1st Edition

Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood Risks and Opportunities

Edited By Ann C. Crouter, Alan Booth Copyright 2006
    288 Pages
    by Psychology Press

    288 Pages
    by Psychology Press

    In this volume, Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Risks and Opportunities, top scholars in the field of family research examine the nature and origin of adolescents’ contemporary patterns of sexual and romantic relationships, spanning such diverse topics as the evolutionary roots of these behaviors, as well as policies and programs that represent best practices for addressing these issues in schools and communities. The text offers interdisciplinary expertise from scholars of psychology, social work, sociology, demography, economics, human development and family studies, and public policy.
     
    Adolescents and young adults today face very different choices about family formation than did their parents’ generation, given such societal changes as the rise in cohabitation, the increase in divorce rates, and families having fewer children. These demographic trends are linked in important ways and provide a backdrop against which adolescents and emerging adults form and maintain romantic and sexual relationships.
     
    Editors Crouter and Booth address such questions as:
    *What are the ways in which early family and peer relationships give rise to romantic relationships in the late adolescent and early adult years?
    *How do early romantic and sexual relationships influence individuals’ subsequent development and life choices, including family formation?
    *To what extent are current trends in romantic and sexual relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood problematic for individuals, families, and communities, and what are the most effective ways to address these issues at the level of practice, program, and policy?
     
    Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Risks and Opportunities is an enlightening compilation of essays for academicians and upper-lever undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of human development and family studies, sociology, and psychology, as well as for practitioners in those fields who work with families and adolescents. The chapters are accessible to a wide variety of audiences.

    Contents: Preface. Part I: What Are the Evolutionary Origins of Contemporary Patterns of Sexual and Romantic Relationships? Where Does Evolution Leave Off and Where Do History and Culture Begin? H.E. Fisher, Broken Hearts: The Nature and Risks of Romantic Rejection. B.L. Barber, To Have Loved and Lost...Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Rejection. D.P. Schmitt, Short- and Long-Term Mating Strategies: Additional Evolutionary Systems Relevant to Adolescent Sexuality. P. Schwartz, What Elicits Romance, Passion, and Attachment, and How Do They Affect Our Lives Throughout the Life Cycle? Part II: How Do Early Family and Peer Relationships Give Rise to the Quality of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence and Young Adulthood? W.A. Collins, M. van Dulmen, "The Course of True Love(s)...": Origins and Pathways in the Development of Romantic Relationships. S. Coontz, Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood K. Joyner, M. Campa, How Do Adolescent Relationships Influence the Quality of Romantic and Sexual Relationships in Young Adulthood? C.M. Bryant, Pathways Linking Early Experiences and Later Relationship Functioning. B.B. Brown, A Few "Course Corrections" to Collins & van Dulmen's "The Course of True Love". Part III: How Do Early Romantic and Sexual Relationships Influence People Contemporaneously and Later in Life? P.C. Giordano, W.D. Manning,
    M.A. Longmore, Adolescent Romantic Relationships: An Emerging Portrait of Their Nature and Developmental Significance. V.M. Murry, T.R. Hurt, S.M. Kogan, Z. Luo, Contextual Processes of Romantic Relationships: Plausible Explanations for Gender and Race Effects. A.R. Snyder, Risky and Casual Sexual Relationships Among Teens. W. Furman, L.S. Hand, The Slippery Nature of Romantic Relationships: Issues in Definition and Differentiation. Part IV: To What Extent Are Current Trends in Sexual and Romantic Relationships Problematic for Individuals, Families, and Society? What Are Effective Intervention Approaches at the Level of Practice, Program, and Policy? J. Manlove, K. Franzetta, S. Ryan, K. Moore, Adolescent Sexual Relationships, Contraceptive Consistency, and Pregnancy Prevention Approaches. V.J. Hotz, The Economic Approach to Modeling Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Empirical Implications. D.M. Upchurch, Y. Kusunoki, Adolescent Sexual Relationships and Reproductive Health Outcomes: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges. J. Manlove, S. Ryan, K. Franzetta, Sample Selection for Adolescent Sexual Relationships. M.L. Kan, A.C. Cares, From "Friends With Benefits" to "Going Steady": New Directions in Understanding Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood.

    Biography

    Ann C. Crouter, Alan Booth

    "...this volume on teenage romance and sexuality, edited by Crouter and Booth, provides a lively overview of  relatively recent research in this area. Perhaps more important, it points to issues and methods for further research in the continuously changing and dynamic field. Finally, the wealth of information in this book can serve as a jumping-off for explorations that extend to more diverse populations and circumstances."
    —PsycCRITIQUES