Ideal Dating Styles and Meanings of Romantic Relationships Among White and Latino High School Students: a Multi-Method Approach
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Ideal Dating Styles and Meanings of Romantic Relationships Among White and Latino High School Students: A Multi-Method Approach Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Rankin, Lela Antoinette Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 02:37:13 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194422 IDEAL DATING STYLES AND MEANINGS OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG WHITE AND LATINO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A MULTI-METHOD APPROACH by Lela Antoinette Rankin ________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the faculty of the NORTON SCHOOL OF FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN FAMILY STUDIES AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2006 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Lela Antoinette Rankin entitled IDEAL DATING STYLES AND MEANINGS OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG WHITE AND LATINO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A MULTI-METHOD APPROACH and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/21/2006 Stephen T. Russell _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/21/2006 Sue Silverberg Koerner _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 04/21/2006 Rodney M. Cate Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: 04/21/2006 DISSERTATION DIRECTOR: STEPHEN T. RUSSELL STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department of the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Lela Antoinette Rankin ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support and guidance I received from my committee members throughout this process. In particular I would like to thank my doctoral advisor Stephen Russell for encouraging me to stretch beyond my boundaries and take the initiative to learn new research methods and innovative analytic techniques. His creative vision and contagious passion for research continues to be a source of inspiration. Additionally, I owe a significant amount of gratitude to Jennifer Maggs who has provided endless support and encouragement since the beginning of my graduate training. Her careful eye and devoted attention has been fundamental to the development of my writing skills. I am also indebted to my early experiences with Sue Silverberg Koerner, who sparked my initial interest in qualitative approaches to data collection and provided me the opportunity to develop qualitative coding and analysis skills. Finally, it has been a pleasure to have Rodney Cate share his extensive knowledge and perspective with me on close relationships. The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the dedicated assistance of four undergraduate research assistants. Benjamin Woodard has been especially instrumental in the data transcription and coding process. His conscientious demeanor and creative insight has been an invaluable resource. I also would like to thank Lisa Bartowski, Abel Diaz and Cesar Egurrola in aspects of the data collection, transcription, and reliability analysis. This dissertation is supported in part by the Alltel connect-me-grant and through the Family Studies and Human Development Graduate Committee at the University of Arizona. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01- HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 ([email protected]). 5 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the adolescents who participated in my focus groups and shared with me their stories. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ 12 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 13 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 16 Statement of the Issue .................................................................................................. 16 Romantic Relationships in the Lives of Adolescents .................................................. 17 Research Goals............................................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 25 Adolescent Development and Romantic Relationships............................................... 26 Biological Development .......................................................................................... 27 Cognitive Development ........................................................................................... 28 Psychosocial Development ...................................................................................... 30 Identity ................................................................................................................. 30 Intimacy ............................................................................................................... 33 Theoretical Frameworks .............................................................................................. 36 Contemporary Developmental Theory .................................................................... 37 Symbolic Interaction Theory ................................................................................... 40 Adolescent Romantic Relationships ............................................................................ 42 Developmental Progression ..................................................................................... 44 Infatuation Stage .................................................................................................. 45 Dyadic Dating Stage ............................................................................................ 46 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED Termination Stage................................................................................................ 48 Intimacy is Multidimensional .................................................................................. 49 Correlates of Romantic Relationships ..................................................................... 52 Relational versus Individual Outcomes ....................................................................... 59 Ideal to Real Relationship Discrepancies .................................................................... 61 Limitations in Existing Literature................................................................................ 64 Adolescent Relationships are Trivial and Transient ................................................ 64 Romantic Relationships are Redundant................................................................... 65 Relationships Forecast Maladaptation ..................................................................... 66 Future Directions ......................................................................................................... 67 Present Study ............................................................................................................... 72 Study 1 ..................................................................................................................... 73 Study 2 ..................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................