Colloquium Series: Amy Lucas, UNC Chapel Hill

Amy Lucas, Graduate Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Exploring the Role Socialization and Personality Play on Romantic Relationship Quality in Young Adulthood

Abstract: Explanations for successful close personal relationships, particularly romantic relationships, have often focused on two theoretical mechanisms: socialization processes and personality traits. Few studies have been able to tease apart the impact that both socialization and personality have upon relationship quality, as most studies have tended to focus upon one theory over the other, and few have representative data to test both. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of romantic relationships by bridging two extensive streams of research on the family to advance knowledge on the role that the family of origin and stable personality traits can have upon romantic relationships in young adulthood. I estimate regression models predicting relationship quality using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Findings indicate that it is important to account for both mechanisms when trying to assess romantic relationship quality. An individual’s experiences in adolescence, along with their stable personality traits, influence their romantic relationship quality in young adulthood.