Relationship form and function: Exploring meaning‐making in young adults' romantic histories

Abstract

Forming stable, supportive romantic relationships is an important determinant of well‐being for adults. Yet, there has been limited research about if and how prior romantic experiences help individuals develop the capacity to enter into such unions. Using grounded theory methods, relationship history interviews were conducted with 35 young adults who provided data about 256 romantic and sexual relationships. The different relationship forms (e.g., hooking up, casual dating, committed partnering) were found to contribute in nuanced ways to romantic development. Specifically, romantic development was characterized by gaining romantic experience, identifying preferences for partners and partnership, and learning to maintain healthy relational boundaries through a variety of romantic and sexual relationships. These findings contribute to existing knowledge by highlighting the meaning‐making processes that promote development through tangible experiences and self‐discovery.

Sex and Relationships Pre- and Early- COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from a Probability Sample of U.S. Undergraduate Students

“…College students who did not have romantic or sexual partners as the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding may have also experienced unwanted changes to their romantic and sexual lives. For example, college is often seen as an important time for romantic and sexual exploration (Arnett, 2015 ; Jamison & Sanner, 2021 ). As campus was closed and many students moved back to their hometowns, single students may have lost opportunities to meet potential romantic and sexual partners and engage in romantic activities like dating.…”

“Thank u, next”? Repartnering and the household division of labor

“…There are several limitations to this study. First, the current analysis is limited to housework behavior and cannot address how people's perceptions of fairness or expectations from their new partners have changed upon repartnering (Jamison & Sanner, 2021; Pyke & Coltrane, 1996). Moreover, this study cannot address to what extent dissatisfaction from housework was a major issue to those who repartnered.…”

Intimate inequalities: Millennials' romantic relationships in contemporary timesCristenDalessandro. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2021. ISBN 978‐1978823891

“…It is easy to leave Chapters 2 and 3 feeling that straight-cisgender men are primarily invested in their own growth and desires even at the expense of female partners. However, my own scholarship suggests that this may not always be the case (e.g., Jamison & Sanner, 2021). In a qualitative study I conducted about young adults' relationship histories, I found that straight, cis-gender men discussed their growth and development through their relationships with women.…”

“…Something that resounds throughout this book is the tension between the freedom of choice and the complexities of navigating those choices. As social norms for forming relationships have become more flexible (Olmstead, 2020) and new policies have paved the way for same‐sex partners to marry (Ogolsky et al, 2019), individuals have been tasked with creating a romantic life that suits their individual needs and desires (Jamison & Sanner, 2021). Although the freedom to make these choices is valuable, it is evident from Dalessandro's stories that individuals continue to struggle with the complexity of these choices, especially as they relate to race, class, and gender.…”