Poster #61 - Romantic Involvement, Self-Worth, and Future Anxiety and Depression from Adolescence to Early Adulthood

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Romantic relationships can be especially stressful because adolescents have not yet developed the necessary coping skills to handle conflicts or breakups (Chen et al., 2009). Yet, romantic involvement becomes increasingly common and normative across adolescence and emerges as a salient developmental task during young adulthood. Several individual characteristics may lessen the problematic outcomes associated with adolescent dating. For example, high self-worth has been associated with more successfully navigating close relationships (Henninghausen et al., 2014). On the other hand, teens with low self-worth may be sensitive to negative feedback from their romantic partners, which can exacerbate negative self-thoughts (Ksobiech et al., 2014). Generally, research has suggested that low self-worth is strongly linked to poor mental health (Renouf & Harter, 1990), but little has considered the joint effect of self-worth and romantic involvement during adolescence on mental health symptoms.
The current study aims to assess the associations between romantic involvement during adolescence and young adulthood and later depression and anxiety while also considering self-worth as a moderator.

Method
Multi-informant longitudinal data were obtained for a community sample of 184 adolescents (86 males) at age 15 with follow-up data at ages 16, 20, and 21. The sample is demographically diverse (63% European-American, 27% African-American, and 14% mixed race or other race/ethnicities; baseline median family income was in the $40,000-$59,000 range). At each age, participants were asked if they were currently in a romantic relationship and completed several questionnaires assessing self-worth, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety.

Results
Regression analyses controlling for income and gender indicate that self-worth predicted fewer depression, anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms at all ages. Correlational analyses revealed that relationship status and self-worth became increasingly positively correlated with age. Interaction effects were found when predicting mental health symptoms in adolescence and early adulthood. Controlling for gender, income, and baseline mental health, single individuals with lower self-worth reported greater mental health symptoms a year later compared to those in a relationship. Single individuals with higher self-worth reported fewer mental health symptoms a year later compared to those in a relationship. These interaction effects were found for relationship status and self-worth at age 15 predicting depression at age 16 (see Figure 1), and for relationship status and self-worth at age 20 predicting depression (see Figure 2), anxiety, and social anxiety at age 21.

Discussion
Self-worth is a significant contributor to mental health symptoms. Relationship status may become increasingly tied to self-worth over adolescence and young adulthood, as dating becomes a salient developmental task. Results suggest that being in a relationship may protect against depression and anxiety for those with a lower sense of self-worth, but that individuals with high self-worth may report less depression when single compared to when in a relationship. Perhaps individuals with low self-worth seek reassurance from partners or gain a sense of identity through romantic exploration, such that their mental distress is alleviated through gaining a romantic partner. Implications for future research and practice with individuals seeking psychotherapy for relationship issues will be discussed.

Authors

• Jessica Kansky, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Taylor Weir, James Madison University
  Presenting Author

• Emily Loeb, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• David E. Szwedo, James Madison University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joseph Allen, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author