Integrating insights from cultural sociology and identity theory, I explore the mental health consequences of adolescent romantic relationship inauthenticity—incongruence between thoughts/feelings and actions within romantic contexts. Applying sequence analysis to National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data, I measure relationship inauthenticity by quantifying the extent to which the ordering of events of actual romantic relationships (e.g., holding hands, saying “I love you”) diverges from the sequence of events within idealized relationship scripts among 5,316 adolescents. I then test its association with severe depression, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt. I find that romantic relationship inauthenticity is positively associated with the risk of all three markers of poor mental health, but only for girls. This study highlights the importance of gender and culture in determining how early romantic involvement influences psychological well-being.
AbbottAndrewTsayAngela. 2000. “Sequence Analysis and Optimal Matching Methods in Sociology Review and Prospect.” Sociological Methods & Research29(1):3–33.
2.
AndersonElijah. 1989. “Sex Codes and Family Life Among Poor Inner-city Youths.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science501(1):59–78.
3.
ArnettJeffrey Jensen. 1999. “Adolescent Storm and Stress, Reconsidered.” American Psychologist54(5):317–26.
4.
ChantalaKim. 2006. Guidelines for Analyzing Add Health Data. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina.
5.
CollinsW. Andrew. 2003. “More Than Myth: The Developmental Significance of Romantic Relationships During Adolescence.” Journal of Research on Adolescence13(1):1–24.
CornwellBenjaminLaumannEdward O.2011. “Network Position and Sexual Dysfunction: Implications of Partner Betweenness for Men.” American Journal of Sociology117(1):172–208.
8.
CostelloE. JaneErkanliAlaattinAngoldAdrian. 2006. “Is There an Epidemic of Child or Adolescent Depression?”Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry47(12):1263–71.
9.
CrossSusan E.MadsonLaura. 1997. “Models of the Self: Self-construals and Gender.” Psychological Bulletin122(1):5–37.
10.
EderDonnaEvansCatherine C.ParkerStephen. 1995. School Talk: Gender and Adolescent Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
11.
EriksonErik H.1968. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
12.
Exner-CortensDeineraEckenrodeJohnRothmanEmily. 2013. “Longitudinal Associations Between Teen Dating Violence Victimization and Adverse Health Outcomes.” Pediatrics131(1):71–78.
13.
FriscoMichelle L.HouleJason N.MartinMolly A.2010. “The Image in the Mirror and the Number on the Scale: Weight Perceptions, and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51(2):215–28.
14.
GabadinhoAlexisRitschardGilbertMüllerNicolas S.StuderMatthias. 2011. “Analyzing and Visualizing State Sequences in R with TraMineR.” Journal of Statistical Software40:1–37.
15.
GermanottaStefaniKhayatNadir. 2009. “Caught in a Bad Romance” [Recorded by Lady Gaga]. Los Angeles, CA: Interscope.
16.
GiordanoPeggy C.LonardoRobert A.ManningWendy D.LongmoreMonica A.2010. “Adolescent Romance and Delinquency: A Further Exploration of Hirschi’s ‘Cold and Brittle’ Relationships Hypothesis.” Criminology48(4):919–46.
17.
GiordanoPeggy C.ManningWendy D.LongmoreMonica A.2006. “Adolescent Romantic Relationships: An Emerging Portrait of Their Nature and Developmental Significance.” Pp. 127–50 in Romance and Sex in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Risks and Opportunities, edited by CrouterA. C.BoothA.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
18.
HallforsDenise D.WallerMartha W.BauerDanielFordCarol A.HalpernCarolyn T.2005. “Which Comes First in Adolescence—Sex and Drugs or Depression?” American Journal of Preventive Medicine29(3):163–70.
19.
HardingDavid J.2007. “Cultural Context, Sexual Behavior, and Romantic Relationships in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods.” American Sociological Review72(3):341–64.
20.
HarterSusan. 1999. The Construction of the Self: A Developmental Perspective. New York: Guilford Press.
21.
HaynieDana L.SouthScott J.BoseSunita. 2006. “Residential Mobility and Attempted Suicide among Adolescents: An Individual-level Analysis.” Sociological Quarterly47(4):693–721.
22.
HeckmanJames J.1976. “The Common Structure of Statistical Models of Truncation, Sample Selection and Limited Dependent Variables and a Simple Estimator for Such Models.” Annals of Economic and Social Measurement5(4):475–92.
23.
ImpettEmily A.SchoolerDeborahTolmanDeborah L.2006. “To Be Seen and Not Heard: Femininity Ideology and Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Health.” Archives of Sexual Behavior35(2):129–42.
24.
ImpettEmily A.SorsoliLynnSchoolerDeborahHensonJames M.TolmanDeborah L.2008. “Girls’ Relationship Authenticity and Self-esteem Across Adolescence.” Developmental Psychology44(3):722–33.
25.
JoynerKaraUdryJ. Richard. 2000. “You Don’t Bring Me Anything but Down: Adolescent Romance and Depression.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior41(4):369–91.
26.
KornrichSabinoBrinesJulieLeuppKatrina. 2013. “Egalitarianism, Housework, and Sexual Frequency in Marriage.” American Sociological Review78(1):26–50.
27.
KreagerDerek A.StaffJeremy. 2009. “The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Peer Acceptance.” Social Psychology Quarterly72:143–64.
28.
MaimonDavidKuhlDanielle C.2008. “Social Control and Youth Suicidality: Situating Durkheim’s Ideas in a Multilevel Framework.” American Sociological Review73(6):921–43.
29.
MarkusHazel R.KitayamaShinobu. 1991. “Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation.” Psychological Review98(2):224–53.
30.
McCarthyBillCaseyTeresa. 2008. “Love, Sex, and Crime: Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Offending.” American Sociological Review73(6):944–69.
31.
MeierA.2007. “Adolescent First Sex and Subsequent Mental Health.” American Journal of Sociology112(8):1811–47.
32.
PascoeC. J.2007. Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
33.
PerreiraKrista M.Deeb-SossaNataliaHarrisKathleen MullanBollenKenneth. 2005. “What Are We Measuring? An Evaluation of the CES-D Across Race/Ethnicity and Immigrant Generation.” Social Forces83(4):1567–601.
34.
RadloffLenore Sawyer. 1977. “The CES-D Scale.” Applied Psychological Measurement1(3):385–401.
35.
ResnickMichael D.BearmanPeter S.BlumRobert W.BaumanKarl E.HarrisKathleen M.JonesJoTaborJoyceBeuhringTrishaSievingRenee E.ShewMarciaIrelandMarjorieBearingerLinda H.UdryJ. Richard1997. “Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.” Journal of the American Medical Association278(10):823–32.
36.
RobertsRobert E.LewinsohnPeter M.SeeleyJohn R.1991. “Screening for Adolescent Depression: A Comparison of Depression Scales.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry30(1):58–66.
37.
RosenfieldSarahMouzonDawne. 2013. “Gender and Mental Health.” Pp. 277–96 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhaelanJ. C.BiermanA.New York, NY: Springer.
38.
RoystonPatrick. 2004. “Multiple Imputation of Missing Values.” Stata Journal4(3):227–41.
39.
SchaletAmy T.2011. Not under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
40.
SimonRobin W.BarrettAnne E.2010. “Nonmarital Romantic Relationships and Mental Health in Early Adulthood: Does the Association Differ for Women and Men?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51(2):168–82.
41.
SimonsRonald L.BarrAshley B. (2012). “Shifting Perspectives: Cognitive Changes Mediate the Impact of Romantic Relationships on Desistance from Crime.” Justice Quarterly1–29 iFirst article.
42.
SwidlerAnn. 1986. “Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.” American Sociological Review51(2):273–86.
43.
SwidlerAnn. 2001. Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
44.
ThoitsPeggy A.1991. “On Merging Identity Theory and Stress Research.” Social Psychology Quarterly54(2):101–12.
45.
ThoitsPeggy A.2013. “Self, Identity, Stress, and Mental Health.” Pp. 357–77 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C.BiermanA.New York, NY: Springer.
46.
WarrenJocelyn T.HarveyS. MarieHendersonJillian T.2010. “Do Depression and Low Self-esteem Follow Abortion Among Adolescents? Evidence from a National Study.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health42(4):230–35.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
