In China, parents, teachers, and society generally oppose adolescent romance, believing it impedes youth from academic success. However, research that investigates factors influencing one's involvement in adolescent romance is scarce, especially among rural Chinese youth. Drawing upon 1,262 youth and their mothers in rural Gansu province, China,…

Changes in best friendship quality during adolescence coincide with the emergence of romantic relationships. This study aimed to examine the extent to which changes in friendship quality (intimacy, conflict, emotional support) between the ages of 16 and 22 varied according to four romantic involvement patterns (Late, Sporadic, Long-Term, Frequent)…

Within the fields of socialization and moral development, the relationship of parenting to adolescents' sense of morality and self has been understudied. This study investigated the relationships between perceived parental disciplinary techniques and moral identity among early and middle adolescents. Participants included 93 (54% female) 5th, 8th…

Adolescence is a time of dramatic changes including rapid physical growth, the onset of sexual maturation, the activation of new drives and motivations, and a wide array of social and affective changes and challenges. This review focuses on behavioral changes in this interval and is organized by the claim that a key set of these adolescent changes…

Previous research has consistently documented the importance of VIPs (mentors or important non-parental adults) in the lives of adolescents. Little is known, however, about whether VIPs play the same important roles across ethnic groups and whether VIPs remain influential when adolescents are older and involved in romantic relationships. The…

Objective: This study investigated the association between hostility and health and whether it is moderated by the quality of an individual's primary romantic relationship. Method: Longitudinal data were provided by 184 African Americans, including 166 women. Participants averaged 38 years old and were married or in long-term marriagelike…

Fifty-three college-aged same- and mixed-sex romantic couples (83% White, 63% female, mean age, 20.8) engaged in a video recall task in which they rated their own and their partners' behaviors and emotions. Females reported feeling more connected to partners and reported fewer negative behaviors than males. Females with male partners reported the…

The purpose of this study was to examine how partner psychological maltreatment is associated with depression, daily interpersonal experiences, and affect. Participants were 67 late adolescents (17- to 22-years-old). Each participant completed a survey followed by reporting affect, and interpersonal hassles and uplifts for seven consecutive days.…

Observed 9- to 14-year-old physically abused and nonabused children engaged in tasks with a close friend. Found that dyads with an abused child displayed less intimacy and more conflict than dyads with nonabused children. Compared to other dyads, those with abused boys displayed more negative affect during games, and those with abused girls…

Synchrony, a construct used across multiple fields to denote the temporal relationship between events, is applied to the study of parent-infant interactions and suggested as a model for intersubjectivity. Three types of timed relationships between the parent and child's affective behavior are assessed: concurrent, sequential, and organized in an…

Observed adolescents' interaction with a same-gender friend in grades 9, 10, and 11. Found evidence of developmental changes for both boys and girls: intimacy based on discussion and self-disclosure increased between grades 9 and 10, and capacity for sustained intimate affect increased between grades 10 and 11. Boys were more likely than girls to…

Assimilation theorists have long viewed inter-group romantic partnerships as indicators of racial equality. Although the past half-century has witnessed the erosion of anti-miscegenation laws and subsequent increases in the frequency of interracial marriages, these unions remain relatively infrequent. Low intermarriage rates may be partially…

Notes that, although a great deal is known about affective relations between mothers and young children and affective expression in marital dyads, relatively little is known about emotional development during adolescence. Briefly discusses the studies presented in this issue that represent an integration of work currently being conducted on affect…

Provides an overview of research on emotional expression and emotional experience during adolescence, defined as the period between the ages of 10 and 21 years. Reviews methodological issues related to this research, and reviews research in the two major content areas of biological influences on emotional expression and experience, and emotion in…