ERIC Number: EJ879186
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0165-0254
EISSN: N/A
Romantic Relationships in Intra-Ethnic and Inter-Ethnic Adolescent Couples in Germany: The Role of Attachment to Parents, Self-Esteem, and Conflict Resolution Skills
Bucx, Freek; Seiffge-Krenke, Inge
International Journal of Behavioral Development, v34 n2 p128-135 2010
We investigated romantic relationships in a sample of 380 adolescents who formed 190 heterosexual couples (mean age: females 17 years; males 18 years): 173 intra-ethnic (German) couples and 17 inter-ethnic couples. Factor analyses revealed two types of love experiences: (a) experiences of attraction and a passionate focus on the partner (passionate love) and (b) experiences of affiliation (companionate love). No differences were found between intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic couples in romantic experiences, self-esteem, and conflict resolution skills. Adolescents in intra-ethnic couples had more close relations with parents than adolescents in inter-ethnic couples. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) showed that companionate love was indirectly predicted by the quality of attachment towards parents; this relationship was mediated by self-esteem and conflict resolution skills. Whereas the quality of girlfriends' attachment to the father (not to the mother) predicted conflict resolution skills in romantic relationships, boyfriends' conflict resolution skills were predicted by the quality of attachment to the mother (not to the father). Furthermore, cross-partner effects were observed: girlfriends' experiences of companionate love were not only predicted by attachment to their own mother, but also by the relation between their boyfriend and his mother. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Mothers, Conflict, Intimacy, Adolescents, Foreign Countries, Conflict Resolution, Fathers, Factor Analysis, Self Esteem, Attachment Behavior, Parent Child Relationship, Prediction, Intergroup Relations, Ethnicity, Dating (Social)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A