Friendships, Romantic Relationships, and Peer Relationships

Abstract

This chapter reviews the current state of the literature on children and adolescents' dyadic peer relationships. Particular emphasis is placed on children and adolescents' same‐sex friendships and romantic relationships, but research on other‐sex friendships, antipathies, passionate friendships, and sexual relationships are covered as well. The chapter uses a unified relational perspective, which has four key points. First, friendships and romantic relationships need to be studied as relationships. They are dyadic phenomena with a history. Second, children and adolescents' friendships, romantic relationships, and other peer relationships all share common features. They have been studied as separate phenomena and typically by different investigators, but the field would benefit by simultaneously considering all of these types of relationships. Third, any particular relationship is embedded in a network of dyadic relationships. Finally, dyadic peer relationships cannot be understood without incorporating the contexts in which they occur, such as the general peer group, family, and culture. Using this unified relational perspective, the chapter reviews research on the development of dyadic relationships, the role of the self and partner and gender. The chapter then discusses the associations with family relationships, the peer group, media, and the cultural context in which they are embedded. The links between relationships and adjustment are also covered. The chapter also outlines a number of definitional, conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues that need to be addressed in future research, and identifies a number of understudied topics. It concludes by discussing the merits of the unified relational perspective.

Evaluating the Psychological Concomitants of Other-Sex Crush Experiences During Early Adolescence

“…Although the current findings do not decisively support one theoretical framework and longer longitudinal examinations are needed that span the different sub-periods of adolescence, we contend that the findings in this investigation are most consistent with developmental task theories of adjustment (e.g., Roisman et al, 2009; Furman & Collibee, 2015). Indeed, there do appear to be some psychological adjustment difficulties associated with other-sex crush experiences, despite such experiences becoming increasingly common.…”

“…Our results confirmed that other-sex crush experiences are developmentally significant, above and beyond the effects of mutual friendship involvement, although the findings also suggested that ways in which such experiences impact psychological adjustment depend on the type of other-sex crush experience (having versus being an other-sex crush) as well as variability in anxious-withdrawal. This study helps to better situate the newly studied construct of adolescent crushes within the emerging romantic experiences literature, and will perhaps lead to additional research that reveals a more nuanced understanding of different types and features of adolescent romantic experiences and when, in terms of development, they have the greatest significance and impact (Compian, Gowen, & Hayward, 2004; Furman & Rose, 2015; van Dulmen, Goncy, Haydon, & Collins, 2008). Of course, it is important to remember that just because other-sex crushes, or engagement with other emerging tasks, may be associated with periods of maladjustment, these periods of maladjustment do not necessarily lead to irreparable negative outcomes across the lifespan (Furman & Collibee, 2014).…”

“…After neglect for many years, romantic experiences during adolescence are now receiving considerable theoretical and empirical attention (Collins, 2003; Furman & Rose, 2015). From recent research, it is becoming clear that romantic involvement and the quality of romantic relationships during middle and late adolescence help to explain variability in several psychosocial adjustment outcomes, including depressive symptoms, externalizing problems, and substance use (e.g., Beckmeyer, 2015; Collibee & Furman, 2015; Ha, Dishion, Overbeek, Burk, & Engels, 2014).…”

The development of adolescents’ friendships and antipathies: A longitudinal multivariate network test of balance theory

“…Peer relationships constitute an important context for the social and emotional development of adolescents (for a review, see Furman and Rose, 2015). Research on peer relationships has increased exponentially over the past two decades, providing much insight into how relationships among children and adolescents develop over time (for a review, see Brechwald and Prinstein, 2011).…”

Friendship and Romantic Relationships During Early and Middle Childhood

“…However, there is a type of relationship that has been rarely addressed in pre-pubertal youth: children's "romance" (see Furman & Rose, 2015, for a discussion about this relationship in adolescence). An obvious reason for this neglect is the common idea that young children, being sexually immature, cannot have real love emotions and, a fortiori, they cannot form relationships based on an emotion they do not feel.…”