"Early adolescents and "going out

The emergence of romantic relationship roles

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2918488
AutoresF Scott Christopher (Arizona State University, autor de correspondencia), Franklin O Poulsen (Arizona State University), Sarah J Mckenney (Arizona State University)
Año2016
Volumen33
Número6
Páginas814-834
Fecha de publicación2016-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407515599676
OpenAlexW1617078107
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas29

Although it is clear that early adolescents pursue and establish romantic relationships, less is known about the hallmarks of these pairings, even though they are linked to current and future close relationships. Based on adolescent identity formation and identity theory, we used theoretical concepts of roles, role expectations, and role enactments to inform our study. We conducted a series of same-sex and same-age focus groups with sixth and eighth graders and analyzed their responses using a grounded theory approach. We found that early adolescent romantic role enactments could be aggregated into two broad types of experiences. On the one hand, some youth were uncomfortable with interacting with a romantic partner. They often relied on texting as opposed to face-to-face interactions with partners. On the other hand, other early adolescents were more at ease engaging in romantic roles. They spent time interacting with their partners, shared personal information with each other, were physically affectionate, and created boundaries that defined their romantic relationships as different from other close relationships. The findings support our assertion that when early adolescents enact the new role of "romantic partner," and develop a personal set of role expectations for this role, it requires learning, direct experience, and maturation before they can successfully engage in this role

Assertion · Developmental psychology · Face (sociological concept · Identity (music · Romance · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology