Who takes the lead in consumer choices within romantic relationships: the evidence from electroencephalography hyperscanning and granger causality analysis.

In real-life scenarios, joint consumption is common, particularly influenced by social relationships such as romantic ones. However, how romantic relationships affect consumption decisions and determine dominance remains unclear. This study employs electroencephalography hyperscanning to examine the neural dynamics of couples during joint-consumption decisions. Results show that couples, compared to friends and strangers, prefer healthier foods, while friends have significantly faster reaction times when selecting food. Time-frequency analysis indicates that couples exhibit significantly higher theta power, reflecting deeper emotional and cognitive involvement. Strangers show greater beta1 power, indicating increased cognitive effort and alertness due to unfamiliarity. Friends demonstrate higher alpha2 power when choosing unhealthy foods, suggesting increased cognitive inhibition. Inter-brain phase synchrony analysis reveals that couples display significantly higher inter-brain phase synchrony in the beta1 and theta bands across the frontal-central, parietal, and occipital regions, indicating more coordinated cognitive processing and stronger emotional bonds. Females in couples may be more influenced by emotions during consumption decisions, with detailed sensory information processing, while males exhibit higher cognitive control and spatial integration. Granger-causality analysis shows a pattern of male dominance and female dependence in joint consumption within romantic relationships. This study highlights gender-related neural synchronous patterns during joint consumption among couples, providing insights for further research in consumer decision-making.

Navigating Love in a Post-Pandemic World: Understanding Young Adults' Views on Short- and Long-Term Romantic Relationships.

The uncertain future due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the technological advancements may have altered young adults' experiences of romantic relationships. It is unclear whether individuals will continue to prefer traditional long-term romantic relationships (LTRR) or opt for short-term ones (STRR). This research describes how young adults in Malaysia perceive LTRR and STRR. Using the structured approach of the theory of social representations, data were collected from 512 participants; 238 (46.48%) male; Mage 21.75; majority were heterosexual and students, and analyzed using prototypical analysis to reveal high consensus elements. Five observations were made: (1) females prioritize "love" in both STRR and LTRR, while males prioritize "love" only in LTRR; (2) females prioritize "marriage" in LTRR, while males prioritize "trust," "comfort," and "stability." Males do not consider "marriage" as part of a LTRR; (3) both males and females view STRR positively, while LTRR are viewed more practically; (4) "sex" is a core element in STRR but is absent in LTRR; (5) males differentiate between STRR and LTRR with no overlapping elements. These findings provide insight into the social representations of romantic relationships among young adults in Malaysia and suggest future directions for research in the field.

The Context Matters: Women's Experiences of Their Partner's Odor in Intimate and Sexual Encounters.

Research shows that male body odor plays an important role in women's mate choice and that olfactory abilities are associated with women's sexual functioning. What remains unclear is what types of partner's odor actually shape women's experience during intimate activities. This study therefore explored women's experience associated with the partner's various odors and investigated how they affect women's intimate and sexual encounters. We performed semi-structured individual interviews with 20 single women and 20 women in a long-term relationship. Thematic analysis revealed four key natural odor types of the partner: body odor, sweat, genital odor, and semen odor. Further, we have identified three main types of fragrance odor (cologne, shower gel, and laundry agents) and investigated their perception in both intimate (hugging, kissing, cuddling, lying side by side) and sexual (intercourse, oral sex, ejaculation) contexts. Both partner's natural odor and fragrance affected women's emotional state (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and behavioral response (ranging from approach to avoidance of partner). Women's odor perception was frequently context-dependent, so that even mostly negatively perceived odors (e.g., semen, genital odor) were often accepted as part of sexual encounter. Finally, women's perception was negatively modified by partner's specific sweat (after workday, workout, or when the partner is ill) during intimate encounters. Our results highlight the complexity and interindividual variability of partner's odor perception.

The roles of dating and victimization on adverse mental health among teens: Survey findings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between romantic involvement, dating violence, other victimizations, and mental health among adolescents in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is understudied. METHODS: This study analyzed 2021 survey data collected from a representative sample of 9th-12th grade students (n = 10,792) from 24 high schools in a US Midwestern state. Most respondents identified as White, heterosexual, and US-born, with more than three-quarters aged 15-17 years. Guided by the poly-victimization framework, this study explored: (a) How do youth victimizations and mental health concerns differ by their experience of dating and dating violence? (b) What are the associations between youth mental health concerns, victimizations, and dating? RESULTS: Youths reported mental health concerns and victimizations at considerable rates during the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person interactions were limited. Those who experienced dating violence were at a higher risk of reporting other victimizations (i.e., unwanted sexual comments, unwanted sexual contact, sexual photos/videos, sex trading for compensation, discrimination, and bullying). The number of victimizations demonstrated a cumulative effect on teen mental health. Most individual victimizations showed significant net associations with mental health concerns, even when controlling for other differing victimizations. CONCLUSIONS: Dating violence plays a critical role in the interconnectedness of victimizations, and the number of victimizations has a cumulative effect on teen mental health. The high prevalence of youth victimizations during the time when in-person interactions were limited suggests that victimizations may transfer from in-person forms to virtual forms and occur offline. Implications for individual and community prevention and interventions are discussed.

Strengths, Struggles, and Strategies: How Adults with Serious Mental Illness Navigate Long-Term Romantic Relationships.

Married individuals and those in committed romantic relationships generally report having better mental health outcomes than their single or divorced counterparts. However, studies of romantic relationships for adults with mental illness have often ignored rewarding aspects of romantic relationships and have focused primarily on relationship difficulties. In this study, 23 adults with serious mental illness in long-term romantic relationships described their relationship strengths and struggles in small focus group discussions. Content analysis was used to characterize themes from participant accounts. Overall, participants described deep emotional bonds with their partners, a mutual willingness to work on their relationship, and good communication skills as relationship strengths. Mental health symptoms and internalized stigma were identified as major contributors to relationship struggles. Participants spontaneously identified intentional strategies that they used to navigate mental health challenges in their relationship that included self-directed, partner-directed, and couple-directed actions. Implications of findings for research and practice are discussed.

Is it harmful to me or to us? A dyadic analysis of Chinese young adults' dysfunctional individuation and romantic relationship satisfaction.

This study aimed at examining how romantically involved Chinese young adults' dysfunctional individuation was associated with their and their partners' perceptions of romantic relationship satisfaction. We recruited 296 Chinese couples who were currently in heterosexual romantic relationships at the university. The couples completed self-report measures of their dysfunctional individuation and relationship satisfaction. Results from the cross-sectional actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) indicated that (a) for both genders, actor effects existed: Chinese young adults' dysfunctional individuation was negatively associated with their romantic relationship satisfaction; (b) in terms of partners' effects, women's dysfunctional individuation was negatively associated with men's perceptions of relationship satisfaction; but (c) men's dysfunctional individuation was not significantly associated with women's perceptions of relationship satisfaction. The findings were the first to reveal the actor and partner effects of dysfunctional individuation on romantic relationship satisfaction. The study results provided practical implications regarding how young adults can have satisfying romantic relationships.

Interpersonal conflict increases interpersonal neural synchronization in romantic couples.

Previous studies on dual-brain social interaction have shown different patterns of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) between conflictual and supportive interactions, but the role of emotion in the dual-brain mechanisms of such interactions is not well understood. Furthermore, little is known about how the dual-brain mechanisms are affected by relationship type (e.g., romantic relationship vs. friendship) and interaction mode (e.g., verbal vs. nonverbal). To elaborate on these issues, this study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to collect hemodynamic signals from romantic couples and cross-sex friends while they were discussing conflictual, neutral, or supportive topics. For the couples but not the friends, INS between the sensorimotor cortex of both participants was greater when discussing the conflictual topic than when discussing the supportive topic. INS was positively correlated with the arousal level but not the valence level of communication contents. INS was also positively correlated with interpersonal physiological synchronization based on galvanic skin response, a physiological measure of arousal. Furthermore, the differences in INS between the conflictual and supportive topics were closely associated with verbal rather than nonverbal behaviors. Together, these findings suggest that it is the arousal level induced by verbal interactions during interpersonal conflicts that increases romantic couples' INS.

Impulsivity as a Predictor of Early Dating Initiation in 11-12-Year-Old Youth.

As early initiation of dating behaviors is associated with risky sexual behaviors (e.g., higher number of sexual partners, sex with strangers), the current study examined determinants of early dating behaviors, focusing on impulsivity. Participants were 11-12-year-old boys (n = 109) and girls (n = 61) recruited from a psychiatric clinic and ads targeted to the general public. Ordered logistic regression models were used to examine the association between each facet of impulsivity (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking) and dating behaviors. Youth with higher sensation seeking and negative urgency was more likely to initiate dating behaviors at early ages compared to those with lower scores on those measures. Further, we found that female gender and higher parental education were associated with lower risk of initiating dating behaviors at early age. Advanced pubertal development was associated with higher risk for early dating. Our findings can inform prevention efforts, identifying sensation seeking and negative urgency as predictors of youths' early engagement in dating behaviors, which can be a precursor of early sexual debut and risky sexual behaviors.

Partner support and relationship quality as potential resources for childbirth and the transition to parenthood.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present paper was to explore the role of partners for the stressful life events of birth and the transition to parenthood. METHODS: In a first prospective longitudinal study (N = 304 dyads) we tested whether relationship quality positively predicted fewer interventions during labor and birth, a more positive birth experience, and better well-being during the first six weeks after birth. In a second study we surveyed mothers (N = 980; retrospective quasi-experimental design) who had given birth during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 - some in the absence of their partners - to test the assumption that regardless of relationship quality, the presence of the partner was positively related to low-intervention births and the birth experience. RESULTS: The results of the longitudinal study (Study 1) could be integrated into a Single Indicator model. They revealed that a high relationship quality assessed between week 5 and week 25 of pregnancy had a positive effect on birth experience for the mother and on psychological well-being during the transition to parenthood for both mothers and fathers. Results of the retrospective quasi-experimental field study (Study 2) revealed that the continuous presence of the partner was associated with a higher probability of a low-intervention birth and a more positive birth experience. Presence of a partner for only part of the birth did not positively predict labor and birth, but did positively predict the birth experience. The effects were independent of relationship quality. CONCLUSION: The results of both studies highlight the importance of partners for psychological well-being during labor and birth and the transition to parenthood.

The mediating effects of coping styles on the relationship between trait mindfulness and romantic relationship satisfaction.

The purpose of the current study was to explore the influence of coping styles and trait mindfulness on the satisfaction of romantic relationships (RRS) among college students. Of the 305 participants, 258 (males: 115, 44.6%) had previously been in, or were presently in a romantic relationship. All participants completed the MAAS, CSQ, and questions about RRS. There was a significant meditating role of mature coping styles in the relationship between trait mindfulness and RRS (indirect effect [95% CI] = 0.021 [0.001, 0.052]). However, the mediating effect of immature coping styles was not significant (indirect effect [95% CI] = 0.038 [-0.020, 0.097]). Mature coping style plays an important mediating role in the relationship between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction.

Brain Knows Who Is on the Same Wavelength: Resting-State Connectivity Can Predict Compatibility of a Female-Male Relationship.

Prediction of the initial compatibility of heterosexual individuals based on self-reported traits and preferences has not been successful, even with significantly developed information technology. To overcome the limitations of self-reported measures and predict compatibility, we used functional connectivity profiles from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data that carry rich individual-specific information sufficient to predict psychological constructs and activation patterns during social cognitive tasks. Several days after collecting data from resting-state fMRIs, participants undertook a speed-dating experiment in which they had a 3-min speed date with every other opposite-sex participant. Our machine learning algorithm successfully predicted whether pairs in the experiment were compatible or not using (dis)similarity of functional connectivity profiles obtained before the experiment. The similarity and dissimilarity of functional connectivity between individuals and these multivariate relationships contributed to the prediction, hence suggesting the importance of complementarity (observed as dissimilarity) as well as the similarity between an individual and a potential partner during the initial attraction phase. The result indicates that the salience network, limbic areas, and cerebellum are especially important for the feeling of compatibility. This research emphasizes the utility of neural information to predict complex phenomena in a social environment that behavioral measures alone cannot predict.

Development of Peer Relationships From Adolescence into Emerging Adulthood: Comparing Males and Females With and Without Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Friendships and romantic relationships are important sources of support that contribute to well-being for youth across adolescence and emerging adulthood and may be especially important for those with a chronic illness. We examined gender differences in trajectories of peer relationships among those with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and how they differ from those without. METHODS: Individuals with T1D (N = 132) and controls (N = 131) completed questionnaires across 11 years (M age = 12 years at baseline). Trajectories of friend support, conflict, and companionship were estimated from ages 11 to 23. Romantic support and conflict trajectories were estimated from ages 17 to 23. RESULTS: Females experienced more friend support than males, especially in comparison to males with T1D. Control females experienced highest levels of romantic support and lowest levels of romantic conflict. In comparison to control males, males with T1D experienced less friend support in early adolescence and less companionship in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. In comparison to control females, females with T1D experienced less friend support in late adolescence and more romantic conflict in emerging adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Findings that males with T1D report less friend support and companionship compared to control males, and females with T1D report less friend support and more romantic conflict than control females are of concern as these results suggest those with T1D may be missing out on important aspects of peer relationships. Understanding the broader social network of peer relationships may be useful to clinicians as they assist individuals in garnering support in general and for their diabetes.

Love in the Time of COVID-19: A Multi-Wave Study Examining the Salience of Sexual and Relationship Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The current study used Family Systems Theory as a framework to clarify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual, romantic, and individual functioning. Specifically, sexual and romantic functioning were modeled as key mechanisms linking COVID-19 related stressors (as predictors) to aspects of individual functioning over time (as outcomes). A sample of 1,241 sexually active adults in relationships (47% married/engaged) was recruited from March 5 to May 5, 2020: 82% White, 66% women, M = 34 years old, 58% heterosexual. All participants completed a baseline survey and 642 participants completed at least one of the six, monthly, follow-up surveys. Multilevel SEM models evaluated the model both at the level of stable between-person differences (i.e., level 2) and at the level of within-person change across time (i.e., level 1). The findings suggested that COVID-19 related stress was predictive of lower sexual, romantic, and individual functioning in both levels of the model. Significant indirect paths supported the proposed mediation at the level of within-person change across time: elevations in COVID-19 stress within specific months predicted corresponding drops in sexual functioning, which in turn predicted corresponding drops in romantic functioning, which in turn predicted corresponding drops in individual well-being (highlighting points of intervention). In contrast, at the level of between-person differences, stable levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction across the 6 months of the study were not associated with stable levels of COVID-19 stressors (representing sources of resilience that promoted well-being) and stable levels of stress from social isolation predicted stably higher amounts of communicating affection to one's loved ones (suggesting a need for affiliation in the face of chronic stress) whereas stable difficulties with orgasms were linked to stable irritability toward partners and depressive symptoms. Multigroup analyses suggested that the findings generalized across gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship stage, and cohabitation groups. Spillover effects within a Family Systems Theory framework clarify how upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic could have impacted sexual, romantic, and individual functioning in a process-oriented framework, highlighting sources of resilience (sexual satisfaction, communicating affection) and risk (orgasm difficulties).

The relationship between causes of suicidal attempts in Iran and individual and social variables: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the prevalence of suicide attempts and the relationships between the different causes of attempts with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics among individuals in Iran. METHODS: A retrospective review of data about suicide attempts from poisoning care centers in Babol city between 2017 and 2021. Multinomial regression analysis (with mental illness being the reference variable) was used to determine the factors associated with the different causes of suicide attempts (addiction, romantic relationship problems, and economic problems). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of completed suicide in the population sampled was 10.8% (95% confidence interval 9.5-12.1) (244/2,263). Relative to mental disorder, given that other variables in the model are held constant the following were associated with suicide attempts. A previous history of suicide attempts was associated with increasing the relative risk ratio of attempting suicide while having no positive history of smoking was associated with reducing the relative risk ratio of a suicidal attempt. However, the use of multiple drugs to attempt suicide was associated with an increased relative risk ratio of attempting suicide with romantic relationship problems and addiction as causes of suicide attempts. The first year of data collection (2017) and the female gender were both associated with an increased relative risk ratio of having a suicide attempt due to romantic relationships and economic problems. A family history of suicide was associated with an increased relative risk ratio of suicide attempts due to romantic relationship problems. However, using Pesticides-aluminum phosphide and detergent and javel water to attempt reduced the relative risk ratio of attempting due to romantic relationship problems. Age, self-employment, middle income, and married were associated with an increased relative risk ratio of suicide attempts among individuals due to addiction. However, staying longer at the emergency department was associated with a reduced relative risk ratio of having had a suicide attempt due to addiction. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the interplay between romantic hardships, addiction, economic hardships as reasons for suicide attempts and various sociable variables in a population in Northern Iran. The most associated reason for suicide attempts was romantic relationship hardships. Therefore, interventions such as sessions on conflict resolution, boundary setting, and management of grieving would greatly benefit this society and reduce the rate of suicide, especially among individuals with a history of suicide attempts.

Developmental changes in best friendship quality during emerging adulthood.

The purpose of this study was to examine change in four features of best friendship quality (intimacy, companionship, reliable alliance and conflict) from age 19 to 30 by gender and investment in romantic life. To this end, 363 participants (58% women) were asked about the quality of the relationship with their best friend and their level of investment in romantic life at ages 19, 20, 21, 22, 25 and 30. Latent growth curve analysis revealed a slight increase in reliable alliance and companionship and a slight decrease in intimacy in the early 20s followed by a steeper drop for these three features (quadratic trajectories), while conflict declined linearly. Women reported higher levels of intimacy and companionship and less conflict than men did at 19 years old. Also, their intimacy diminished throughout their 20s, slightly at first but more strongly thereafter. For men, it was lower early on and remained stable afterwards. Finally, investment in romantic life at age 19 was associated with change in intimacy levels shared with their best friend. This study confirms that features of best friendship quality change differently from one another during emerging adulthood and demonstrates the influence of gender and investment in romantic life on these changes.

Determinants of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: A one-year follow-up study.

An initial study on loneliness during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States found that those who were living alone or who were single experienced greater loneliness than those who lived with others or were in a romantic relationship. This study presents follow-up analyses using data collected from the same sample (N = 428) at a total of five points in time throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Unlike most studies using a longitudinal design to track loneliness throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of this study showed that loneliness scores generally decreased over this time period. However, additional analyses showed that when participants experienced a de-escalation in their romantic relationship status (e.g., transitioning from being in a dating relationship to being single or from being married to separated), loneliness scores increased. Because prior research shows a connection between living alone and loneliness, the researchers also tested whether decreases in the number of people one lives with predicted increases in loneliness. The data was inconsistent with this prediction. Overall, these findings join a minority of other longitudinal studies investigating loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic that found either a decrease or no change in loneliness, while also illustrating that increases in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred after people experienced a de-escalation in their romantic relationship status. These findings underscore the importance of life events during the COVID-19 pandemic that may increase loneliness-specifically transitioning out of romantic relationships. Thus, future research on predictors of loneliness should continue to use longitudinal designs to determine how changes in one's life predict changes in loneliness.

The influence of partner appearance in the assessment of a person with obesity: an experimental study.

PURPOSE: This study analyzes whether knowing that a male with obesity has a romantic relationship with a normal weight woman improves impressions about him. METHODS: An online experiment was conducted with a sample of 3024 adult participants (1828 women and 1196 men) with a mean age of 36.11 (SD = 13.49). Each participant was shown two photographs: one of a male target with obesity and one of his female partner (who had either normal weight or obesity depending on the condition). The respondents' sex was added as a fixed factor into the analyses. Physical attractiveness was rated using an item with a scale ranging from 0 to 100. Competence, warmth, and morality were measured using a 17-item adjective list. RESULTS: The target was assessed as more attractive when he had a partner with normal weight (F(1, 3009) = 4.85, p = .028, [Formula: see text] = .002), and was also given higher scores for competence (F(1, 3009) = 4.93, p = .026, [Formula: see text] = .002), warmth (F(1, 3009) = 4.32, p = .038, [Formula: see text] = .001), and morality (F(1, 3009) = 11.16, p = .001, [Formula: see text] = .004). There was a significant interaction between partner weight and the respondents' sex for physical attractiveness, as the difference between the scores in each condition was only significant for women. CONCLUSION: It is possible that women perceived that the male target who had a normal weight partner had a higher status or some hidden quality besides his physical appearance, and thus rated him as more attractive. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I, experimental study.

How We Disenfranchise Grief for Self and Other: An Empirical Study.

Disenfranchised grief can be defined as a loss that is not openly acknowledged or a mourning process not recognized socially after a loss. One can also self-disenfranchise as suppressing and not allowing oneself to grieve. The current study aims to examine perceived disenfranchisement, self-disenfranchisement and disenfranchisement of others. For this purpose, three hypothetical unacknowledged loss scenarios, which are pet loss, a romantic relationship break-up and having a psychological disorder, were used to compare self and other disenfranchisement as well as to reveal the relationships to attachment and social support. The findings indicate that the three loss scenarios differ in terms of the acknowledgement of loss, grief and social and professional support for self and others. Subsequently, attachment and social support are significantly related to the evaluations of the disenfranchised grief process. Finally, the implications of the findings are discussed.

Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value.

Although sexual desire for one's partner is theorized to serve as a gut-level indicator of partner mate value that motivates investment in valued partners, there is scant empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Five studies addressed this possibility, examining whether experiencing sexual desire encouraged the enactment of relationship-promoting behaviors and whether perceptions of partner mate value motivated this proposed process. In a pilot study and Study 1, participants relived an activity they experienced with their partner, which was either sexual or non-sexual. Then, participants rated their desire to engage in sex and other non-sexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner (pilot study) and their partner's responsiveness to personal disclosures. Participants' enacted responsiveness was also evaluated by judges (Study 1). Results showed that experiences of desire enhanced relationship-promoting tendencies. Using experimental, daily experiences, and longitudinal methods, Studies 2-4 extended these findings, indicating that both manipulated and perceived partner mate value predicted desire, which, in turn, was associated with engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. These findings demonstrate that sexual desire functions as a mechanism encouraging investment in partners who are perceived to be worth pursuing and retaining.

A cluster analysis of dynamics in adolescent romantic relationships.

INTRODUCTION: While several studies involving adolescents have addressed issues related to romantic relationships and dating violence, there is a limited understanding of adolescent romantic relationship dynamics. Typological analyses have been useful to provide targeted interventions and to simplify our understanding of complex phenomena. METHODS: This study explored dynamics in adolescent romantic relationships, considering the interaction between romantic partner characteristics to identify dyadic profiles. A sample of 90 heterosexual dyads of Canadian adolescents (Mage = 18.44 years, SD = 1.47) completed a self-reported questionnaire. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted based on the dimensions of the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems (i.e., cohesion, flexibility, and communication; Olson & Gorall, 2003). RESULTS: Analysis revealed four profiles of romantic relationship dynamics: 1) balanced dynamic (51.0% of the sample); 2) hampered dynamic (8.3%); 3) entangled dynamic (20.8%); and 4) rigid dynamic (13.5%). Taking into account the variations between and within dyads, results highlight the diversity of romantic experiences and offer a better understanding of the intricacies of different adolescent romantic relationship dynamics. Correlates indicated that the profiles can be distinguished by different personal and interpersonal characteristics. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the importance of integrating a more person- and dyad-oriented framework in our understanding of adolescent romantic dynamics, since a unique approach to prevention and intervention may not address the needs of all adolescents. The results provided important insight into the identified profiles, guiding dating violence prevention efforts and programs and promoting harmonious and egalitarian romantic relationships.