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Abstract
Concurrent and longitudinal relations between the amount of romantic experience and psychosocial adjustment were examined in a 1-year study of a community based sample of 200 tenth graders. Adolescents, parents, and friends completed measures of psychosocial adjustment. The amount of romantic experience was associated with higher reports of social acceptance, friendship competence, and romantic competence; at the same time, romantic experience also was associated with greater substance use, more delinquent behavior, and more frequent genital sexual behavior. The amount of romantic experience predicted increased substance use and genital sexual behavior over a 1-year period, whereas social acceptance predicted increased romantic experience. These relations with romantic experience were significant even when genital sexual behavior and social acceptance were taken into account, underscoring the unique contribution of romantic experiences.
Preparation of this article was supported by Grant 50106 from the National Institute of Mental Health (W. Furman, P.I.) and Grant HD049080 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (W. Furman, P.I.). Appreciation is expressed to the Project Star staff for their contribution to the data collection and to Candice Feiring, Brett Laursen, Jessica Winkles, Meredith Jones, Christine McDunn, Pallavi Visvanathan, Hana Vujeva, Brennan Young, and the Adolescent Reading Group for their suggestions regarding the article. Thanks also go to the adolescents, families, and schools who are participating in Project STAR.