Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Implications for Community Mental Health

TLDR

Romantic relationships begin in early adolescence and mature into dyadic partnerships, shaping relational development and predicting adult intimacy quality. This paper summarizes current research on romantic relationship development, examining normative stages in mainstream youth and atypical patterns in troubled youth. The review considers peer and family influences and ethnocultural variation across these developmental stages. The paper concludes with policy implications for community mental health.

Abstract

Romantic relationships emerge in the early adolescent years and mature over the course of adolescence from initial cross-gender affiliations to dyadic partnerships. Adolescents’ romantic relationships are important because they contribute to relational development and foretell the quality of intimate relationships in adulthood. This paper summarizes current research findings on the development of romantic relationships, focusing first on the normative stages of mainstream youth and subsequently on atypical patterns of troubled youth. Peer and family influences on romantic development are considered as well as ethnocultural variation. The paper concludes with several policy implications for community mental health.