“Part of Me Still Expects a White Knight”: Expectations and Experiences of Single Emerging Adults’ Romantic Development

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Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Sela Adegbile
Sela Adegbile

Sela Adegbile is a senior at Wesleyan University double majoring in Psychology and African American Studies with a minor in Education studies. She grew up in New York City. She joined the Romantic Relationships lab in Fall of 2021 after being enrolled in Professor Watkins Family Transitions course, where her interest in relationship formations and singlehood was sparked. At Wesleyan, she also works as a senior interviewer, a cashier at Weshop, and runs the student group WesBuds.

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Abstract: While singlehood is a choice for some, others may be single due to a reliance on learned social scripts that set unrealistic expectations. Using a sample of 72 college students (Mage=19.98), this study aimed to explore how romantic relationship experiences of single emerging adults mis/aligned with their expectations by asking the following question: “Have your experiences with romantic relationships so far matched with your expectations for relationships? How so?” Five themes were found: 1)Idealistic expectations 2) Expectations developed overtime from observing external models 3) Experiences have not met expectations 4) Expectations and experiences have aligned 5) Expect specific characteristics of their relationship. In realizing where romantic relationship expectations are derived, one can better understand why some single emerging adults are (dis)satisfied with their romantic relationship outcomes.

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