The present prospective, longitudinal study of 193 young adults (85 men, 108 women, M = 20.7 years old) and their partners in ongoing romantic relationships in 1997 was initiated in 1989, when the 193 target youths were in the 7th grade. On the basis of the model for the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR; C. Bryant & R. D. Conger, in press), the authors hypothesized that interactional processes in the family of origin would predict interpersonal skills by the target youths, which would be positively related to the early adult couple's relationship quality. Observational ratings showed that nurturant-involved parenting in the family of origin predicted behaviors by the target youth to a romantic partner that were warm, supportive, and low in hostility. These competent behaviors of the target youth were positively associated with relationship quality for the early adult couple and also mediated or explained the connection between parenting and relationship quality.

Little attention has been paid to whether violence in adolescent romantic relationships is associated with relationship violence later in young adulthood. This study examined the continuation of intimate partner violence (IPV) from adolescence to young adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, results from negative binomial models and propensity score models showed that being victimized by relationship partners in adolescence was significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization in romantic relationships in young adulthood. Women reported higher levels of perpetration and lower levels of victimization than men did. Those who were living together (married or cohabiting) reported higher levels of victimization and perpetration than those who were dating. Further, such associations existed beyond the effects of parent–child violence and general aggression tendencies, suggesting the continuation of relationship-specific violence. Finally, these patterns persisted after controlling for participants’ age, race and ethnicity, parental education, and family structure.

The present study examines reciprocal associations between marital functioning and adolescent maladjustment using cross-lagged autoregressive models. The research involved 451 early adolescents and their families and used a prospective, longitudinal research design with multi-informant methods. Results indicate that parental conflicts over child rearing predicted adolescent depressive symptoms and delinquency. In turn, these adolescent problems exacerbated parental conflicts over child rearing. Furthermore, conflict over child rearing served as the nexus through which more generalized marital dissatisfaction and adolescent adjustment problems were reciprocally interrelated. This research replicates earlier observations that marital problems intensify adolescent maladjustment and extends the literature by demonstrating that adolescent problems also predict marital conflict and ultimately marital dissatisfaction. In sum, the present study demonstrates that marital dissatisfaction, conflict over child rearing, and early adolescent adjustment difficulties are interwoven in a dynamic family system marked by reciprocity along these dimensions.

Prevention of intimate partner violence on college campuses includes programs designed to change attitudes, and hence, a scale that assesses such attitudes is needed. Study 1 (N = 859) cross validates the factor structure of the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised using exploratory factor analysis and presents initial validity data on the scale. In Study 2 (N = 687), the obtained three-factor structure (Abuse, Control, Violence) is tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and it is shown to be concurrently related to assault in romantic relationships and to predict psychological aggression 14 weeks later. The findings are discussed in the context of how understanding and modifying attitudes assessed by the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised may improve interventions aimed at reducing intimate partner violence.

Objectives Although evidence suggests that physical disability and depression may be reciprocally related, questions of causality versus spuriousness and the direction of causality remain to be confidently answered. This study considered the hypothesis of reciprocal influence; the possibility of spuriousness in relation to pain, stress, and lifetime major depression; and the possible mediating effects of pain and social stress. Methods We analyzed data from a two-wave panel study of Miami-Dade County residents (n = 1,455) that included a substantial oversampling of individuals reporting a physical disability. Results Results indicated that, although prior levels of physical limitations predicted changes in depressive symptoms, there was no evidence of the reverse association. Results also indicated that part of the association between prior physical limitations and changes in depressive symptoms was explained by intervening level of pain and, to a lesser extent, by the day-to-day experience of discrimination. Discussion Much of whatever causation may be involved in the linkage between physical limitations and depressive symptomatology flows from limitations to depression rather than in the reverse direction. Results also make clear that this linkage is not an artifact of shared associations with pain, social stress, or lifetime major depression.