Romantic relationships and the physical and mental health of college students

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that, analogous to married individuals, college students in committed romantic relationships experience greater well‐being than single college students. In a sample of 1,621 college students, individuals in committed relationships experienced fewer mental health problems and were less likely to be overweight/obese. There were no significant differences between groups in frequency of physical health problems. Examination of 2 models suggested that being in a committed romantic relationship decreases problematic outcomes largely through a reduction in sexual partners, which in turn decreases both risky behaviors and problematic outcomes. These results are discussed in the context of how premarital dating relationships may contribute to understanding of the observed association between marriage and well‐being.

A New Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Type: The Psychometric Properties of The Turkish forms of Relationship Obsessions and Compulsions Inventory and Partner-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Inventory

“…Kiþilerarasý iliþkilerin, özellikle de romantik iliþki-lerin bireylerin iyi oluþ halleri üzerinde önemli bir rolünün olduðu (6,7), tatmin edici yakýn iliþki baðlarýna sahip olmanýn sýkýntý ve zorluklara karþý koruyucu bir faktör olduðu belirtilmektedir (8). Romantik iliþkilerin psikolojik iyilik hali üzerindeki etkilerini inceleyen pek çok araþtýrma yapýlmýþ olsa da, romantik iliþki içerikli obsesif-kompulsif semptomlarýn oldukça yakýn bir döneme kadar araþtýr-macýlarýn dikkatini çekmediði görülmektedir (9,10).…”

Intercultural Dating at Predominantly White Universities in the United States: The Maintenance and Crossing of Group Borders

“…The campus gender imbalance has been identified as a negative factor in the quantity and quality of college-going Black women's romantic experiences [21][22][23]. Schoepflin [8] found that Black women attending PWIs had a limited dating landscape, due to the limited availability of Black men and to the reluctance of White men to date Black women.…”

Components of Love and Relationship Satisfaction: Lesbians and Heterosexual Women

“…Moreover, involvement in romantic relationships has positive effects for psychological and physical health (Braithwaite, Delevi, & Fincham, 2010;Cui, Finchman, & Pasley, 2008;Markey, Markey, & Gray, 2007). Although several variables are relevant to one's ability to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships, a critical factor is confidence in one's ability to nurture them, or relationship selfefficacy (RSE; Lopez et al, 2007).…”