Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Mercedes Gómez-López, Carmen Viejo and Rosario Ortega-Ruiz
Additional contact information
Mercedes Gómez-López: Department of Psychology, Universidad de Córdoba (Spain), 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Carmen Viejo: Department of Psychology, Universidad de Córdoba (Spain), 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Rosario Ortega-Ruiz: Department of Psychology, Universidad de Córdoba (Spain), 14004 Córdoba, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-31

Abstract: Adolescence and emerging adulthood are both stages in which romantic relationships play a key role in development and can be a source of both well-being and negative outcomes. However, the limited number of studies prior to adulthood, along with the multiplicity of variables involved in the romantic context and the considerable ambiguity surrounding the construct of well-being, make it difficult to reach conclusions about the relationship between the two phenomena. This systematic review synthesizes the results produced into this topic over the last three decades. A total of 112 studies were included, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. On the one hand, these works revealed the terminological heterogeneity in research on well-being and the way the absence of symptoms of illness are commonly used to measure it, while on the other hand, they also showed that romantic relationships can be an important source of well-being for both adolescents and emerging adults. The findings underline the importance of providing a better definition of well-being, as well as to attribute greater value to the significance of romantic relationships. Devoting greater empirical, educational, and community efforts to romantic development in the stages leading up to adulthood are considered necessary actions in promoting the well-being of young people.

Keywords: well-being; psychosocial adjustment; emotional adjustment; optimal functioning; romantic well-being; positive psychology; PRISMA protocol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/13/2415/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/13/2415/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:13:p:2415-:d:246358

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().