The diversity of romantic pathways during emerging adulthood and their developmental antecedents
The present study examined patterns of romantic pathways in 100 Israeli emerging adults (54 males) who were followed from age 22 to 29 years. Analyses of interviews at age 29 yielded four distinctive romantic pathways differing in stability and ability to learn from romantic experiences: Sporadic, Lengthy Relationships but Absence of Experiential Learning, Moving from Casual to Steady Involvements, and Steady Relationships. Low efficacy, immature dependency, and level of maternal support measured 7 years earlier, predicted less optimal romantic pathways; Sporadic, and Lengthy relationships but absence of experiential learning. Distinctive gender pathways suggested that men are more likely …
Adolescent Depressive Symptoms and Breakup Distress During Early Emerging Adulthood
Breakups are a normative and frequent part of the romantic experience. In this longitudinal study, we followed 144 adolescents (mean age = 16.57) for a period of 4 years and examined the extent to which level of depressive symptoms predicts the intensity of breakup distress during emerging adulthood and, further, the extent to which breakup distress reported during emerging adulthood is associated with the quality of a current romantic relationship. The findings suggest that higher levels of depressive symptoms during adolescence can lead to more difficulty in recovering from breakup in early emerging adulthood. In addition, experiencing greater breakup distress during emerging adulthood w…