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Romantic relationships and the physical and mental health of college students
Author(s) -
BRAITHWAITE SCOTT R.,
DELEVI RAQUEL,
FINCHAM FRANK D.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01248.x
Subject(s) - psychology , romance , mental health , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , context (archaeology) , social psychology , physical health , college health , overweight , clinical psychology , obesity , psychiatry , medicine , psychoanalysis , paleontology , family medicine , psychotherapist , biology
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.