Results Time 2 (Age 18-20) Target teen and their romantic partner engaged in an 8 minute hypothetical disagreement task interaction. Hostile, relationship-undermining behaviors were coded. Time 3 (Age 21-23) Target teen and their romantic partner engaged in an 8 minute disagreement task interaction. Hostile, relationship-undermining behaviors were coded. Time 4 (Age 24-26) At age 24, participants reported on their current relationship intimacy and companionship. Measures Parental Relationship Satisfaction Primary caregivers completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; Spanier, 1976). The 32-item measure has been used extensively in clinical and research settings to assess the amount of satisfaction partners are experiencing in committed relationships. The current study combined the overall satisfaction each partner reported within their current committed romantic relationship when the target adolescents were 13.. Observed Romantic Partner Negativity At ages 18 and 21, each participant-romantic partner dyad participated in an 8-minute videotaped task in which they must come to a consensus on an area of disagreement. The Autonomy-Relatedness Coding System for Peer Interactions was used (Allen et al. 2001). The coding system employed (J. P. Allen et al. 2000, unpublished manuscript, 1994) yields ratings for overall behavior in the interaction. The current study used the total amount of hostile and relationship-undermining behaviors observed from the romantic partner to the target participant. Romantic Relationship Quality (participant report) At age 24, participants reported on their current romantic relationship intimacy and companionship, as measured by the Intimacy and Companionship subscales of the Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI; Furman, 1996; Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). Observed Maternal Negativity At age 13, target participants completed an 8-minute observed disagreement task with their mother or primary female caregiver. Overall observed negative behaviors from the mother to the teen were observed and coded (J. P. Allen et al. 2000, unpublished manuscript, 1994). Predictions from Caregiver Relationship Satisfaction to Adolescent Romantic Functioning. Emily L. Loeb, Elenda T. Hessel, Joseph S. Tan, & Joseph P. Allen University of Virginia. Introduction Rationale Attachment and cumulative continuity theory both posit that children observe and internalize close relationship patterns from caregivers and may seek out or attract partners who replicate these patterns (Feeney, Cassidy, and Ramos-Marcuse, 2008). If children internalize that close romantic relationships are satisfying and positive, they may later tend to develop romantic relationships that are marked by intimacy, positivity and the absence of negative behaviors, by selecting/attracting partners who fulfill this representation and/or by evoking positive behaviors from romantic partners. This proposal uses an eleven-year, multimethod design to examine relationship satisfaction between primary caregivers as a predictor of adolescents’ later observable and self-reported romantic relationship qualities. Hypotheses. It was hypothesized that early adolescents whose parents reported greater relationship satisfaction would: (a) develop observably less negative romantic relationships by late adolescence and early adulthood (b) report more positive romantic relationship functioning by adulthood Method Conclusions Participants Multi-method longitudinal data were obtained from 184 adolescents along with their parents. 58% Caucasian, 29% African American, and 12% Mixed or Other ethnicity. Median household income was within the $40,000 to $59,000 range.. Time 1 participant mean age was Time 2 participant mean age was Time 3 participant mean age was Time 4 participant mean age was Procedures. Time 1 (Age 13) Target teen and parents filled out questionnaires about themselves and important relationships. Target teen and their mother/primary female caregiver engaged in a 8 minute interaction, during which the dyads were asked to discuss a major area of disagreement. The mother/caregiver’s hostile and relationship-undermining behaviors were observed.. Utilizing observational data, parent reports and self report, it was found that parental relationship satisfaction when adolescents were 13 predicted adolescents developing romantic relationships characterized by less negativity through late adolescence and greater satisfaction in early adulthood. These results were found when controlling for parent behavior towards the adolescent at baseline as well as family income and adolescent gender. These outcomes suggest the importance of parental relationships as a model and representation of romantic relationships as adolescents develop. We would like to thank the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development for funding awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator, (R01 HD & R01-MH58066) for funding to conduct this study as well as for the write-up of this study. Early observations of parental romantic relationships may serve as a model for adolescents as they select and develop their own romantic relationships. Because this study used romantic partner negativity as an outcome, it suggests that adolescents are not just learning ways of behaving from their parents but may be selecting for and/or eliciting behavior that is consistent with their expectations from parental relationships. The majority of adolescents did not have the same romantic partners across the waves, which suggests an ongoing pattern across partners. Limitations While this study controlled for maternal negativity, many other early factors may play a role in the development of romantic relationships It is hard to disentangle how much participants are selecting vs. eliciting romantic partner behaviors Future directions Observational coding of parental relationship behaviors Interventions targeted at parental relationship satisfaction as prevention