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Behavioral Sciences
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Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships
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Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 10156

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Emanuela Confalonieri

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy
Interests: body identity; affectivity and sexuality in adolescents; parenting styles; school well-being
Dr. Gaia Cuccì

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milano, Italy
Interests: adolescents; romantic relationships; romantic competence; dating violence, sexting; parenting style; youth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Romantic relationships are a hallmark of adolescence and young adulthood. Research widely showed associations between high-quality romantic relationships and multiple aspects of individual development and well-being, such as: construction of personal identity, higher self-esteem and self-confidence, improvements in interpersonal relationships and development of sexuality. In order to build healthy and high-quality romantic relationships, the literature has highlighted the importance of being romantically competent. This makes subjects able to face adaptively the challenges connected to the romantic experience, improving adjustment skills.

Besides these functional aspects, romantic relationships may be characterized by dysfunctional experiences and risks.

Risk within romantic relationships may take the shape of behaviors (e.g., dating violence, cyber-aggression, risky sexual behaviors, pressured sexting, etc.) and outcomes that may be the direct consequences of these behaviors or aspects related to the dating experience (e.g., internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety).

Within this framework, it is important to consider the influence that social networks may have for relationships’ development and maintenance as a context within which risk behaviors are likely to occur rather than the direct cause of these aspects of risk.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect recent studies carried out with samples of adolescents and young adults that, going beyond epidemiological and descriptive aspects, will allow for a more in-depth exploration and understanding of causes, risk factors and protective factors that may influence or determine the occurrence of certain risky situations, as well as moderate or contain the likelihood that these risky situations may take place. In addition, this Special Issue has the purpose of presenting programs or projects designed to work on the risk behaviors associated with romantic relationships in terms of both prevention and intervention.

Prof. Dr. Emanuela Confalonieri
Dr. Gaia Cuccì
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 588 KiB  
Article
Implications of Self-Other Overlap for Cyber Dating Abuse in Young Adult Romantic Partners
by Miriam Parise, Silvia Donato and Ariela Francesca Pagani
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14111037 - 4 Nov 2024
Viewed by 936
Abstract
Social network sites (SNSs) have brought about profound changes in the way people relate to others, including their romantic partners. Despite the advantages SNSs may have for building and managing romantic relationships, their use can be linked to risky behaviors within romantic relationships, [...] Read more.
Social network sites (SNSs) have brought about profound changes in the way people relate to others, including their romantic partners. Despite the advantages SNSs may have for building and managing romantic relationships, their use can be linked to risky behaviors within romantic relationships, such as the emergence of jealousy, control, and intrusiveness, i.e., cyber dating abuse (CDA) behaviors. The present study, in a sample of 315 Italian young adults involved in a romantic relationship (74.6 percent women and 25.4 percent men) aged 20 to 33 years (M = 24.17; SD = 2.60), explored CDA behaviors and their association with self-other overlap. Findings showed a positive association between self-other overlap and the frequency of CDA behaviors. That is, those who struggled to recognize their partners as different from themselves tended to control and enact intrusive behaviors toward them. This association, however, was moderated by the partners’ relationship duration, so that it was only significant for partners in a long-term relationship. The study expands our understanding of CDA behaviors in romantic relationships, contributing to identifying the conditions under which they are more likely to be perpetrated. In addition, it helps inform interventions for preventing risky behaviors within young adults’ romantic relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships)
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12 pages, 902 KiB  
Article
Conflict and Intimacy in Emerging Adults’ Romantic Relationships and Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Identity and Couple Satisfaction
by Federica Graziano, Sofia Mastrokoukou, Elena Cattelino, Luca Rollè and Emanuela Calandri
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 977; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14110977 - 22 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2874
Abstract
Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood may be associated with depression, but the role of possible mediators of this relationship remains to be explored. The present study tested a serial mediation model where intimacy and conflict in romantic relationships were predictors of depressive symptoms [...] Read more.
Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood may be associated with depression, but the role of possible mediators of this relationship remains to be explored. The present study tested a serial mediation model where intimacy and conflict in romantic relationships were predictors of depressive symptoms through the mediation of couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. The study was conducted on a sample of 268 Italian emerging adults, 60% female (Mage = 19, ds = 1.4), all involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. The results showed that the association between intimacy and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. A single mediation pathway through identity satisfaction alone also emerged. The association between conflict and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. These findings suggest the importance of helping emerging adults develop appropriate skills in managing conflict and intimacy in romantic relationships as useful resources for identity satisfaction and depression prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships)
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13 pages, 566 KiB  
Article
Dating Violence and the Quality of Relationships through Adolescence: A Longitudinal Latent Class Study
by Carmen Viejo, Rosario Ortega-Ruiz and María Sánchez-Zafra
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100948 - 15 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1372
Abstract
Dating violence can manifest itself in different ways, with important consequences for both members of the couple. Due to the normalization of certain behaviour and the perceived quality of the relationship, it may be difficult to identify this violent dynamic in its early [...] Read more.
Dating violence can manifest itself in different ways, with important consequences for both members of the couple. Due to the normalization of certain behaviour and the perceived quality of the relationship, it may be difficult to identify this violent dynamic in its early stages, allowing it to escalate and lead to severe levels of violent behaviour. This study aims to analyse violent profiles using latent class analysis (LCA) and explore the role of relationship quality variables as risk factors for those profiles. A two-stage longitudinal design was used with a sample of 2849 Spanish adolescents between 12 and 18 years old. The LCA produced five different groups: those not involved in violence; those involved in mild forms of violence (with two sub-groups: those involved in psychological–sexual violence and in psychological–physical violence); and those involved in the most severe forms of violence, with a co-occurrence of psychological–physical–sexual violence (with two sub-groups, according to the higher of lower frequency of involvement). Despite the differences between boys and girls, negative-quality variables played a more important role in dating violence. Discussion of the results focuses on both the complex nature of the violence and the multi-probabilistic view of its development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships)
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12 pages, 503 KiB  
Article
Gender Role Mindset and Beliefs about Own Personal Goals as a Guide for Young People’s Behaviors towards the Romantic Partner
by Gaia Cuccì, Camilla Chiara Colombo and Emanuela Confalonieri
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 818; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090818 - 14 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1274
Abstract
Dating violence (DV) is a form of intentional abuse carried out in young couples, which over the years has increasingly gained attention for its pervasiveness and high frequency. The present study represents an effort to expand and deepen the literature on factors associated [...] Read more.
Dating violence (DV) is a form of intentional abuse carried out in young couples, which over the years has increasingly gained attention for its pervasiveness and high frequency. The present study represents an effort to expand and deepen the literature on factors associated with DV perpetration. The sample consisted of 225 Italian young people who completed an online survey. A model was tested, in which DV perpetration is affected by the presence of gender stereotypes and personal values oriented to power and dominance (i.e., self-enhancement) and to universalism and interest in others (i.e., self-transcendence) through the mediation of the perception of the romantic relationship quality, controlling for age. Sex was also considered in the model. The findings showed that self-enhancement and self-transcendence were, respectively, linked positively and negatively to a negative perception of the relationship quality, which in turn explained DV perpetration. The results also suggested that hostile sexism, self-enhancement and being male were directly linked to DV perpetration, thus representing potential risk factors for it. The study suggests the importance of working on gender role beliefs and personal orientation to power, which guide the way people perceive their romantic relationships and behave toward their partners, providing interesting insights for the implementation of DV prevention programs. Moreover, the findings highlight the importance of working with families and other educational agencies to foster a change in cultural terms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships)
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16 pages, 245 KiB  
Article
Evidence-Based Reconstruction of Memories of a Disdainful Hookup: Identifying Risk Factors and Preventing Further Victimization
by Lidia Puigvert, Ramon Flecha and Sandra Racionero-Plaza
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14050367 - 26 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2129
Abstract
Autobiographical memories of close relationships have been shown to have strong influence in health and life. Yet, there is no research published about longitudinal memory reconstruction of violent sporadic relationships while reading and discussing scientific evidence on gender violence victimization. This article presents [...] Read more.
Autobiographical memories of close relationships have been shown to have strong influence in health and life. Yet, there is no research published about longitudinal memory reconstruction of violent sporadic relationships while reading and discussing scientific evidence on gender violence victimization. This article presents a novel case of the reconstruction throughout time of the memory of a disdainful hookup experienced by a young woman. The victim’s diary and an interview were the sources of data collection. The analytical categories were developed in dialogue with the participant. The results indicate that, as the subject learned scientific evidence on gender violence in sporadic relationships, she progressively recalled details of the episode that she had self-censored before, became aware of the very violent nature of the hookup, rejected the relationship, and freed her desire for satisfactory romantic relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Risk Behaviors in Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships)
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