ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGYChapter 9, Lecture 2: Romantic Relationships

GROUPS, CLIQUES, & CROWDS… Childhood groups differ from adolescent groups Cliques & crowds are types of adolescent groups Development

Isolated – unisexual – early mixed sex – fully mixed sex – crowd disintegration – couples

Group membership (crowd or clique) Affiliation, self-esteem, support Identity (temporary); try on roles (maturity, shifting

groups) Groups & Gender

Boys: bigger groups, competition, risk taking Girl: intimacy oriented, interpersonal relationships

CLASS DISCUSSION What crowd were you a part of in H.S.? What cliques do you remember? Best friend? Sex? What did you talk

about? Do? What was dating like in junior high?

H.S.? Peer rejection? Did you belong to youth organizations?

DATING & ROMANTIC RELAITONSHIPSDating: a relatively recent phenomenon 1920s select & win a mate evolved into more than just courtship for marriage

Functions of Dating (today) Recreation Source of status & achievement Part of the socialization process Involves learning about intimacy Context for sexual experimentation & exploration Provides companionship Identity formation & development A means of mate sorting & selection

DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS Help or hinder identity development? Groups & informal setting more

comfortable 1st dates: 14-16 years of age; by 16

90% have dated 50% have romantic relationships by

10th grade 11th/12th grade females spend 10x as

many hours with boys than in 5th/6th grade

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS

Individuals spent more time thinking about the opposite sex than they actually spent with them

By 11th & 12th grade -- more time spent in their actual presence than thinking about them

Recently, researchers have begun to study romantic relationships in gay male, lesbian, & bisexual youth (Diamond & Savin-Williams, 2003).

EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT & DATING Emotions vary – mood swings

A concern is that in some cases the negative emotions are too intense & prolonged; can lead to adjustment problems

Romantic love vs affectionate love

Risk factors: attachment hx, loss of parent, divorce, siblings, peer rejection

Dating & Adjustment

Dissolution of a Romantic Relationship

BREAKING UP Being in love when love is not returned can lead

to: Depression Obsessive thoughts Sexual dysfunction Inability to work effectively Difficulty in making new friends Self-condemnation.

Thinking clearly in such relationships is often difficult, because the person is so colored by arousing emotions.

BREAKING UP Dissolution of a Romantic Relationship

Studies of romantic breakups have mainly focused on their negative aspects (Frazier & Cooke, 1993; Kato, 2005; Kurdek, 1997).

Few studies have examined the possibility that a romantic breakup might lead to positive changes (Sbarra & Ferrer, 2006).

WHAT IS LOVE? – LOVE “TYPES” Romantic Love

passionate love or “eros” Strong sexual & infatuation components early part of a love relationship Extremely important among college students

Affectionate love companionate love adult love

What love type do you display?

GENDER, CULTURE, & ETHNICITY Relationships vary Gender differences in motivation coming into the

dating experience? Candice Feiring (1996) found that they did.

Girls -- describe romance in terms of interpersonal qualities Boys in terms of physical attraction

Dating scripts: the cognitive models that adolescents & adults use to guide/evaluate dating interactions Male: proactive Female: reactive

Sociocultural context exerts a powerful influence on adolescent dating patterns & on mate selection (Booth, 2002; Stevenson & Zusho, 2002).

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE Psychological, sexual, & emotional abuse 8 - 30% -- physical violence 10 – 18% -- sexually victimized by dating partner Risk factors:

Risk taking (drug abuse/ early sex) – victimization Family violence Friends of victims Depression Endorsing traditional gender roles Early dating

How can we prevent teen dating violence?

LIFESTYLES IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD Single

Increasing percentage Stereotypes:“Swinging single”;“Desperately

lonely”;“Suicidal” Advantages:

Time to make decisions about one’s life course Time to develop personal resources to meet goals Freedom to make autonomous decisions Pursue one’s own schedule & interests Opportunities to explore new places & new things Privacy

LIFESTYLES IN EMERGING ADULTHOODCohabiting Adults• Living together in a sexual relationship w/o being

married • Has undergone considerable changes in recent years

(Poponoe & Whitehead, 2006). • Many couples view their cohabitation not as a

precursor to marriage but as an ongoing lifestyle.• Less than 1 out of 10 lasts 5 years. • Researchers have found a higher rate of domestic

violence among cohabiting couples than in married couples (Kenney & McLanahan, 2006).

LIFESTYLES IN EMERGING ADULTHOODMarried Adults

• Until about 1930, stable marriage was widely accepted as the endpoint of adult development.

• Personal fulfillment both inside & outside marriage has emerged as a goal that competes with marital stability

Marital Trends• Marriage rates in the United States have declined • More adults are remaining single longer today• Average duration of a marriage in the U.S. is

currently just over 9 years

LIFESTYLES: DIVORCE Epidemic in the United States (Fine & Harvey, 2006). Disadvantaged groups have a higher incidence of

divorce. Youthful marriage, low educational level, low income,

not having a religious affiliation, having parents who are divorced, & having a baby before marriage are associated with increases in divorce (Poponoe & Whitehead, 2006; Rodriques, Hall, & Fincham, 2006).

Usually between 5th & 10th year. (National Center for Health Statistics, 2000).

Loneliness, diminished self-esteem, anxiety about the unknowns in their lives, & difficulty in forming satisfactory new intimate relationships

Difficulty trusting – most common

LIFESTYLES: GAY MALES & LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS

The legal & social context -- marriage Relationships are similar—in their satisfactions, loves,

joys, & conflicts—to heterosexual relationships (Hyde & DeLamater, 2006; Kurdek, 2006; Oswald & Clausell, 2005; Peplau & Fingerhut, 2007). Need to find the balance of romantic love, affection,

autonomy, & equality that is acceptable to both partners (Kurdek, 2003).

Lesbian couples -- high priority on equality in their relationships (Kurdek, 1995)

“Open” relationships Long-term committed relationships Common misconceptions

Masculinity & Femininity within coupleship Number of sexual partners