Abstract
Observation of the romantic lives of the majority of young people shows that they might move between transitory and inconsistent states, being in and out of a relationship. The present study aims to better understand the meaning of these fluctuations. For this purpose, and employing a multi-method design, 144 Israeli adolescents (59.7% females) were followed from age 16 to 23. At age 23 in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants, focusing on their romantic histories. Analyses of interviews at age 23 yielded four distinctive romantic pathways differing in stability and the ability to progress toward intimacy: Sporadic and Casual Encounters, Sporadic Encounters in Response to a Stressful Romantic Experience, Steady Non-Intimate Involvements, and Progression toward Steady Intimate Involvements. The findings showed that more than half of participants belonged to the Progression toward Steady Intimate Involvements pathway, suggesting that romantic fluctuations served as means to progress toward intimate involvements. Progression toward steady intimate involvement was explained by greater secure attachment, greater capacity to face tension and to express one’s views, and greater parental support measured seven years earlier. In contrast, lower earlier intra- and interpersonal assets during adolescence were more likely to associate with a variety of romantic experiences during emerging adulthood that are characterized by romantic instabilities and difficulty to progress toward intimacy. The findings are discussed within the framework of the Developmental Systems Theory.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bartoszuk, K., & Pittman, J. F. (2010). Does family structure matter? A domain-specific examination of identity exploration and commitment. Youth & Society, 42(2), 155–173.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Beck depression inventory-II. Sanoma Antonio, 78(2), 490–498.
Bogle, K. A. (2008). Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Boisvert, S., & Poulin, F. (2016). Navigating In and out of romantic relationships from adolescence to emerging adulthood distinct patterns and their correlates at age 25. Emerging Adulthood, 2167696816675092.
Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616.
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.
Campbell, L., Simpson, J. A., Boldry, J., & Kashy, D. A. (2005). Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: The role of attachment anxiety. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 88(3), 510–531.
Canary, D. J., & Wahba, J. (2006). Do women work harder than men at maintaining relationships? In K. Dindia & D. J. Canary (Eds), Sex differences and similarities in communication. 2nd ed. (pp. 359–377). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Carver, K., Joyner, K., & Udry, J. R. (2003). National estimates of adolescent romantic relationships. In P. I. Florsheim (Ed), Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 23–56). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Caspi, A. (2002). Social selection, social causation, and developmental pathways: Empirical strategies for better understanding how individuals and environments are linked across the life-course. In L. Pulkkinen & A. Caspi (Eds), Paths to successful development: Personality in the life course (pp. 281–301). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Claxton, S. E., & van Dulmen, M. H. (2013). Casual sexual relationships and experiences in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 138–150.
Cohen, P., Kasen, S., Chen, H., Hartmark, C., & Gordon, K. (2003). Variations in patterns of developmental transmissions in the emerging adulthood period. Developmental Psychology, 39, 657–669.
Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 58(4), 644–663.
Creasey, G. (2002). Associations between working models of attachment and conflict management behavior in romantic couples. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 49, 365–375.
Creasey, G., & Hesson-McInnis, M. (2001). Affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and conflict tactics in late adolescent romantic relationships: Associations with attachment orientations. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 48, 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.48.1.85.
European Group for Integrated Social Research. (2001). Misleading trajectories: Transition dilemmas of young adults in Europe. Journal of Youth Studies, 4(1), 101–118.
Feeney, J., & Fitzgerald, J. (2018). Attachment, conflict and relationship quality: Laboratory-based and clinical insights. Current opinion in psychology, 25(1), 127–131.
Fingerman, K. L., Cheng, Y. P., Tighe, L., Birditt, K. S., & Zarit, S. (2012). Parent-child relationships in young adulthood. In A. Booth, S. L. Brown, N. Landale, W. Manning & S. M. McHale (Eds), Early adulthood in a family context (pp. 59–86). New York, NY: Springer.
Fincham, F. D. & Cui, M. (Eds) (2010). Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Fonagy, P., & Target, M. (2005). Bridging the transmission gap: An end to an important mystery of attachment research? Attachment & Human Development, 7(3), 333–343.
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children’s perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1016–1024.
Furman, W., & Collibee, C. (2014). Sexual activity with romantic and nonromantic partners and psychosocial adjustment in young adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(7), 1327–1341.
Furman, W., & Winkles, J. K. (2012). Transformations in heterosexual romantic relationships across the transition into adulthood. In B. Laursen & W. A. Collins (Eds), Relationship pathways: From adolescence to young adulthood (pp. 191–213). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Grello, C. M., Welsh, D. P., & Harper, M. S. (2006). No strings attached: The nature of casual sex in college students. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 255–267.
Grob, A., Krings, F., & Bangerter, A. (2001). Life markers in biographical narratives of people from three cohorts: A life span perspective in its historical context. Human Development, 44(4), 171–190.
Harper, M. S., Dickson, J. W., & Welsh, D. P. (2006). Self-silencing and rejection sensitivity in adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 459–467.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.
Howe, M. L., & Lewis, M. D. (2005). The importance of dynamic systems approaches for understanding development. Developmental Review, 25(3–4), 247–251.
Jack, D. C. (1991). Silencing the self: Women and depression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Jordan, J. (2004). Toward competence and connection. In J. Jordan, M. Walker & L. M. Hartling (Eds), The complexity of connection (pp. 11–27). New York, NY: Guilford.
Kobak, R., Rosenthal, N. L., Zajac, K., & Madsen, S. D. (2007). Adolescent attachment hierarchies and the search for an adult pair-bond. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, (117), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.194.
Krueger, R. F., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2000). Epidemiological personology: The unifying role of personality in population-based research on problem behaviors. Journal of Personality, 68(6), 967–998.
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (1998). Applied social research methods, Vol. 47. Narrative research: Reading, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Lewis, M. D. (2011). Dynamic systems approaches: Cool enough? Hot enough? Child Development Perspectives, 5, 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00190.x.
Madsen, S. D., & Collins, W. A. (2011). The salience of adolescent romantic experiences for romantic relationship qualities in young adulthood. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 789–801.
Mayes, L. C. (2001). The twin poles of order and chaos: Development as a dynamic, self-ordering system. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 56, 137–170.
Masarik, A. S., Conger, R. D., Martin, M. J., Donnellan, M. B., Masyn, K. E., & Lorenz, F. O. (2013). Romantic relationships in early adulthood: Influences of family, personality, and relationship cognitions. Personal Relationships, 20(2), 356–373.
Mayseless, O., & Scharf, M. (2003). What does it mean to be an adult? The Israeli experience. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2003(100), 5–20.
Meier, A., & Allen, G. (2009). Romantic relationships from adolescence to young adulthood: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The Sociological Quarterly, 50, 308–335.
Orlofsky, J. L. (1993). Intimacy status: theory and research. In E. Marcia (Ed), Ego Identity: A Handbook for Psychological Research (pp. 111–133). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Owen, J., & Fincham, F. D. (2011). Young adults’ emotional reactions after hooking up encounters. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 321–330.
Raley, K., Crissey, S., & Muller, C. (2007). Of sex and romance: late adolescent relationships and young adult union formation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 1210–1226.
Rauer, A. J., Pettit, G. S., Lansford, J. E., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (2013). Romantic relationship patterns in young adulthood and their developmental antecedents. Developmental Psychology, 49, 2159–2171.
Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2006). Pre-engagement cohabitation and gender asymmetry in marital commitment. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(4), 553–560.
Rosenthal, G. (1993). Reconstruction of life stories: Principles of selection in generating stories for narrative biographical interviews. In R. Josselson & A. Lieblich (Eds), The narrative study of lives. The narrative study of lives (pp. 59–91). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Scharf, M., Mayseless, O., & Kivenson-Baron, I. (2004). Adolescents’ attachment representations and developmental tasks in emerging adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 40(3), 430–444.
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2003). Testing theories of romantic development from adolescence to young adulthood: Evidence of a developmental sequence. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 519–531.
Seiffge-Krenke, I., Overbeek, G., & Vermulst, A. (2010). Parent-child relationship trajectories during adolescence: Longitudinal associations with romantic outcomes in emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 159–171.
Seiffge-Krenke, I., & Burk, W. J. (2015). “Bad romance”: Links between psychological and physical aggression and relationship functioning in adolescent couples. Behavioral Sciences, 5(2), 305–323.
Settersten, R., & Ray, B. E. (2010). Not quite adults: Why 20-somethings are choosing a slower path to adulthood, and why it’s good for everyone. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Shulman, S., & Connolly, J. (2013). The challenge of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood: Reconceptualization of the field. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 27–39.
Shulman, S., Seiffge-Krenke, I., Scharf, M., Betzlel-Boiangiu, S., & Tregubenko, V. (2018). The diversity of romantic pathways during emerging adulthood and their developmental antecedents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(2), 167–174.
Shulman, S., Tuval-Mashiach, R., Levran, E., & Anbar, S. (2006). Conflict resolution patterns and longevity of adolescent romantic couples: A two-year follow-up study. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 575–588.
Shulman, S., Walsh, S. D., Weisman, O., & Schelyer, M. (2009). Romantic contexts, sexual behavior, and depressive symptoms among adolescent males and females. Sex Roles, 61, 850–863.
Simpson, J. A., Collins, W. A., SiSi, T., & HaydonK., C. (2007). Attachment and the experience and expression of emotions in romantic relationships: A developmental perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 355–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.2.355.
Simpson, J. A., & Rholes, W. S. (2017). Adult attachment, stress, and romantic relationships. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 19–24.
Stanley, S. M., Rhoades, G. K., & Markman, H. J. (2006). Sliding versus deciding: Inertia and the premarital cohabitation effect. Family Relations, 55(4), 499–509.
te Riele, K. (2004). Youth transition in Australia: Challenging assumptions of linearity and choice. Journal of Youth Studies, 7(3), 243–257.
Thelen, E. (1989). Self-organization in developmental processes: Can systems approaches work. In M. R. Gunnar & E. Thelen (Eds), Minnesota symposium on child psychology. Vol. 22. Systems and development. (pp. 77–118). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Thelen, E., & Smith, L. B. (1998). Dynamic systems theories. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1. Theoretical models of human development. 5th ed. (pp. 563–634). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Authors’ Contributions
S.S. conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis and led the drafting of the manuscript; I.S.K. participated in the design and interpretation of the data, performed the statistical analysis and helped to draft the manuscript; I.Z. participated in the design and coordination of the study, performed the measurements and helped to draft the manuscript. R.T.M. participated in the design of the study and contributed significantly to the qualitative analyses. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This study was supported by the Israeli Ministry of Health - Grant # 6412/12 given to Shmuel Shulman and The Ben Dov Chair in Youth Psychology given to Shmuel Shulman.
Data Sharing and Declaration
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This study was approved by the Bar Ilan University Institutional Review Board. The authors report compliance with ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Adolescents were examined only after own and parents’ consent was received. At age 23 participants’ written consent was received.
Additional information
Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shulman, S., Seiffge-Krenke, I., Ziv, I. et al. Patterns of Romantic Pathways among 23 Year Olds and their Adolescent Antecedents. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1390–1402 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0951-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0951-1
Keywords
- Romantic pathways
- Adolescence
- Emerging adults
- Romantic relationships
- Longitudinal study
- Developmental Systems Theory