Relationship instability during emerging adulthood may reflect more complex behavior than simply moving from one partner to the next, according to evidence from a sample of 17–24-year-olds who had been in a relationship within the past two years.[1] More than four in 10 of those surveyed reported at least one breakup and reconciliation with their current or most recent partner, and one in four said that the couple had had sex after breaking up. Nearly half of the sample reported one of these behaviors, which the investigators call examples of "relationship churning," and one-quarter reported both.

The researchers posit that understanding relationship formation in emerging adulthood is "key to understanding" relationship patterns among adults more broadly. To explore relationship churning among emerging adults, they analyzed data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study, which began in 2001 with a sample of middle and high school students in one Ohio county and conducted three follow-up interviews. The analyses used data on current or recent relationships reported by unmarried respondents at Wave 4, conducted in 2006–2007, when participants were 17–24 years old. Potential correlates of relationship churning were assessed in bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

The sample comprised 792 respondents, of whom 71% were currently in a relationship and 29% had been in one within the past two years. On average, respondents were 20 years old; the sample was evenly divided by gender, and two-thirds of participants were white. At Wave 1, half had lived with two biological or adoptive parents, most of the rest in a stepfamily or with a single parent, and a small proportion in some other situation; six in 10 had a parent with at least some postsecondary education. Three-quarters of participants were describing dating relationships, and one-quarter were reporting on cohabiting relationships; the average relationship duration was 6–12 months.

Some 44% of respondents said that they and their partner had ever broken up and reconciled; 27% reported that the couple had had sex after breaking up. The average number of reconciliations was 1.1 among the sample overall and 2.4 among those reporting at least one breakup. Forty-eight percent of participants had experienced one type of relationship churning, and 24% had experienced both.

In bivariate analyses, those reporting reconciliations appeared more likely than others to be black, and less likely to have lived in a two-parent household and to have a parent with a college education; they also reported longer relationships, more conflict with their partner, lower commitment to the relationship and less sense of validation by their partner. Within a subsample of 427 respondents who had experienced a breakup in the past two years, those who had subsequently had sex with their partner were slightly older than others and were less likely to have lived with both parents at Wave 1. Their relationships were of longer duration and were more likely to involve cohabitation, frequent conflict and intimate self-disclosure (i.e., discussion about sensitive or private topics).

Analyses adjusting for respondents’ background and relationship characteristics reveal that the odds of relationship disruption and reconciliation were greater for blacks than for whites (odds ratio, 1.7), and for those who reported an "other" living arrangement at Wave 1 than for those who had lived in two-parent families (2.9). The odds were reduced in current relationships (0.6) and were negatively associated with level of commitment (0.8); they increased with relationship duration (1.4) and with levels of conflict (1.4) and intimate self-disclosure (1.1).

A somewhat different set of correlates emerged for having had sex with a former partner. The likelihood of this experience increased with age (odds ratio, 1.1), relationship duration (1.2), and levels of relationship conflict (1.2) and intimate self-disclosure (1.1). It was reduced for respondents in a current relationship (0.7) and declined as feelings of validation within the relationship increased (0.9).

As the researchers acknowledge, their study is limited because the data cannot be generalized beyond the Toledo area and responses represent the perspectives of only one partner in a relationship. However, they conclude that relationship churning is "a common part of romantic relationship experiences in emerging adulthood," and that it merits further attention because of potential related emotional and sexual health risks. Furthermore, they comment, their results serve "as an important reminder that the definitions [that] researchers impose on the relationships [they] study may not be entirely accurate."—D. Hollander

Reference

1. Halpern-Meekin S et al., Relationship churning in emerging adulthood: on/off relationships and sex with an ex, Journal of Adolescent Research, 2013, 28(1):166–188, doi:10.1177/0743558412464524, accessed Jan. 25, 2013.