This research introduces the Romantic Relationship-Induced Learning Scale (RRILS), designed to measure personal growth, learning, and positive change stemming from romantic and intimate experiences among adults. The RRILS was developed using a triangulation approach, beginning with qualitative responses to generate thematic domains and an item pool, followed by expert validation. This 15-item measure identified three core dimensions of romantic relationship-induced learning: Self-Change, Relational Competence, and Partner Decision Making. Participants from Slovakia took part in two studies and were divided into three subsamples. In the two young adult samples (YA1: n = 392, Mage = 22.55, SD = 2.55; YA2: n = 393, Mage = 22.64, SD = 2.85), a combined total of 785 individuals participated, of whom 82% identified as women, 16% as men, and 2% as another gender or preferred not to respond. The general population sample included 456 adults (Mage = 38.46, SD = 13.61), with 52% identifying as women, 47% as men, and 2% as another or missing. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure and demonstrated good internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the model’s fit, confirming the scale’s structural validity. Convergent validity was assessed through correlations with theoretically related constructs, supporting the instrument’s psychometric soundness, and divergent validity, indicating that the instrument measures a distinct concept. The RRILS provides a linguistically and culturally appropriate tool for capturing how adults learn and grow through romantic experiences.
ArnettJ. J. (2023). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.
2.
AronA.ParisM.AronE. N. (1995). Falling in love: Prospective studies of self-concept change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(6), 1102–1112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.6.1102
BeckmeyerJ. J.JamisonT. B. (2021). Identifying a typology of emerging adult romantic relationships: Implications for relationship education. Family Relations, 70(1), 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12464
5.
BlackieL. E.McLeanK. C. (2022). Examining the longitudinal associations between repeated narration of recent transgressions within individuals’ romantic relationships and character growth in empathy, humility, and compassion. European Journal of Personality, 36(4), 507–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070211028696
6.
BondF. W.HayesS. C.BaerR. A.CarpenterK. M.GuenoleN.OrcuttH. K.ZettleR. D. (2011). Preliminary psychometric properties of the acceptance and action Questionnaire–II: A revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance. Behavior Therapy, 42(4), 676–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.007
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative research in sport. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
9.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications Limited.
10.
CaselliA. J.WattS.MachiaL. V.BeauparlantE. T. (2024). The effects of conflict resolution styles on perceived relational self-concept change. Self and Identity, 23(3-4), 203–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2024.2348776
11.
ChenF. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834
12.
CoolsR.RobbinsT. W. (2004). Chemistry of the adaptive mind. Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, 362(1825), 2871–2888. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2004.1468
13.
DimE. E.Elabor-IdemudiaP. (2021). Social structure, social learning, and the severity of physical intimate partner violence against women in Nigeria. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(5-6), 2862–2886. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518764384
14.
DobsonK.VeeravalliA.GazderT.StantonS. C. E. (2024). Self-expansion perceptions and behaviors uniquely contribute to relationship quality over time. Journal of Family Psychology: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 38(3), 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001188
15.
EriksonE. H. (Ed.), (1963). Youth: Change and challenge. Basic Books.
16.
EriksonE. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. Norton.
17.
FurmanW.ShafferL. (2003). The role of romantic relationships in adolescent development. In FlorsheimP. (Ed.), Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 3–22). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
18.
FurmanW.SimonV. A. (1999). Cognitive representations of adolescent romantic relationships. In FurmanW.BrownB. B.FeiringC. (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 75–98). Cambridge University Press.
19.
FurmanW.WehnerE. A. (1997). Adolescent romantic relationships: A developmental perspective. In ShulmanS.CollinsW. A. (Eds.), Romantic relationships in adolescence: Developmental perspectives (pp. 21–36). Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
20.
GiordanoP. C. (2020). Continuing education: Toward a life‐course perspective on social learning. Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 58(2), 199–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12244
21.
HowlettC.A.MilesS.BerrymanC.PhillipouA.MoseleyL. (2023). Conflation between self-report and neurocognitive assessments of cognitive flexibility: a critical review of the Jingle Fallacy. Australian Journal of Psychology, 75(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2174684
22.
JakubiakB.TomlinsonJ.M. (2020). The Rolee of Social Support in Promoting Self-Development. In MattinglyB.A.McIntyreK.P.LewandowskiJr., G.W. (Eds.), Interpersonal Relationship and the Self-Concept (pp. 125–143). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43747-3_8.
23.
JamisonT. B.SannerC. M. (2021). Relationship form and function: Exploring meaning-making in young adults’ romantic histories. Personal Relationships, 28(4), 840–859. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12400
24.
JiangT.CanevelloA.CrockerJ. (2022). How relationships foster growth: Compassionate goals predict growth-seeking through perceived available support independent of relationship security. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(6), 852–870. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221080949
25.
KallováN. (2025a). “We grind each other as stones and get rid of sharp edges”: Young people’s reported positive change, learnings, and growth through romantic relationships. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 21(2), 138–151.
26.
KallováN. (2025b). I learned my lesson: Or maybe not: A longitudinal multiple‐case study on young women’s perceived learning from romantic relationships. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 2025(1), Article 5412764.
KruglanskiA. W.WebsterD. M.KlemA. (1993). Motivated resistance and openness to persuasion in the presence or absence of prior information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 861–876. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.861
29.
Kus AmbrožM.SuklanJ.JelovacD. (2021). Values and virtues as correlates of quality and stability of romantic relationships and marriage in a post-socialist transitional society. Social Sciences, 10(8), 289. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10080289
30.
LeeD. S.YbarraO.GonzalezR.EllsworthP. (2018). I-Through-We: How supportive social relationships facilitate personal growth. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217730371
31.
LewandowskiG. W.AckermanR. A. (2006). Something's missing: Need fulfillment and self-expansion as predictors of susceptibility to infidelity. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146(4), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.146.4.389-403
32.
LewandowskiG. W.Jr.AronA. (2002). The self-expansion scale: Construction and validation. In Paper presented at the Third Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah, GA, January 31–February 2.
33.
LezakM. D. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press.
34.
LiS.SavaleiV. (2025). Evaluating statistical fit of confirmatory bifactor models: Updated recommendations and a review of current practice. Psychological Methods. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000730
LukšíkI.GuillaumeM. K. (2022). Individual representations of love and their social and cultural resources. Human Affairs, 32(2), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2022-0020
37.
LukšíkI.Petrů PuhrováB.ŠrolJ. (2023). Individual representations of love among young people in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Československá Psychologie, 67(5), 315–331. https://doi.org/10.51561/cspsych.67.5.315
38.
MaL.ClarkE. M. (2024). I hope my partner can make me change: Expected relational self-changes and relational outcomes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 164(1), 136–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.2008853
39.
MadsenS. D.CollinsW. A. (2011). The salience of adolescent romantic experiences for romantic relationship qualities in young adulthood. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(4), 789–801. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00737.x
MattinglyB. A.Lewandowski JrG. W.McIntyreK. P. (2014). “You make me a better/worse person”: A two‐dimensional model of relationship self‐change. Personal Relationships, 21(1), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12025
42.
MattinglyB. A.McIntyreK. P.KneeC. R.LovingT. J. (2019). Implicit theories of relationships and self-expansion: Implications for relationship functioning. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(6), 1579–1599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518768079
43.
MattinglyB. A.McIntyreK. P.LewandowskiG. W. (Eds.), (2020). Interpersonal relationships and the self-concept. Springer.
44.
McIntyreK. P.MattinglyB. A.IssulaI.StantonS. C. (2024). Self-expansion within sexual minority relationships. The Journal of Social Psychology, 165(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2024.2328122
45.
MereskoR.RubinM.ShontzF. C.MorrowW. R. (1954). Rigidity of attitudes regarding personal habits and its ideological correlates. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 49(1), 89–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0056505
46.
MorrisL.MansellW. (2018). A systematic review of the relationship between rigidity/flexibility and transdiagnostic cognitive and behavioral processes that maintain psychopathology. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 9(3), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043808718779431
47.
NoronaJ. C.RobersonP. N. E.WelshD. P. (2017). “I learned things that make me happy, things that bring me down”: Lessons from romantic relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 32(2), 155–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558415605166
48.
OregS. (2003). Resistance to change: Developing an individual differences measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4), 680–693. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.680
49.
RoetsA.Van HielA. (2007). Separating ability from need: Clarifying the dimensional structure of the need for closure scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(2), 266–280. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206294744
50.
RoetsA.Van HielA. (2011). Item selection and validation of a brief, 15-item version of the need for closure scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(1), 90–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.09.004
51.
RönkköM.ChoE. (2022). An updated guideline for assessing discriminant validity. Organizational Research Methods, 25(1), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428120968614
52.
ShulmanS. (2003). Conflict and negotiation in adolescent romantic relationships. In FlorsheimP. (Ed.), Adolescent Romantic Relations and Sexual Behavior (pp. 109–135). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410607782
53.
ShulmanS. (2017). The emerging adulthood years: Finding one’s way in career and intimate love relationships. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 70(1), 40–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/00797308.2016.1277123
54.
ShulmanS.Yonatan-LeusR. (2024). The longitudinal correlates of breakup distress in early young adulthood: Future distress and future benefits. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 41(10), 3008–3030. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241260358
55.
SroufeL. A.FleesonJ. (1986). Attachment and the construction of relationships. In HartupW. W.RubinZ. (Eds.), Relationships and development (pp. 57–71). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
56.
TashiroT. Y.FrazierP. (2003). “I’ll never be in a relationship like that again”: Personal growth following romantic relationship breakups. Personal Relationships, 10(1), 113–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6811.00039
57.
TedeschiR. G.CalhounL. G. (1996). The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305
58.
Van OuytselJ.PonnetK.WalraveM. (2020). Cyber dating abuse: Investigating digital monitoring behaviors among adolescents from a social learning perspective. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(23-24), 5157–5178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517719538
59.
VennumA.FinchamF. D. (2011). Assessing decision making in young adult romantic relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 739–751. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023287
60.
WebsterD. M.KruglanskiA. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1049
61.
WestA. L.NaeimiH.Di BartolomeoA. A.YampolskyM.MuiseA. (2024). Growing together through our cultural differences: Self-expansion in intercultural romantic relationships. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(2), 182–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672221121508
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.
