The Symbolic Nature of Trust in Heterosexual Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Trust contributes to young people’s capacity for sustaining current and future successful relationships. To date, research has yet to examine the meaning of trust in early dating relationships and reasons for its deterioration. The present study focused on video-recorded conversations about trust be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of sexual behavior 2017-08, Vol.46 (6), p.1673-1684
Main Authors: Norona, Jerika C., Welsh, Deborah P., Olmstead, Spencer B., Bliton, Chloe F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Communication
Female
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality - psychology
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Original Paper
Peer Group
Personal relationships
Psychology
Public Health
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners - psychology
Social Sciences
Teenagers
Trust
United States
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Summary:Trust contributes to young people’s capacity for sustaining current and future successful relationships. To date, research has yet to examine the meaning of trust in early dating relationships and reasons for its deterioration. The present study focused on video-recorded conversations about trust between 34 heterosexual adolescent couples in dating relationships living in the U.S. Transcripts from these conversations were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis to identify adolescents’ meanings of trust and reasons they provided for a lack of trust in their romantic partners. All 34 couples identified concerns specifically related to infidelity. Six major themes for not trusting romantic partners emerged. Results suggested that the lack of trust in romantic relationships might stem from several areas that are directly and indirectly related to the current relationship, including low self-esteem, the experience of betrayal in past romantic relationships, partners’ extradyadic behaviors, and gossip among peers. Importantly, peers can play a defining role in influencing young people’s perceptions of their romantic partners and developing or sustaining trust in their romantic relationships.
ISSN:0004-0002
1573-2800
DOI:10.1007/s10508-017-0971-z