University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2006 Infidelity in Adolescent Romantic Relationships Rebecca E. Furr University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Furr, Rebecca E., "Infidelity in Adolescent Romantic Relationships. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1556 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Rebecca E. Furr entitled "Infidelity in Adolescent Romantic Relationships." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Psychology. Deborah P. Welsh, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Robert G. Wahler, Kristina Coop Gordon Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Rebecca E. Furr entitled “Infidelity in Adolescent Romantic Relationships.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Psychology. Deborah P. Welsh Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Robert G. Wahler Kristina Coop Gordon Accepted for the Council: Anne Mayhew Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Studies (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) INFIDELITY IN ADOLESCENT ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree University of Tennessee, Knoxville Rebecca E. Furr August 2006 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Walter L. Furr III and Judith H. Furr, who taught me the value of education, who always believed in me, and who encouraged me to ask more questions. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge all those who helped me throughout this process. I thank my advisor and mentor Dr. Deborah Welsh for her support and guidance. I also thank Drs. Kristina Coop Gordon and Robert Wahler for serving on my committee and offering invaluable suggestions. In addition, this thesis would not have been possible without the countless hours of data collection and collaborative support of several lab members including the following: Cathy Grello, Peter Haugen, Sharon Risch, Joseph Dickson, Laura Widman, and Katie Little. I also would like to acknowledge those who have supported me emotionally throughout this process. I would like to thank my family for their encouragement, including my parents, my two beautiful sisters, Mary and Cindy, my brother-in-law, Oren, and my grandfather, Charles Hendricks. I also thank my adopted family in Knoxville: Michael Webb and Nikki Frousakis, who make my heart laugh and have shown me unconditional love and support for the past few years. iii ABSTRACT Infidelity within adolescent dating relationships is a commonplace behavior that has received very little empirical attention. The present study examines multiple facets of this behavior in a sample of 209 middle and late adolescent couples. An ecological model is used to explore factors related to the individual, relationship, and context in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. While multiple variables on all of these levels were significant in cross-sectional analysis, a few stood out as being important predictors of infidelity over time. In particular, participants who had a higher opinion of their own physical attractiveness were more likely to cheat at Time 2. In addition, participants’ reports of more externalizing and depressive symptoms at Time 1 predicted their partner’s infidelity over time. Longitudinal outcomes of infidelity included lower relationship satisfaction over time for those who had cheated on their partner at Time 1. Curiously, those whose partners had cheated on them at Time 1 experienced an increase in self-worth over time. Discussion explores infidelity within the developmental context and across multiple ecological levels. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 An Ecological Approach.................................................................................3 Goals for the Present Study ............................................................................7 Questions ........................................................................................................9 2 METHODS..................................................................................................11 Participants....................................................................................................11 Measures .......................................................................................................12 Demographics .........................................................................................12 Sexual Behaviors....................................................................................13 Internalizing and Externalizing...............................................................13 Depressive Symptomatology ..................................................................14 Alcohol and Drug Use............................................................................14 Self-Worth ..............................................................................................15 Gender-Role Orientation.........................................................................15 Relationship Length................................................................................16 Relationship Status.................................................................................16 Relationship Satisfaction........................................................................16 Communication.......................................................................................17 Aggression ..............................................................................................17 v Trust........................................................................................................18 Friends’ and Parents’ Regard..................................................................18 3 RESULTS ....................................................................................................20 Descriptive Statistics.....................................................................................20 Analyses........................................................................................................21 Variables Related to the Partner Engaging in Infidelity.........................21 Variables Related to the Injured Partner.................................................22 Variables Related to the Relationship.....................................................24 Variables Related to the Context ............................................................26 4 DISCUSSION..............................................................................................27 Analyses........................................................................................................27 Variables Related to the Partner Engaging in Infidelity.........................28 Variables Related to the Injured Partner.................................................32 Variables Related to the Relationship.....................................................32 Variables Related to the Context ............................................................35 Limitations and Future Research..................................................................35 Conclusion ....................................................................................................36 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................38 APPENDICES.........................................................................................................47 VITA ........................................................................................................................53 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE A-1 HLM Analysis Predicting Infidelity at Time 1 from Variables at Time 1........................................................................48 A-2 HLM Analyses Predicting Infidelity at Time 2 from Individual Variables at Time 1 Using All Follow-Up Participants.....................................................................49 A-3 HLM Analyses Predicting Infidelity at Time 2 from Relationship and Context Variables at Time 1 Using Follow-Up Participants Still Dating Original Partner at Time 2 ............50 A-4 HLM Analyses of Infidelity at Time 1 Predicting Outcomes at Time 2 Using All Follow-Up Participants.....................................................................51 A-5 HLM Analyses of Infidelity at Time 1 Predicting Outcomes at Time 2 Using Follow-Up