Development of the Young Love Scales, The

Includes bibliographical references.2015 Summer.Research on romantic relationships in emerging adulthood is essential to better understanding the trajectory of romantic relationships in adults, and the identity development of emerging adults. Measures of romantic relationship quality demonstrate flaws in a few ways: some are based on an atheoretical structure, which limits interpretation of the measure, some define relationship quality as multiple constructs (e.g., satisfaction and commitment) simultaneously, and some are limited to couples in marital relationships. The present study outlined the development and validation of the Young Love Scales, three measures of relationship commitment, satisfaction and adjustment. This study also examined the theoretical structure of these constructs, and the results showed that the first-order factors for the Young Love Scales appear to be subsumed under a second-order factor, which was labeled relationship quality. The results of this study also showed that adjustment (daily behaviors) predicts one’s commitment to the relationship, but that satisfaction fully mediates this link. Overall, this suggests that individuals’ actions in the relationship must add to a sense of satisfaction in order for them to feel that the relationship should continue. These results have implications for couple therapy interventions, and for better understanding the trajectory of romantic relationships in emerging adults