This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process--a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the development of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy--secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent--and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. Implications for theories of romantic love are discussed, as are measurement problems and other issues related to future tests of the attachment perspective.

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Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process

Attachment--and loss.

The authors suggest that the most promising route to effective strategies for the prevention of adolescent alcohol and other drug problems is through a risk-focused approach. This approach requires the identification of risk factors for drug abuse, identification of methods by which risk factors have been effectively addressed, and application of these methods to appropriate high-risk and general population samples in controlled studies. The authors review risk and protective factors for drug abuse, assess a number of approaches for drug abuse prevention potential with high-risk groups, and make recommendations for research and practice.

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Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention.

Research on the relation between social information processing and social adjustment in childhood is reviewed and interpreted within the framework of a reformulated model of human performance and social exchange. This reformulation proves to assimilate almost all previous studies and is a useful heuristic device for organizing the field. The review suggests that overwhelming evidence supports the empirical relation between characteristic processing styles and children's social adjustment, with some aspects of processing (e.g., hostile attributional biases, intention cue detection accuracy, response access patterns, and evaluation of response outcomes) likely to be causal of behaviors that lead to social status and other aspects (e.g., perceived self-competence) likely to be responsive to peer status

A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment.

Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Childhood and Society.

Relatively few investigators have compared and contrasted the characteristics of different kinds of relationships in children's social networks. In the present study, 199 fifthand sixth-grade children completed Network of Relationships Inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with Weiss's (1974) theory, children reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Additionally, children reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Children reported being most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought that their relationships with mothers and fathers were most important. Discussion centers around the bases for the children's differentiations of their relationships and the implications for understanding social networks.

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

In this study, 549 youths in the fourth grade, seventh grade, tenth grade, and college completed Network of Relationship Inventories assessing their perceptions of their relationships with significant others. The findings were largely consistent with 7 propositions derived from major theories of the developmental courses of personal relationships. In particular, mothers and fathers were seen as the most frequent providers of support in the fourth grade. Same-sex friends were perceived to be as supportive as parents in the seventh grade, and were the most frequent providers of support in the tenth grade. Romantic partners moved up in rank with age until college, where they, along with friends and mothers, received the highest ratings for support. Age differences were also observed in perceptions of relationships with grandparents, teachers, and siblings. Finally, age differences in perceived conflict, punishment, and relative power suggested that there was a peak in tension in parent-child relationships in early and middle adolescence. Discussion centers around the role various relationships are perceived as playing at different points in development.

Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships.

This study is concerned with the development of companionship and intimacy. Subjects in the second fifth and eighth grades (mean ages respectively 7.5 10.4 and 13.4) rated the importance and extent of companionship and intimate disclosure experienced in social life in general and in each of 8 types of relationships. Companionship was perceived as a desired social provision at all 3 grade levels. Family members were important providers of companionship for children in the second and fifth grades but they became significantly less so in the eighth grade. Same-sex peers were important providers across all 3 grades and they became increasingly important as children grew older. Opposite-sex peers did not become important as companions until the eighth grade. Counter to expectations there were no age differences in the global desire for intimacy. Parents were important providers of intimate disclosure for the youngest children but they were less important among the younger adolescents. There was mixed support for the hypothesis that same-sex friends become important providers of intimacy during preadolescence. Findings were different for boys and girls suggesting that girls seek intimate disclosure in friendship at younger ages than boys do. (authors)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1130550.pdf

The development of companionship and intimacy.

In this article, we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on romantic relationships between age 10 and the early twenties. First, we describe key themes in this area of research. Next, we briefly characterize the most influential theoretical formulations and distinctive methodological issues. We then describe research findings regarding pertinent social and developmental processes. We summarize the extensive findings on relationships with parents and peers as a context for romantic relationships. Finally, we characterize the growing evidence that adolescent romantic relationships are significant for individual adjustment and development, and we note promising directions for further research.

Adolescent Romantic Relationships

1. Missing the boat: why researchers have shied away from adolescent romance B. Bradford Brown, Candice Feiring and Wyndol Furman Part I. Processes in Romantic Relationships: 2. The emotions of romantic relationships: do they wreak havoc on adolescents? Reed W. Larson, Gerald L. Clore and Gretchen A. Wood 3. The nature and functions of social exchange in adolescent romantic relationships Bren Laursen and Lauri A. Jensen-Campbell 4. Cognitive representations of adolescent romantic relationships Wyndol Furman and Valerie A. Simon 5. Romantic and sexual development during adolescence Brad Benson Part II. Individual Differences in Romantic Relationships: 6. Capacity for intimate relationships: a developmental construction W. Andrew Collins and L. Alan Sroufe 6. Rejection sensitivity and adolescent romantic relationships Geraldine Downey, Cheryl Bonica and Claudia Rincon 8. Sex, dating, passionate friendships and romance: intimate peer relations among lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents Lisa M. Diamond, Ritch C. Savin-Williams and Eric M. Dube 9. Gender identity and the development of romantic relationships in adolescence Candice Feiring Part III. The Social Context of Romantic Relationships: 10. Adolescent romance and the parent-child relationship: a contextual perspective Marjory Roberts Gray and Laurence Steinberg 11. Romantic relationships in adolescence: the role of friends and peers in their emergence and development Jennifer Connolly and Adele Goldberg 12. You're going out with who?!: peer group influences on adolescent romantic relationships B. Bradford Brown 13. The cultured and culturing aspects of romantic experience in adolescence Deborah L. Coates 14. What's love got to do with it? Adolescents' and young adults' beliefs about sexual and romantic relationships Julia A. Graber, Pia R. Britto and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn Part IV. Conclusion: 15. Love is a many splendored thing: next steps for theory and research Wyndol Furman, Candice Feiring and B. Bradford Brown.

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Wyndol Furman

Papers

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships.

The development of companionship and intimacy.

Adolescent Romantic Relationships

The development of romantic relationships in adolescence