Sullivan's Interpersonal Development in Adolescence

Sullivan's Theory of Interpersonal Development During Adolescence

• Sullivan emphasized the social aspects of development, arguing psychological maturation is understood through relationships.
• Throughout life, individuals experience changing interpersonal needs.
• Middle childhood involves the need for peer group acceptance.
• Preadolescence involves the need for intimacy in same-sex friendships.
• Early adolescence involves the need for sexual contact.
• Late adolescence involves the need for integration of intimacy and sexuality.
• Security from fulfilling interpersonal needs is essential for identity and self-esteem.
• Early interpersonal experiences affect later relationships; a child with secure friendships is more likely to form romantic relationships successfully.
• Intimacy is emotional closeness, and sexuality is physical attraction; intimacy in same-sex friendships prepares individuals for later romantic relationships.
• Adolescents must integrate intimacy with emerging sexual desires without overwhelming anxiety.
• Adolescents experiment with relationships in various ways, including dating multiple partners, long-term relationships, or separating intimacy from sexuality.

Attachment Theory

• Developed from infancy research, it suggests early relationships shape later interpersonal behaviors.
• Secure Attachment: Trust-based bond leads to psychological health and strong social skills.
• Anxious-Avoidant Attachment: Indifference toward caregivers potentially leads to difficulty in forming close relationships.
• Anxious-Resistant Attachment: Ambivalence toward caregivers, characterized by insecurity and dependence.
• Disorganized Attachment: Absence of normal attachment behavior is linked to psychological issues.
• Early attachments create a mental framework for future relationships; secure attachments promote confidence, while insecure attachments can lead to rejection sensitivity.
• Adolescent’s working models for relationships with parents are similar to those with friends, and relationships with friends are similar to romantic partners.
• Adolescents with insecure attachments may be highly sensitive to rejection, leading to social withdrawal, anxiety, or depression.
• Individuals who emerge from infancy with insecure attachments
• Adolescents who spent a lot of time with their friends in adolescence show patterns of brain activity that indicate less sensitivity to rejection
• Secure attachment in infancy predicts social competence in childhood, strong friendships in adolescence, and positive romantic relationships in adulthood.
• Individuals with insecure attachment may struggle with peer relationships, self-esteem, and social confidence.
• Early attachment influences later relationships; life experiences (e.g., parental divorce and supportive friendships) can alter attachment security.
• The significance of early attachment for later relationships is far outweighed by the importance of the experiences the individual has in childhood and the context in which he lives as an adolescent
• In an adult attachment interview, adolescents are asked to recount their childhood experiences through individual recollections of their early attachment experiences, assessing adolescents' current relationships with parents and peers.
• Secure, dismissing, and preoccupied are attachment categories
• Adolescents with secure attachment interaction with their mothers with less unhealthy anger and more appropriate assertiveness
• Adolescents with dismissing or preoccupied attachment are more likely to show a range of emotional and behavioral problems and are more likely to recall negative aspects of their interactions with others and more unstable romantic relationships.
• People's security of attachment in infancy predicts social competence in childhood, security of attachment to close friends in adolescence, and positive romantic relationships in adulthood.

The Development of Dating Relationships

• Adolescents transition from nonromantic to romantic relationships, an important aspect of intimacy development.
• Strong same-sex friendships in early adolescence predict the quality of later romantic relationships
• Prior to middle or late adolescence, dating may be less important for intimacy than for other purposes:
  • Establishing emotional and behavioral autonomy from parents
  • Furthering the development of gender identity
  • Establishing and maintaining status and popularity in the peer group
  • Influencing how they will be seen by others
• LGBTQ youth have difficulty developing close, nonsexual friendships with same-sex peers due to suspicions and homophobia.
• Physical and hormonal changes increase interest in romantic and sexual relationships.
• Adolescents explore different relationship styles:
  • Casual dating
  • Long-term committed relationships
  • Keeping intimacy and sexuality separate
• Adolescents with insecurity or low social confidence may struggle with dating.
• Family expectations, peer norms, and societal values shape dating behaviors.

The Impact of Dating on Adolescent Development

• Positive effects include:
  • Development of emotional intimacy and communication skills
  • Increased social competence and self-esteem
  • Learning about personal preferences in relationships
• Early Intense Dating: Linked to increased risk of emotional distress, depression, and anxiety, particularly among younger adolescents.
  • Less mature socially, less imaginative, less achievement-oriented, less happy, more depressed, more likely to engage in disordered eating, and less likely to do well in school
  • Early dating can be bad for (white) girls as they tend to be with men who are older
• Romantic conflicts and breakups can lead to emotional turmoil, especially for adolescents with insecure attachment styles.
• Early or intense dating relationships may increase the likelihood of substance use, sexual risk-taking, and emotional dependency
• Girls tend to place greater emphasis on intimacy and emotional connection
• Boys may initially focus more on physical attraction but develop greater emphasis on intimacy over time.
• Early experiences in dating relationships influence later romantic behaviors and expectations in adulthood.
• Adolescents who do not date at all show signs of delayed social development and feelings of insecurity
• It is unclear whether age-appropriate dating leads to better social development or whether more socially advanced adolescents are simply more likely to date.
• Having negative experiences in romantic relationships increases the risk for psychological problems.
  • Breakups often trigger depression, substance use, and delinquency.
• Breaking up does not have severe effects on all adolescents
  • More so for those with rejection sensitivity or an insecure working model