Social Withdrawal and Romantic Relationships: A Longitudinal Study in Early Adulthood

Abstract

Involvement in romantic relationships is a salient developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood, and deviations from normative romantic development are linked to adverse outcomes. This study investigated to what extent social withdrawal contributed to deviations from normative romantic development, and vice versa, and the interplay between withdrawal and couples’ relationship perceptions. The sample included 1710 young adults (55–61% female) from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey cohort and their romantic partners. Data were collected across 4 waves, covering romantic relationships from ages 17 to 29 years. The results showed that higher withdrawal predicted a higher likelihood of romantic non-involvement by adulthood, consistently being single at subsequent waves, and entering one’s first relationship when older. Withdrawal moderately decreased when youth entered their first relationship. Male’s withdrawal in particular affected romantic relationship qualities and dynamics. These results provide new insights into the developmental sequelae of withdrawn young adults’ romantic relationship development.

Examining the reciprocal link between social anxiety and social relationships spanning from childhood to adulthood: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

“…Conversely, being in romantic relationships can enhance autonomy, a sense of belonging, and social support (Raley et al, 2007), thereby mitigating SA. A recent study also found that the engagement of romantic relationships was moderately associated with a decrease in social withdrawal among young individuals (Barzeva et al, 2021). Hence, it can be inferred that romantic relationships chronologically predict levels of SA.…”

Identity Theft: Social Withdrawal as a Risk Factor in Identity Development

“…The study of the role of social withdrawal in identity development is still in its infancy with very little of it examining subtypes of social withdrawal. For example, one study found broad aspects of social withdrawal (i.e., captured preference for being alone, being secretive, refusing to talk, and being timid) to be negatively related to identity development in the domain of love (Barzeva et al, 2021). Although interesting, this work fails to capture the motivations for withdrawing from interactions.…”

Don’t get too close to me: depressed and non-depressed survivors of child maltreatment prefer larger comfortable interpersonal distances towards strangers

“…Davis, Petretic-Jackson, & Ting, 2001 ), struggle with social withdrawal (Hildyard & Wolfe, 2002 ) and feel less well accepted by their partners (Vaillancourt-Morel, Rellini, Godbout, Sabourin, & Bergeron, 2019 ). Both fear of intimacy and a tendency towards social withdrawal might make it difficult to build and maintain meaningful relationships (Barzeva, Richards, Meeus, & Oldehinkel, 2021 ; Thelen, Vander Wal, Thomas, & Harmon, 2000 ). To develop interventions that improve the quality of social relationships and mental health, it is thus important to identify the pathways leading to interpersonal problems in those affected by CM.…”