Young Adult Relationships Research Articles

Making the most of youth development

There is a growing international emphasis on the use of research-based evidence to inform youth program policy, practice and funding priorities, and on involving young people as subjects and actors in gathering this evidence. Youth development organisations and programs increasingly are expected to engage in research that informs their program development and illustrates their effectiveness. Research partnerships that provide community access to external research expertise are one way by which youth organisations and programs can strengthen their internal research capacity. This article explores the youth-inclusive community–university partnership underpinning the Queensland Youth Development Research Project, and examines some of the multifaceted methodological and ethical dimensions of this approach across three dimensions of research: planning, doing and finishing. Successful youth-inclusive research requires paying attention to the diversity of challenges characteristic of youth research. These challenges, influenced by the complexity of child, young adult and older adult relationships, highlight the fundamental importance of understanding how power is expressed and mediated in youth research. Overall, the article argues that youth-inclusive research can be shaped to bring broader benefits to research, scholars, young people and the wider community beyond the aim of simply improving the research process itself.

Changes in the Anaclitic-Introjective Personality Configurations Following Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Young Adults.

Treatment goals in psychoanalytic psychotherapy often include changes in underlying psychological structures, rather than only symptom reduction. This study examines changes in the anaclitic-introjective personality configurations following psychoanalytic psychotherapy with young adults in relation to outcomes. Thirty-three patients were interviewed pretreatment and at termination using the Object Relations Inventory (ORI). Prototype Matching of Anaclitic-Introjective Personality Configuration (PMAI) was applied to the ORI material by two independent judges (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.73). The patients were classified pretreatment as predominately anaclitic (n=13) or introjective (n=20). Outcome measures included the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90) and Differentiation-Relatedness scale (D-R) pretreatment, at termination, at the 1.5-year and three-year follow-up. Both groups improved post-treatment in terms of symptoms and developmental levels of representations of self, mother, and father. No significant differences between the anaclitic and the introjective group were found in this respect, and could not be expected due to the low power (0.27). The anaclitic group showed better balance between relatedness and self-definition post-treatment, while this improvement was not significant in the introjective group. Further and larger studies are needed to draw more far-reaching conclusions about the relations between changes in personality configurations over the course of treatment and the treatment efficacy. The clinical implications of this approach to underlying dynamic psychological structures are discussed.

Risk of mental disorders and difficulties or conflict in relationships in young adults

IntroductionHigher risk of mental health problems has been linked with problems in relationships, including the experience of relational conflict with significant others and peers. Conversely, positive relations with others have been established as a key factor of psychological well being.ObjectivesWe hypothesized that psychological maladjustment will be related to the number, nature and severity of relational stressors. Furthermore, there would be a higher likelihood of risk of mental disorders for those who experience more relational hardships and of greater severity. Positive relations with others will protect from risk of mental health problems.MethodA total of 4461 university students completed a health and well-being survey, including the GHQ-12 (centesimal and 3-point cut-off scores), Ryff psychological well-being scale and a scale of 25 life stressors. Indexes of number and severity of difficulties in relationships were calculated with 10 items including romantic partners, friends, family, and classmates.ResultsCorrelations were significant. Logistic regression showed a risk effect for all stressors with OR values above 1.32. Overall perceived severity had the highest value (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 2.16–2.61) and amongst the 10 stressors, gender related abuse/violence was also the highest (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.73–2.09). Positive relations showed a protective effect (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.56–0.54).ConclusionsFindings can inform health promotion, prevention and therapeutic interventions so as to improve the quality of personal relationship and conflict management skills, and to strengthen well-being associated with positive relations with others. Academic institutions committed to student welfare and the promotion of healthy environments should play a major role in young adults’ mental health.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Do generation and regulation of emotions interact? Examination of their relationships in young adults

Emotions can be generated in response to inherently emotional perceptual properties of a stimulus (‘bottom up’) and in response to cognitive interpretations of an event (‘top down’). Similarly, emotion regulation (ER) strategies may deploy bottom-up or top-down processes, however the specific nature of these processes remains unclear. In this study we sought to replicate and extend previous studies that have investigated the interaction between ER and emotion generation. Specifically, we examined the relationship between both methods of emotion generation and ER in a sample of 75 undergraduate students who completed self-report questionnaires and a behavioral task of ER. We attempted to extend previous research by testing whether the positive effect of cognitive reappraisal on top-down generated emotions was specific to reappraisal or true of multiple ER strategies. Overall there was a main effect of generation such that top-down generated emotion was better regulated by cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and appraisal strategies. We also found a main effect of ER such that cognitive reappraisal was perceived as the most successful ER strategy. We argue that ER is a state-dependent process that includes dynamic cycles between emotion generation and regulation processes. We further discuss expressive suppression as a top-down emotion regulation strategy in the context of our study despite debated literature.

Healthcare needs and access in a sample of Chinese young adults in Vancouver, British Columbia: A qualitative analysis

ObjectivesImmigrants of Chinese ethnicity and young people (between 18 and 30 years of age) are known to access health services less frequently and may be at greater risk for experiencing unmet health needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the health beliefs, health behaviors, primary care access, and perceived unmet healthcare needs of Chinese young adults. MethodsSemi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with eight Chinese young adults in Vancouver, Canada. ResultsA content analysis revealed that these Chinese young adults experienced unmet healthcare needs, did not have a primary care provider, and did not access preventive services. Cultural factors such as strong family ties, filial piety, and the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine influenced their health behaviors and healthcare access patterns. ConclusionChinese young adults share similar issues with other young adults in relation to not having a primary care provider and accessing preventive care but their health beliefs and practices make their needs for care unique from other young adults.

El apego adulto y la calidad percibida de las relaciones de pareja: Evidencias a partir de una población adulta joven

INTRODUCTION: Many studies highlight the importance of relationships during people’s psychological development as well as their physical and emotional health. These studies also show that the types of attachment have a predictable capacity regarding the perceived quality in relationships. However, few have been said about the topic in young adult population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between attachment styles and different components of relationships in young adult population. METHOD: The sample was composed of 119 Dominican university students whose ages ranged between 18 and 26 (M = 20.03; DT = 1.95). RESULTS: There is a different correlational pattern for type of attachment. Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment did not correlate with most components of perceived quality; whereas Anxious-Avoidant Attachment correlated negatively and high in the scales of satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, love, and general quality. Additionally, men registered meaningfully higher means of Anxious-Avoidant Attachment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings illustrate the importance of the styles of attachment, specially the Anxious-Avoidant Attachment regarding the quality of relationships in young adults.

Dental Caries Experience and Salivary Elements among a Group of Young Adults in Relation to Age and Gender

Dental Caries Experience and Salivary Elements among a Group of Young Adults in Relation to Age and Gender

Identifying Factors Associated with Participation in T1D Support Program for Young Adults

Objective: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been shown to have a significant and stressful impact on an individual's transition into young adulthood. Young adults are often experiencing new levels of independence and decision-making at this time. Insufficient research has been conducted on the use and impact of T1D support programs tailored to young adults in relation to the emotional impacts of the disease, access to programming, and desired outcomes of programs. This study assesses awareness, utilization, and emotional needs of T1D support programs tailored to young adults. Research Design and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on surveys collected through specific groups on Facebook (n=529). Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with participation in T1D support programs. Results: Approximately 41% of participants had been involved in a program or activity for young adults. The average age was 24 (range 18-30) with females being overrepresented (85%). Individuals who attended a T1D support program for young adults were more likely to disagree that their T1D: keeps them from having a normal life; feel their T1D controls their life; or feel their T1D takes up too much mental/physical energy. Individuals who attended T1D support programs for young adults were more likely to disagree that they: need more peer-to-peer support with T1D. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance for T1D support programs for young adults and the unique needs of a population with T1D. T1D support programs should be considered in combination with clinical support for better preparing individuals to transition into young adulthood.

Love, Sex, and Satisfaction in On-Again/Off-Again Relationships: Exploring What Might Make These Relationships Alluring

The current study explored positive relational qualities — love, need satisfaction, sexual satisfaction— to better understand what might be alluring to on-again/off-again (cyclical) partners given that they typically report lower relational quality and functioning than non-cyclical partners (i.e., those who have not broken up and renewed). A sample of 558 young adults in current romantic relationships (27.6% in cyclical relationships) reported on Sternberg's (1997) three love components (intimacy, passion, and commitment), relationship need satisfaction (e.g., companionship, emotional involvement), and their sexual satisfaction. Results supported the bulk of research showing cyclical partners report lower relational quality — cyclical partners reported less love, need satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. A pattern of findings regarding passion and need satisfaction regarding sexual and physical intimacy, however, suggests that cyclical partners might value the physical component of relationships more, and further, that passion might be more strongly related to global satisfaction as compared to non-cyclical partners. Overall, the value of this study is not in what differences were found but in ruling out certain explanations of what perpetuates cycling in young adult relationships. The current findings suggest the reasons individuals return to less satisfying relationships is complex and might require novel theoretical models.

Romantic Relationship Quality in the Digital Age: A Study with Young Adults.

Recent studies suggest that the online and offline behaviors young people display in romantic relationships are closely related. However, the differential effects of the dimensions of couple quality in the online context have not yet been explored in depth. The aim of this study was to explore online couple quality in young-adult relationships, and its association with romantic relationship satisfaction, also looking at effects of gender, age, and length of the relationship. 431 university students currently in a romantic relationship (68.2% females; mean age = 21.57) participated in this study. They completed different self-report measures to tap the online quality of their romantic relationships (online intimacy, control, jealousy, intrusiveness, cyberdating practices, and communication strategies) and level of satisfaction with those relationships. Results showed that participants more often reported online intimacy (M men = 2.49; M women = 2.38) than the negative scales of online quality (mean ranged from .43 to 1.50), and all the online quality scales decreased with age (correlations ranged from -.12 to -.30) and relationship length (correlations ranged from -.02 to -.20). Linear regression analyses indicated that online intimacy (b = .32, p = .001) and intrusiveness (b = .11, p = .035) were positively related to relationship satisfaction, while cyberdating practices (b = -.20, p = .001) and communication strategies (b = -.34, p = .001) were negatively correlated with relationship satisfaction. Moreover, gender and relationship length moderated some of these associations. Results indicate that while online quality and relationship satisfaction are related, the impact of different online quality dimensions on relationship satisfaction differs depending on a participant's sex, age, and relationship length.

Sexual dimorphism in bone–muscle relationship in young adults

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to analyse associations between lean soft tissue (LST), a surrogate of skeletal muscle mass and key fracture-related geometric characteristics of the proximal femur. Moreover, we examined the role that muscle played on the proximal femur geometry in response to physical activity (PA). Participants were 83 young adults. Leg LST (exposure) was assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Proximal femur geometry was derived from a left hip DXA scan. Geometric variables (outcomes) included the femoral neck axis length (FNAL), the femoral neck width (FNW), the neck–shaft angle and FNW|FNAL (an index of robustness). PA was evaluated by accelerometry. Linear regression was used to analyse relationships. Additional exposure variables included body height and mass. In males, leg LST explained 17.4% of variation in FNAL (P < 0.001) and 15% in FNW (P = 0.015). In females, it explained 8.8% of the variance in FNAL (P = 0.020). Associations remained significant in males, but not in females, when vigorous PA was added to the models. These results suggest that public health approaches to promote PA may be particularly important in females since vigorous PA seems to convey advantages in femur geometry and consequently in bone strength.

Social relationships in young adults at ultra high risk for psychosis

Studies suggest that individuals with schizophrenia have smaller social networks and less satisfying relationships. However, much is still unknown about the typical quantity and quality of social relationships in young adults during the ultra high-risk (UHR) period. Investigating these relationships holds significant importance for improving understanding of etiological processes, mapping the social environment, and highlighting treatment targets in a critical period. A total of 85 participants (44 UHR and 41 healthy controls) completed measures examining the participants’ social relationships, social support, and loneliness. Mean differences between the UHR and healthy control participants and associations between social relationships and symptoms and functioning were examined. Results indicated significant differences between groups on several indices. Specifically, the UHR youth reported fewer close friends, less diverse social networks, less perceived social support, poorer relationship quality with family and friends, and more loneliness. Notably, within the UHR group, being lonely and having fewer and worse quality relationships was associated with greater symptom severity and lower overall functioning. This study suggests that youth at high-risk of developing psychosis have fewer and poorer quality social relationships. Interventions that focus on increasing the quantity and quality of young adults’ social networks may be beneficial for this population.

Short forms of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) with the domains of job, romantic relationship, and region

The U-MICS is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the identity dimensions from a domain-specific perspective. The present study reports on the development of a short-form version for the domains of job and romantic relationship in young adults from Germany and extends this scale to include the domain of region (nSample1 = 95, 84% female, mean age 22.45 years; nSample2 = 1,795, 71% female, mean age 24.53 years). We found the short form to possess adequate psychometric properties and to demonstrate a factor structure congruent to the long-form version. Regarding validity, the small correlations across domains within dimensions support a domain-specific approach to identity. The associations between the different identity domains with personality traits are similar, indicating a consistent pattern of convergent validity for all domains. We conclude that “region” provides a valuable complement to the established domains that can all be reliably assessed with the U-MICS–Short Form.

Romantic relationships and loneliness in a group of South African postgraduate students

ABSTRACTAccording to psychological developmental theory, the formation of a committed romantic relationship is a critical psychosocial development task for young adults. They are also socialised to believe that such a relationship is the ultimate pathway to love and psychological intimacy and they may therefore experience general and romantic loneliness in its absence. However, people in romantic relationships can also experience romantic loneliness, while single people may be romantically alone but not necessarily romantically lonely. We could not locate any South African research on young adults and romantic loneliness and therefore conducted an exploratory study on this phenomenon in a South African postgraduate sample. A total of 622 postgraduate students completed a bio-demographic questionnaire and the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults online. A general low level of loneliness was found overall, but the participants were found to be lonelier in the romantic domain than in the social or family loneliness domains. In addition, single participants were found to have higher levels of romantic and general loneliness than participants in committed relationships. Therefore, the results suggested that relationship status has a significant influence on romantic and general loneliness and confirmed the hegemony of romantic relationships in young adults’ lives.

Adolescent Mental Health and Dating in Young Adulthood

Adolescence is a period of tremendous socioemotional change, when youth develop important relationship skills that they carry with them into adulthood. The mental health of individuals during this period might act as resources or impediments that impact their ability to cultivate such skills as well as outcomes in their later romantic relationships. The current study examines how multiple dimensions of adolescent mental health (depressive symptomology, self-esteem, mastery, and impulsivity) are associated with outcomes in romantic relationships across the transition to adulthood, such as relationship conflict, relationship happiness, and number of dating partners. Youth with higher mastery, self-esteem, and impulsivity during adolescence had more romantic dating partners across the transition to adulthood. High levels of depressive symptomology and low mastery during adolescence were also associated with greater conflict within dating relationships in young adulthood.

Non-completion of upper secondary school among female and male young adults in an Arctic sociocultural context; the NAAHS study.

BackgroundEducation is closely associated with health. Non-completion of upper secondary school influences academic achievement, employment, income and personal well-being.The purpose of the study is to explore predictors of non-completion of upper secondary school among female and male young adults in relation to mental health and educational factors in a socio-cultural, Arctic context.MethodsThe Norwegian Arctic Adolescent Health Study (NAAHS) is a cross-sectional, school-based survey that was conducted in 2003–2005. Eighty-three percent of the population of 5,877 10th graders participated; 49.1%females, 450 reported indigenous Sami ethnicity, and 304 reported Laestadian affiliation. Data from NAAHS were merged with registry data from the National Education Database (NUDB) Norway for 3,987 adolescents who gave their consent for follow-up studies.ResultsNon-completion of upper secondary school was 36.9 % among females and 36.6 % among males. Among females, predictors for non-completion were related to mental health symptoms, and among males, to residency in the northernmost and remote areas and self-reported functional difficulties at school, home and in leisure activities due to mental health problems.There was marginal significance between ethnicity and non-completion of upper secondary school, measured at 41.3 % for Sami and 36.8 % for non-Sami, respectively.ConclusionsThe gender differences found in this study emphasize the need for gender-specific interventions in preventing non-completion of upper secondary school. There is a need to recognize and treat extensive pro-social behaviour and social problems in young females. Young males from remote areas and those who in early adolescence struggle with functional impairment due to mental health problems need early interventions in lower secondary school. Enhancing parents’ and teachers’ ability to detect symptoms and problems as well as low-threshold health services starting in primary school can be effective means. Education, mental health and social inclusion are prominent factors for future employment, income and independent living for young people. Future research should focus more on gender-specific patterns of risk and protective factors for completion of upper secondary school.

“I Mean, We’re Guys”

For young men, the transition to adulthood may be a time of heightened adherence to traditional gender roles and norms of masculinity. However, recent research with young men in gender-specific contexts has indicated that some contexts support a construction of masculinity that is more inclusive. Through a theoretical thematic analysis of interviews with young men in their first week at an all-male trade school, we explored if and how participants talked about gender and its role in their lives, how these discussions of gender may reflect individual gender ideologies, and how these discussions may inform participants’ experiences in particular developmental contexts. The themes we identified included the following: Becoming a man as an active process, experiences of male embodiment of size and strength, intersections of school identity and being a man, students’ perceptions of their all-male school environment and what it means to not have female classmates, and their reflections on the parts of themselves they see as feminine. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research with adolescents and young adults in relation to gender, relationships, and professional development.

Pragmatic tradition or romantic aspiration? The causes of impulsive marriage and early divorce among women in rural Malawi

1.IntroductionThe last decades of the 20th century have seen important shifts in the way young people meet, marry, and interact with their spouses in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, social scientists have taken an interest in the rise of romantic courtship and companionate marriage (Cole and Thomas 2009; Hirsch and Wardlow 2006; Padilla et al. 2007). This spike in interest, however, should not obscure the fact that the defiant appropriation of romantic love by young generations has been happening for nearly a century and might have become an African tradition in itself (Thomas 2009). First through literature, then through photography (Behrend 1998), films from India (Fair 2009), and more recently through mobile phones (Archambault 2011), social media, and Nigerian blockbusters (Abah 2009), young Africans avidly consume narratives of romantic love and create their own.While unions based on love and companionship are highly desired in most young adult relationships in sub-Saharan Africa (Clark, Kabiru, and Mathur 2010), there is little consensus as to whether modern unions or traditional marriages are more stable. Goode (1993) and Takyi (2001) contend that unions with low involvement from kin are inherently less stable, while Jones (1997) believes that such unions are more stable as the couple is likely to be more mature and compatible. Changes in the nature of unions and their implications for divorce are of special concern in countries like Malawi, where divorce rates are high and where divorce and remarriage are linked to poorer health outcomes for both women and children (Boileau et al. 2009; Clark and Brauner-Otto 2015; Reniers 2003).In this paper we interrogate the phenomenon of early divorce as a primary component of overall union instability, and as a prism that reveals changes in the ways young people meet and marry. We explore three aspects of early divorce in Malawi. First, we show that much of this high divorce rate in Malawi is driven by early divorce, defined as unions ending within the first three years. Second, we use discrete-time survival analysis to identify which relationship characteristics are associated with early divorce. We find that couples who have known each other for only a short time and whose relationship is not embedded in family ties are much more likely to divorce early. Finally, we turn to qualitative data to make sense of these volatile relationships as part of young women's transition to adulthood.Although we set out to determine whether early divorce was driven by traditional or modern marriage practices, we instead find that early divorce most often results from impulsive marriages that correspond to neither fully traditional nor modern unions. Impulsive unions are not embedded in family and community ties, but neither are they rooted in deep affective ties between individuals. This kind of marriage, between people who are not particularly invested in each other and whose families have little or no stake in making the relationship work, are particularly fragile and tend to dissolve rapidly. They reflect hybrid patterns of courtship and spouse selection in which traditional ideas about what makes a good spouse collide with contemporary ways of knowing a person's character.2.BackgroundIn this section we provide information about marriage in Malawi, including definitions of what we mean by 'traditional' and 'modern' forms of marriage.2.1Defining 'modern' and 'traditional'Most discussions of romantic love and changes in affective patterns rest, more or less explicitly, on the opposition between a 'traditional' form of marriage and a 'modern,' romantic, or companionate alternative. Wardlow and Hirsch (2006) define companionate marriage as a relationship in which emotional closeness is the basis of a union, its mode of operation, and a key measure of its success. In companionate marriages the conjugal partnership is privileged over other family ties, and personal fulfillment takes precedence over social reproduction. …

Cancer negatively impacts on sexual function in adolescents and young adults: The AYA HOPE study

This cohort study examined the impact of cancer on sexual function and intimate relationships in adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We also explored factors predicting an increased likelihood that cancer had negatively affected these outcomes. Participants (n = 465, ages 15-39) in the Adolescent and Young Adult Health Outcomes and Patient Experience (AYA HOPE) study completed two surveys approximately 1 and 2years post-cancer diagnosis. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine factors negatively affected by perceptions of sexual function at 2years post-diagnosis. Forty-nine percent of AYAs reported negative effects on sexual function at 1year post-cancer diagnosis and 70% of those persisted in their negative perceptions 2years after diagnosis. Those reporting a negative impact at 2years were more likely to be 25years or older (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.44-4.42), currently not raising children (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06-3.08), experiencing fatigue (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.975-0.998) and more likely to report that their diagnosis has had a negative effect on physical appearance (OR, 3.08; 95% CI, 1.97-4.81). Clinical factors and mental health were not significant predictors of negative effects on sexual function. Many AYAs diagnosed with cancer experience a persistent negative impact on sexual life up to 2years following diagnosis. The findings underscore the need to develop routine protocols to assess sexual function in AYAs with cancer and to provide comprehensive management in the clinical setting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Friends with Benefits Relationships in Young Norwegian Adults

Objective: To explore Norwegian young adults’ experiences with friends with benefits (FWB) relationships. Design and Method: In 2013, a questionnaire survey was sent online by the poll organization Ipsos MMI to a representative national web sample of 2,090 persons aged 18–29 years of which 27.2 % responded (n = 568). Results: A majority of the respondents (53.5%), and more women than men (58.2% versus 46.6%, p = 0.010), reported to have been involved in a FWB relationship. Parallel sexual relations to the FWB relationship was reported by 51.9% of the sample. A total of 27.5% claimed they had had extradyadic sex with a casual partner once, 16.4% had had sex several times with casual partners, and 8.0% claimed they had had sex with a parallel FWB partner. In regard to experiences they had had with their current or most recent FWB partner, the most commonly reported interaction activities were to have touched each other sexually (99.2%), vaginal intercourse (96.5%), kissing (95.0%), talked together about something meaningful (87.0%), oral sex (86.7%), and mutual masturbation (73.7%). More men than women reported experience of mutual masturbation (85.7% versus 67.1%, p &lt; 0.001) and anal intercourse (25.9% versus 14.9%, p &lt; 0.05), and more women than men reported to have had vaginal intercourse (98.2% versus 93.3%, p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: The perception of intimacy with the current or most recent FWB partner was relatively high, and few negative feelings were reported by the participants.