Chapter 14A - Romantic Relationships Flashcards
3 STAGES of DEVELOPMENT of ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
3 stages have been identified in the formation of ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS in ADOLESCENCE:
1) In EARLY ADOLESCENCE, individuals explore their first romantic attractions - they are fuelled by the onset of puberty, and when dating occurs, it usually takes place in a group setting.
2) In MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE, individuals experience their first romantic relationships.
3) In LATE ADOLESCENCE dyadic relationships consolidate and are based on strong emotional bonds, resembling those of adult romantic relationships.
EARLY ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS, ATTACHMENT and SEXUAL NEEDS
In their early romantic relationships, adolescents are not motivated to fulfill attachment or even sexual needs. Rather, early romantic relationships serve as a context for adolescents to explore how attractive they are, how to interact romantically, and how all of these aspects look to the peer group. Only after adolescents acquire some basic competencies in interacting with romantic partners does the fulfillment of ATTACHMENT and SEXUAL NEEDS become a central function of these relationships.
EARLY ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS and ADJUSTMENT
In adolescence, more romantic experiences were related to higher levels of social acceptance, friendship competence, and romantic competence, but also to higher levels of substance use, delinquency, and sexual behavior.
This mixed picture suggests that contingent circumstances - such as SES - greatly influence how romantic experience and adjustment interact.
Influences of EARLY ATTACHMENT STYLE on ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP
The ATTACHMENT STYLES we develop as infants have been reliably shown to direct how we develop relationships as adults - furthermore adolescents’ relationships with their parents influence their dating and romantic relationships.
This correlation could be explained by several similarities that infant-caregiver attachment and romantic attachment share, which include:
- a sense of SAFETY provided by the other;
- close, intimate BODILY CONTACT;
- INSECURITY when the other is unavailable;
- high RESPONSIVENESS;
- a mutual PREOCCUPATION with one another;
- engagement in BABY TALK.
The 4 ATTACHMENT STYLES identified by AINSWORTH differently influence adult romantic relationships:
1) SECURE ATTACHMENT predicts emotional maturity which results in meaningful, empathetic romantic relationships;
2) AVOIDANT ATTACHMENT predicts poor emotional connection, intolerance and rigidness in romantic relationships;
3) RESISTANT ATTACHMENT predicts anxiety and insecurity in romantic relationships, which can lead to manipulative or controlling behaviour;
4) DISORGANISED ATTACHMENT predicts poor emotional maturity, in a vicious cycle, can lead to insensitive or even abusive behaviour, in a vicious cycle.
ASSESSMENT of ADULT ATTACHMENT
Several methods are used to assess ADULT ATTACHMENT, but QUESTIONNAIRES, SELF-REPORTS and INTERVIEWS are the most common ones.
1) The ADULT ATTACHMENT INTERVIEW is a semi-structured interview in which individuals are asked questions about relationships. It is a NARRATIVE approach for one of the dimensions it assesses is COHERENCE of speech - it has been found that individuals with DISORGANISED ATTACHMENT style are often incoherent in the way they describe their relationships.
In adults, the 4 ATTACHMENT STYLES identified by AINSWORTH can be assessed by scoring questionnaire or interviews on two dimensions, namely PROXIMITY SEEKING and ANXIETY off ABANDONMENT.
2) The EXPERIENCE in CLOSE RELATIONSHIP SCALE consists of several items measuring two dimensions, ANXIETY and AVOIDANCE - it is not based on Ainsworth’s classification.
Attachment styles in adults are not inherently fixed, but rather they depend on the specific partner one attaches to - in a research study on the stability of attachment in adult relationships, more than 50% of participants had experienced all 3 major attachment styles at some point.
