Background & Rationale

1. Romantic Relationship Satisfaction and Young Adult Externalizing Behavior Problems: Application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Manfred H. M. van Dulmen, Elizabeth A. Goncy, Andrea D. Mata Kent State University, Department of Psychology • Background & Rationale • A number of empirical studies link experiences in romantic relationships to externalizing behavior problems (e.g. Laub & Sampson, 2003; Meeus et al., 2004; van Dulmen et al., 2008). • Findings generally indicate that involvement in high quality and satisfactory romantic relationships is associated with decreases in externalizing behavior problems • Large majority of previous studies have relied on individual level data and have not included partner (dyadic) level data • Therefore it is not clear to what degree the association between romantic relationship quality and externalizing behavior problem reflects self, partner, or couple effects. • Current project focuses on dyadic level data to investigate • (a) to what degree do partner reports of romantic relationship functioning contribute to understanding individual differences in externalizing behavior problems? • (b) to what degree are both self and partner reports of romantic relationship functioning important in understanding individual differences in externalizing behavior problems. • Methods • Participants • Transitions into Adulthood and Romantic Relationships (TARR) project • Multi-Method (interview, self-report, couple observation, daily diary) project on young adult romantic relationship functioning (N=238) • 119 heterosexual couples (age M = 19.82 years) • Involved in a committed romantic relationship for at least 4 months. • Primary participant recruited through Psychology Subject Pool. • 51% had been together for at least 1 year (none married) • Predominantly White (86%) • Measures for Current Project • Achenbach self-report externalizing behavior sub-scale (Achenbach & Resorta, 2003) • Relationship Adjustment Scale (Hendrick, 1988), total score • Conclusions & Future Directions • Current study extends previous findings by suggesting that the association between romantic relationship processes and externalizing behavior problems is not simply due to shared method bias • Confirms some previous findings that romantic relationship processes may be a more salient developmental context for females compared to males during young adulthood • Future directions include extensions to • multiple informant data on the dependent variable (i.e. partner report on externalizing behavior problems) • Specificity of model to externalizing versus internalizing behavior problems • Analytic Approach Current Study • Investigate association between romantic relationship satisfaction and externalizing behavior problems using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) (path analysis approach in Mplus 5.1): • Actor Effects: Self report of romantic relationship functioning  self externalizing behavior problems NE 0 • Partner Effects: Self report of romantic relationship functioning  partner externalizing behavior problems NE 0 • Couple Effects: Actor + Partner Effects = 0 • Results (Figure 1) • Negative relationship between romantic relationship satisfaction and externalizing behavior problems • Stronger partner compared to actor effects • Partner and actor effects stronger for females compared to males Acknowledgment This project was partially funded by the Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress (Summa Health Systems/Kent State University). Please address correspondence regarding this project to Manfred van Dulmen [mvandul@kent.edu]. For handouts please visit Adolescent Developmental Psychopathology Lab Website http://dept.kent.edu/psychology/ADPlab/Index.html