Quality romantic relationships: Who can enjoy that

Washington DC: A new study suggests that high-quality romantic relationships are associated with fewer psycho-social difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood.

The authors were interested in learning that when in youth's development the quality of a romantic relationship begins to be protective.

In the study, 100 male and 100 female tenth graders from predominantly middle- to upper-middle class neighborhoods and a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds completed questionnaires for nine years.

The researchers examined how support in the romantic relationship (e.g., being available for the other when needed, providing companionship, encouraging the other), conflict, and individuals' perceived satisfaction with the relationship were related to those indices of psycho-social adjustment.

They also looked at how the ties between qualities of romantic relationships and youth's psycho-social adjustment changed as the youth grew into young adults.

Charlene Collibee of the University of Denver said they found that relationships that were more supportive and satisfying, and those that had fewer negative interactions were associated with better psycho-social adjustment, above and beyond the effects of simply being in a relationship.

Collibee concluded it was not just having a romantic relationship that's linked to psycho-social functioning, but the nature of that relationship.

The study has been published in the journal Child Development.