Deborah P. Welsh

Adolescent Romantic Relationships

In this article, we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on romantic relationships between age 10 and the early twenties. First, we describe key themes in this area of research. Next, we briefly characterize the most influential theoretical formulations and distinctive methodological issues. We then describe research findings regarding pertinent social and developmental processes. We summarize the extensive findings on relationships with parents and peers as a context for romantic relationships. Finally, we characterize the growing evidence that adolescent romantic relationships are significant for individual adjustment and development, and we note promising directions for further research.

No strings attached: The nature of casual sex in college students

The purpose of this article was to identify the circumstances associated with casual sex encounters, as well as to identify the link between casual sex, depressive symptoms, and infidelity among college students. We found that casual sex was a fairly common occurrence related to early sexual transition, engaging in first sex with a casual sex partner, drug use, and alcohol consumption. Casual sex occurred more often between “friends” than with strangers. Depressive symptoms were associated with engaging in casual sex differently for males and females. Males who engaged in casual sex reported the fewest symptoms of depression, and females who had a history of casual sex reported the most depressive symptoms. Frequencies of affectionate and genital behaviors were associated with expectations of the relationship, the relationship to the partner, infidelity, and the individuals relationship style. We discuss results in light of evolutionary and sociocultural theories of sexuality.

Power and Psychological Well-Being in Late Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Using Olsen and Cromwells (1975) three facetsof interpersonal power (power in resources, process, andoutcomes), we examined the balance of power in lateadolescent romantic relationships and the associations between interpersonal power, adolescentsself-esteem, and depression. Participants were 61adolescent couples who were primarily European-American(90% of girls and 93% of boys), with the remainder being comprised of approximately 2-3% each of NativeAmerican, Asian, African American, and Hispanicindividuals. We assessed power in terms of access toemotional resources, control during video-tapedinteraction, and control over decision-making. Overall,couples were more likely to be described by themselvesand by independent observers as egalitarian, with themajority of couples equally contributing emotional resources, sharing power in interaction, andsharing decision-making responsibility. However,romantic relationships characterized by inequality inthe contribution of emotional resources and indecisionmaking were associated with greater psychologicalsymptomatology, especially for females.

Keeping quiet: Self-silencing and its association with relational and individual functioning among adolescent romantic couples

This study examined the relationships between self-silencing and relational and individual functioning among adolescent romantic couples. Adolescent couples (N = 211) completed questionnaires and participated in a videotaped conflict interaction. High self-silencers reported conceding more to their partner during a conflict, poorer global communication within their romantic relationships, and greater experiences of depressive symptomatology. Partners of self-silencers reported more frustration and discomfort when interacting with the self-silencing member. Although significant actor and partner effects were not found between relationship satisfaction and self-silencing, correlation analyses by gender revealed a significant negative correlation between self-silencing and relationship satisfaction among adolescent girls. Self-silencing is related to multiple aspects of adolescent romantic relationships including communication patterns and the quality of relational and individual functioning.

Interaction and Relationship Quality in Late Adolescent Romantic Couples

This study examined the association between late adolescent romantic couple members’ interaction and their overall relationship quality. Stepwise regression analyses were used to predict couple members’ global self-reports of relationship quality from their own ratings of their interaction. Positive and negative behaviors, as well as patterns of interaction, were associated with relationship quality, with different patterns of association emerging for males and females. Girlfriends’ global reports of relationship quality were predicted from their perceptions of their boyfriends’ conflict and harmony, or the balance of supportive and conflictual behaviors in the interaction. In contrast, boyfriends’ global reports of relationship quality were predicted from their perceptions of their own support and their ratings of their own willingness to accept influence from their girlfriends. Gender differences in patterns of association are discussed in light of current theories of the development of romantic and peer relationships.

Commitment and Sexual Behaviors in Adolescent Dating Relationships

Adolescence marks the long transition between childhood and adulthood. On their journey to adulthood, adolescents face a variety of developmental tasks, including the exploration of and experimentation with individual identities, attitudes, and commitments, the initiation and development of friendships and romantic relationships, and experimentation with expressions of sexuality. A central social context for accomplishing these tasks is romantic dating relationships, making such relationships a crucial area for developmental research.

Brief report: “I can’t talk about it:” Sexuality and self-silencing as interactive predictors of depressive symptoms in adolescent dating couples

This longitudinal study examined sexual intercourse within adolescent romantic relationships as a couple-level moderator of the association between adolescent individual characteristics and depressive symptoms. Two hundred nine middle- and older-adolescent dating couples (aged 14-17 and 17-21, respectively) reported on their own self-silencing, depressive symptoms, and sexual behaviors. At Time 1, frequency of sexual intercourse significantly moderated the relationship between self-silencing and depressive symptoms, such that adolescents higher in self-silencing engaging in more frequent sex were at risk for clinically significant levels of depression. Adolescents who were low in self-silencing were not at increased risk for depression, regardless of frequency of sex. Self-silencing also significantly predicted increases in depressive symptoms from Time 1 to Time 2. Implications include the possibility that frequent sex in highly self-silencing adolescents exacerbates psychological depletion believed to link self-silencing to depressive symptoms, and that this depletion compounds over time.

“I Learned Things That Make Me Happy, Things That Bring Me Down”: Lessons From Romantic Relationships in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Early romantic relationships have been described as the “learning context” and “training ground” for future intimate relationships; however, research has yet to examine the lessons that individuals take away from such relationships. In the present mixed-methods, longitudinal study, 348 adolescents and emerging adults (53% girls/young women) between the ages of 15 and 23 years were asked to reflect on and report the lessons they learned from romantic relationships in which they were involved 1 year ago (Time 1). These lessons were found to reflect the areas of romantic competence proposed by Shulman et al., including social cognitive maturity, romantic agency, and coherence. Quantitative analyses revealed that girls/young women more often referenced all three of the investigated areas of romantic competence than did boys/young men. In addition, emerging adults and individuals whose relationships were still intact at Time 2 more often referenced social cognitive maturity and coherence, whereas adolescents and individuals whose relationships ended by Time 2 more often referenced romantic agency. Furthermore, qualitative analyses revealed important gender and age differences in the ways adolescent girls and boys and emerging adult women and men described their lessons. In general, results suggest an experiential component to the development of romantic competence that complements developmental factors.

Breaking Up in Emerging Adulthood A Developmental Perspective of Relationship Dissolution

Using a unique sample of individuals who have and have not attended college, the present mixed-methods study examined narratives of 113 (47% women) emerging adults’ motivations for initiating breakups with romantic partners. Findings indicated that emerging adults’ motivations for ending their romantic relationships were largely due to their relationships and/or their romantic partners not fulfilling their needs for interdependence. Additionally, unmet intimacy, identity, and autonomy needs were the most frequently reported reasons for relationship termination, indicating that emerging adults consider both their need to be close with others and their need to follow their own paths for their careers and desires for family formation. This study also demonstrated links between perceptions of developmental tasks in emerging adulthood and motivations for ending romantic relationships. Those who end romantic relationships due to unfulfilled intimacy needs tend to be more relationally focused, and those who end romantic relationships due to unfulfilled autonomy or identity needs tend to view emerging adulthood as a time of experimentation/possibilities, feeling “in between,” and negativity/instability. Implications for the role of relationship dissolution in emerging adult development are discussed.

Betrayals in Emerging Adulthood: A Developmental Perspective of Infidelity

Infidelity is associated with considerable distress and discord in dating relationships. The current mixed methods study examined both the written narratives and survey responses of 104 (59.6% women) emerging adults to investigate reasons for engaging in infidelity (i.e., sexual and emotional infidelity). Emerging adults’ reasons for engaging in infidelity were attributed primarily to their primary relationships and/or their romantic partners not fulfilling their needs for interdependence and thus feeling motivated to fulfill these needs elsewhere. Although the majority of participants provided independence and/or interdependence reasons for their infidelity, a large proportion of responses (40%) referenced alternative reasons. These responses included (a) the opportunity to become intimate with an infidelity partner while under the influence of alcohol, (b) attraction to an infidelity partner, and (c) the excitement and novelty that the infidelity experience provided. Those who reported engaging in infidelity because of unmet interdependence needs, and intimacy needs in particular, were more avoidantly attached than those who did not reference unmet interdependence needs. Those who reported engaging in infidelity because of unmet independence needs were more anxiously attached than those who did not reference unmet independence needs. Implications for the developmental importance of infidelity in terms of research and applied work are discussed.