Are the Seeds of Healthy Marriages Sown in Adolescence?
Recognizing that low-income young adults may have already accumulated a number of risk factors for experiencing marital disruptions or unmarried parenthood, programs focused on preventing marital disruption and supporting healthy marriages have begun to target individuals and couples earlier in their development. Specifically, a number of researchers and theorists have suggested that the building blocks of healthy adult marriages are formed during adolescence (e.g., Collins and Sroufe, 1999; Collins and Van Dulmen, 2006; Furman and Shaffer, 2003; Furman and Simon, 1999; Giordano, Manning, and Longmore, 2006; Tallman, Burke, and Gecas, 1998). Among the many elements of adolescents’ lives that may provide a foundation for healthy marriages as adults (e.g., the quality of the education they receive, the available career opportunities, protection from violence and substance abuse), researchers and policy-makers have devoted particular attention to adolescents’ romantic relationships. Indee
