesbian and Heterosexual Two-Parent Families.

This study compared gender identity, anticipated future heterosexual romantic involvement, and psychosocial adjustment of children in lesbian and heterosexual families; it was furthermore assessed whether associations between these aspects differed between family types. Data were obtained in the Netherlands from children in 63 lesbian families and 68 heterosexual families. All children were between 8 and 12 years old. Children in lesbian families felt less parental pressure to conform to gender stereotypes, were less likely to experience their own gender as superior and were more likely to be uncertain about future heterosexual romantic involvement. No differences were found on psychosocial adjustment. Gender typicality, gender contentedness and anticipated future heterosexual romantic involvement were significant predictors of psychosocial adjustment in both family types.

Romantic relationships and delinquent behaviour in adolescence: The moderating role of delinquency propensity

There is some evidence that adolescent romantic involvement is associated with delinquent behaviour. One aim of this longitudinal study was to determine whether this holds for romantic relationships deemed important by the participants. A second aim was to test whether this association was stronger for adolescents with pre-existing delinquent behaviour and personality traits of impulsivity and thrill seeking (delinquency propensity). Sex differences also were examined. Participants were 686 7th and 8th grade students who completed three assessments over three years. The results showed that delinquency was associated with earlier romantic relationships among those who were higher in delinquency propensity one year earlier. This association was stronger among girls than boys. Thus, romantic relationships amplified girls' and boys' existing delinquency propensity, but this was strongest among girls.

Adolescents' individuation, romantic involvement, and mothers' wellbeing: A comparison of three family structures

This study compared concurrent as well as longitudinal associations between adolescent development and maternal wellbeing, in nuclear families with both biological parents and in single-mother and stepfather families. It relied on data from the first two waves of a longitudinal study in Germany (N = 436). Maternal wellbeing was assessed from mothers' reports of their sense of family mastery and self-esteem. Adolescent development was assessed from adolescents' reports of three aspects of individuation and of their romantic involvement. For single mothers and mothers in nuclear families, the associations between maternal wellbeing and adolescents' development were inconsistent. Mothers in stepfather families with daughters profited from their daughters' growing detachment. The results suggested that the associations between adolescent development and maternal wellbeing are family structure specific, and observable concurrently and across a one-year time period. The discussion considers the different demands and living situations of the three family structures.