Associations Among School and Friendship Identity in Adolescence and Romantic Relationships and Work in Emerging Adulthood
Abstract
This study examined the interrelations between employment status and romantic relationship status, work and romantic relationship identity in emerging adulthood, and school and friendship identity in adolescence. Dutch participants (N = 1,026) from two age cohorts (16-year-old cohort comprised 735 participants and 20-year-olds comprised 291, at Time 1) reported about school and friendship identity during adolescence, and about status of and identification with work and romantic relationships during emerging adulthood 5 years later. Employment status and romantic relationship status were significantly related to each other. Employment status was also significantly related to relational identity, and relationship status was significantly related to work identity. Moreover, work and romantic relationship identity, but not employment status and romantic relationship status, could be predicted by school and friendship identity in adolescence. These results confirm the interdependence of role transitions in emerging adulthood and suggest that the base of the successful attainment of these transitions is laid in adolescence.
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Biographies
Susan Branje is Professor of Adolescent Development at the Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University She received her PhD in 2003 at the Radboud University Nijmegen. Her work focuses on understanding the developmental changes in adolescents' personal relationships and the associations with development of individual characteristics and psychosocial adjustment.
Lydia Laninga-Wijnen completed two masters at Utrecht University (Research master Development and Socialization in Childhood and Adolescence, and Orthopedagogics). Currently she is a PhD student at Utrecht University, examining the composition of adolescent social relational networks and how adolescents within these networks mutually influence each other's positive behavior.
Rongqin Yu received her MSc degree in Psychopathology with honour at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. She is currently a PhD candidate in Research Center Adolescent Development, Utrecht University. Her current research focuses on the link between youths' personality and developmental outcomes in the context of peer relationships (i.e., friendship & romantic relationship).
Wim Meeus is Professor of Adolescent Development Utrecht University and Developmental Psychology Tilburg University. Research interests are individual development, personal relationships and problem behavior in adolescence. The present study was supported by grants of The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Article first published online: December 16, 2013
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