Commentary: On intimate relationships, adult roles, interplay of family adversity and individual vulnerability, intergenerational transmission, and developmental selection – commentary on Vergunst et al. (2020)

Abstract

Five developmental trajectories of partnering in the ages 18–35 were identified by Vergunst et al. (2020). In my discussion of these trajectories, I included findings of three studies using the same dataset as Vergunst et al. First I showed that formation and maintenance of intimate relationships have different childhood precursors. It also became clear that family adversity and high inattention in childhood are systematic predictors of problems in investing in age‐graded roles in adulthood: in educational attainment, partnering, and becoming economically self‐reliant. A limitation of the study Vergunst et al. is the absence of adolescence. Inclusion of data on adolescent development could have clarified why effects of family adversity and childhood traits are very small and provided evidence for the role of parent–adolescent relationships. Finally, the study by Vergunst et al. demonstrates intergenerational transmission of problems across various developmental domains. This intergenerational continuity of vulnerabilities suggests developmental selection.