The intergenerational transmission of relationship instability: A focus on emerging adult on‐off relationships

Abstract

This study extends prior research on the intergenerational transmission of relationship instability by examining parents' history of on‐off relationships as a predictor of emerging adults' own cycling (i.e., breaking up and renewing with the same romantic partner). Data were collected at a large mid‐western university from 702 emerging adults (18–25 years old). Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood that participants had cycled in a past or current relationship. Results show that parental cycling increased the likelihood of offspring cycling in a past or current relationship relative to never cycling, and greater uncertainty about the future of the relationship was a mechanism through which such transmission occurred. Findings from this study demonstrate that parental relationship instability can even be consequential for the transient relationships within emerging adulthood, making family history a productive area to explore for practitioners working with cyclical partners and/or emerging adults.

Quality and Quantity of Grandparent Contact: Associations with Late Adolescents’ Psychological Adjustment

“…Further work examining how the PGF relationship quality may influence adolescents' perceived competence in romantic relationships is needed. Some research suggests that parental difficulties in romantic relationship are transmitted to their offspring in their adolescence and young adulthood, with suggestions that these youth do not have good models of how to have a supportive romantic relationship (e.g., Charvat et al, 2022). It may that the transmission of these working models of what a positive romantic relationship looks like and the development of skills that enhance competence in this domain also are transmitted from the grandparent generation, both directly through their interactions with the grandparent generation, but also indirectly through the parent generation.…”