Live Poster Session: Zoom Link
Abstract: Romantic development is understood to be a critical aspect of emerging adulthood (Furman & Collibee, 2014). Previous research that has identified romantic relationship typologies has found it to be associated with well-being (Beckmeyer & Jameson, 2020; Manlove et al., 2014; Robeson et al., 2017). However, these studies have only considered individuals who were in romantic relationships at the time of the study. Therefore, the present study aimed to create relationship attitude typologies of emerging adults regardless of their relationship status, and explored associations with well-being. Data were drawn from 309 U.S. undergraduates (Mage = 19.27, SD = 1.67). Latent profile analysis was conducted to create classes of emerging adults based on their relationship attitudes; including measures of relationship status satisfaction, relationship importance, attachment style, and romantic beliefs. Four typologies were identified. ANOVAs were then used to determine mean differences in well-being across the four typologies. Significant differences in love life satisfaction and hope for the future were found. These findings highlight the importance of adopting a more nuanced approach to research on emerging adult romantic relationships, as we cannot consider relationship status alone in understanding an individual’s well-being; we must also look at a person’s own perceptions of their relationship status to understand its effects on their well-being.
DAmico-Poster-Final