Shmuel Shulman

Adolescent Romantic Behaviors and Perceptions: Age- and Gender-Related Differences, and Links with Family and Peer Relationships.

This study examined the role of age, gender, and dating experience in adolescent romantic behaviors and perceptions. In addition, the linkage between the quality of relationships with parents and peers, and affective intensity with a romantic partner was investigated. Interviews were held with 168 Israeli adolescents, who also completed questionnaires assessing romantic behaviors, romantic perceptions, and quality of relationships with their romantic partner, parents, and a same-gender close friend. Older adolescents were more likely than younger adolescents to have a romantic partner. Romantic perceptions pertaining to companionship and excitement were less frequent among older adolescents. However, aspects such as intimacy and level of emotional involvement were similar across adolescence. Girls emphasized more attachment and care in their romantic relationships than boys. In addition, adolescents who were currently dating perceived romantic relationships more in terms of emotional involvement than adol...

The Challenge of Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood Reconceptualization of the Field

Although theories of romantic stage development suggest that youth in the period of emerging adulthood are fully capable of commitment to an intimate romantic relationship, recent research suggests that the relationships of many young people are quite different. Marriage and other forms of deep commitment are delayed while many youth engage in short-term casual encounters or in noncommitted relationships. In this article, we suggest that these data pose a challenge to stage theories that can be reconciled by considering the developmental life tasks that emerging adults must simultaneously resolve. We propose a transitional emerging adult romantic stage, coordinating romance and life plans, in which young people strive to integrate their career paths and life plans with those of a romantic partner. Resolution of this stage provides the grounding for long-term commitment to a life partner. This proposal is discussed within the perspective of life cycle and evolutionary life history theories.

Coping Style in Adolescence A Cross-Cultural Study

The present study compares the coping styles of adolescents in two different cultures. Two carefully equated samples, consisting of 353 German and 187 Israeli adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years, were investigated. Coping styles were defined by a matrix of 20 coping strategies applied across eight different developmental areas. Factor analysis revealed comparable dimensional structures of coping styles. Both German and Israeli adolescents most frequently employed functional forms of coping. The samples differed with respect to their relative emphasis on direct action and help-seeking behavior as compared to internal reflection of possible solutions. In both cultures withdrawal was not used very often. In addition, significant main effects for age and gender were found. Coping behavior among German adolescents was more influenced by situational demands, with pronounced approach-avoidance behavior. Their Israeli counterparts showed less variability in coping behavior across situations, laid greater stress on cognitive factors, and showed a striking decrease in overall coping behavior with increasing age. The discussion focuses on cultural universals and differences in coping behavior and considers the impact of environmental and historical conditions.

Stages of Friendship Growth in Preadolescence as Related to Attachment History

A process model of friendship formation in preadolescence is proposed in this article, and the continuity of early parent-child relationships (quality of attachment) with later friendship processes and peer competence is explored. Thirty-two preadolescents, subjects in a longitudinal study of attachment and subsequent social development, were observed in 4-week summer day camps. Those who had been securely attached with their caregivers as infants revealed a higher level of peer competence than did those with anxious attachment histories. However, preadolescents of both types of attachment reported and were observed to form friendships. In-depth case studies of four friendship pairs of preadolescents with different attachment histories suggested that there are corresponding differences in the quality and growth processes of those pairs of friendships. A three-stage model of preadolescent friendship growth is proposed, based on relationship dimensions and reflective of earlier relational patterns.

Adolescent Intimacy Revisited

Two studies examined intimacy in adolescent friendships. In the first, 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students completed a questionnaire assessing perceived friendship intimacy. Age and sex differences were identified in emotional closeness, self-disclosure, emphasis on individuality, control, and conformity. Across ages, emphasis on individuality increased, whereas control and conformity declined. There were no age differences in emotional closeness and self-disclosure. Females reported more emotional closeness and self-disclosure than males. In the second study, individual differences in friendship intimacy were examined in a sample of 9th-grade adolescents. A joint problem solving task identified interdependent and disengaged friends. Perceived intimacy among interdependent and disengaged friends was contrasted with that in a control group of subjects without friends. Adolescents with friends reported more closeness than those without friends. Interdependent friends reported greater levels of respect for individuality than disengaged friends. The results underscore the salience of intimacy for peer relationships during the adolescent years and suggest that intimacy may be an important construct distinguishing between different types of close friendships.

Cognitive appraisals, coping strategies, and support resources as correlates of parenting and infant development.

By applying R. S. Lazaruss (1993) theoretical model, the authors explored the dynamics of stress and coping as central mechanisms underlying parenting adjustment and infant development. Longitudinal assessment of 140 primiparous mothers included measures of cognitive appraisals of parenting, coping strategies used, and supportive coping resources at pregnancy and 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. Maternal outcome measures of adjustment included maternal well-being, parental efficacy, and observed behaviors of caregiving and affiliation. Infant developmental outcome was measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (N. Bayley, 1993). All measures of the stress and coping model showed systematic developmental changes across the transition to parenthood as well as relative stability of individual differences. In addition, the stress and coping variables were found to have additive and interactive effects in predicting both maternal adjustment and infant development.

Sibling Relationships in Emerging Adulthood and in Adolescence

In this study, 116 emerging adults and adolescents completed questionnaires and were interviewed about their relationship with a sibling. Respondents’ siblings and their mothers also rated the quality of the sibling relationship. Emerging adults were found to spend less time and to be less involved in joint activities with their siblings than adolescents, but they reported being more involved in emotional exchanges with and feeling more warmth toward their siblings. Conflict and rivalry were also reported by emerging adults to be less intense than by adolescents. Narrative analyses showed that emerging adults had a more mature perception of their relationship with their siblings. Unlike in adolescence, the quality of emerging adults’ relationships with their siblings was less related to their relationship with their parents. The results are discussed in the framework of changes in close relationships from adolescence to emerging adulthood.

Adolescent Precursors of Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood

In a six-year longitudinal study, the early contributors to romantic relationships in young adults were analyzed. Seventy-two adolescents participated annually in a survey assessing their relationships with parents and close friends at the ages of 14, 15, and 17 years. In addition, developmental progression in establishing a separate identity and developing a mature body concept was assessed. At the age of 20, the sample was again investigated with a focus on its current quality of romantic relations, assessed by the Love Experience Questionnaire (LEQ). Factor analysis of the LEQ revealed three distinctive components of romantic love in young adults: connectedness, attraction, and painful love. A series of multiple regression analyses explored the different contributions of predictors from the adolescent years for explaining variance in romantic relations at young adulthood. Results showed age-specific predictors for two different components of romantic relations, connectedness and attraction, including marital status of the parents, the quality of relationships with parents, and a sense of body competence at different stages of adolescence. Regarding painful love, only body competence at age 14 contributed significantly to this component of romantic love at age 20. The pressure to establish a separate identity was only predictive of the attraction component of romantic love, whereas the quality of relationships with friends did not contribute to connectedness or to attraction or painful love in romantic relations.

Age-Related Differences in the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood and Links with Family Relationships

This study examined differences on major aspects of attaining adult status in the transition from adolescence into young adulthood. The attainment of developmental tasks and the quality of parent–child relationships were compared across adolescence and young adulthood. In addition, the extent to which relationships with parents are related to the attainment of young adulthood developmental tasks was also investigated. The study was conducted on 169 Israeli adolescents, early young adults, and late young adults. Results showed that developmental tasks are attained at different stages, and that the consolidation of adult status is achieved closer to the end of the third decade of life. Relationships with parents were found to be more positive following the transition from adolescence to early young adulthood. Adaptation of young adults was explained by the quality of relationships with parents and especially with fathers.

International and Domestic Adoption: Child, Parents, and Family Adjustment

Adjustment of school-aged children, parents, and families in international versus domestic adoption was studied in 100 Israeli families. No significant differences were found between the two groups of children in school adjustment, grades, IQ level, psychological adjustment (i.e. anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, self-concept), observed behaviours at home, and coping with adoption issues. However, they perceived their parents to be more supportive but controlling. Marked differences were found in parents’ behaviours, especially fathers’, and family functioning: In the international adoption group, compared with the domestic adoption group, parents used more problem-focused and support-seeking ways of coping, viewed parenting more as a challenge, were more involved with their children; but were more intrusive, reported more cohesive family relations and better marital adjustment, and coped differently with adoption issues. Results are discussed in terms of the differences in the two types of adoption.