Title

Making Movies Instead of Taking Snapshots: Studying Change in Youth's Romantic Relationships

Publication Date

9-2019

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Romantic relationships, Romantic experiences, Dating

Abstract

Change is a ubiquitous aspect of adolescents' and young adults' romantic relationships, yet most research has not fully captured such change. Many studies examine romantic relationships at only one or two points in time. In this article, we illustrate the importance and benefits of examining change in adolescents' and young adults' romantic relationships using more than two time points. We discuss four kinds of changes: changes with age, within‐relationship changes, within‐person changes, and changes after specific events occur. We use examples from our research to illustrate various understudied types of change. We discuss how the analysis of many types of change requires more than two data points. Multiple time points can also be used to assess both the short‐ and long‐term effects of romantic relationships and to examine changes in trajectories. Such research can move us beyond static snapshots of romantic relationships to an understanding of their dynamic, changing nature.

Publication Statement

Copyright held by author or publisher. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Link to Full Text

Find in Compass


COinS