Article2003

More than Myth: The Developmental Significance of Romantic Relationships During Adolescence

902 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Research on Adolescence

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Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Family Dynamics and Relationships Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Abstract

Adolescents' romantic relationships have attracted popular interest, but, until recently, little scientific curiosity. Research has been impeded by erroneous assumptions that adolescent relationships are trivial and transitory, that they provide little information beyond measures of the influence of parent‐child and peer relationships, and that their impact is primarily associated with problems of behavior and adjustment. This article proposes that distinguishing five features of romantic relationships (involvement, partner selection, relationship content, quality, and cognitive and emotional processes) is essential to describing adolescents' relationships and their developmental significance. These distinctions also help to clarify the role of context, age‐related variations, and individual differences in the impact of romantic experiences. Research is needed to illuminate questions of how and under what conditions romantic relationships affect individual development and how romantic and other close relationships jointly influence developmental trajectories during adolescence.

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References

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Cited by

2015Peer Relationships, Child Development, and Adjustment: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective 2018Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1—A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships 2004Salient and Emerging Developmental Tasks in the Transition to Adulthood 2007Adolescent Development in Interpersonal Context 2013The Challenge of Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood 2007Social outcomes in childhood brain disorder: A heuristic integration of social neuroscience and developmental psychology.

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