| In two related investigations, data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were utilized to explore the links between adolescents' socialization experiences with parents and peers, and later romantic outcomes in young adulthood. Study 1 (n = 2,530) explored the simultaneous contributions of relationships with mothers, fathers (i.e., satisfaction, warmth/closeness, communication satisfaction), and best friends (i.e., disclosure, involvement) to young adult romantic relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, closeness, love, commitment). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that only quality of relationships with mothers was related to romantic relationship quality in young adulthood. However, tests for moderation by sex of adolescent and stage of adolescence (early versus late) showed that mother-son and father-daughter relationships, as well as relationships with fathers in early adolescence, were positively related to romantic relationship quality in young adulthood.;In Study 2 (n = 8,120), a risk and resiliency model was posited to test the links between both positive (i.e., social acceptance, integration, closeness) and negative (i.e., tobacco, alcohol, drug use) peer group socialization in adolescence and risk for dating violence in young adulthood. SEM analyses indicated that positive peer experiences were associated with decreased risk, and negative peer experiences were associated with increased risk for violence in young adults' romantic relationships. Tests for moderation by sex of adolescent demonstrated that negative peer socialization was significant for both sexes, but positive socialization experiences were related to decreased risk for dating violence for males only.;Overall, the two studies find that parents and peers continue to have an impact on romantic relationships in adulthood. This underscores the importance of examining multiple socialization forces and protective aspects of close relationships in adolescence to better understand how to facilitate healthy romantic relationships in adulthood. |
