Defense Katya Ivanova - March 5, 2012

On March, 5, 2012, at 16.15 hours, in Groningen, Katya Ivanova (ICS, year group 2007) will defend her dissertation From Parents to Partners: The Impact of Family on Romantic Relationships in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood.

Do adolescents who feel that they are rejected by their parents search for alternative sources of emotional warmth? Are children of divorced parents more likely to initiate romantic relationships than those from intact families? How does the instability surrounding a parental divorce affect the adolescent’s inclination to date? Does the quality of the family relational climate in childhood have a direct effect on people’s satisfaction with their intimate relationships even 15 years later, in emerging adulthood?

The research presented in this dissertation investigates how relational experiences with family members and significant family transitions can affect the initiation and quality of romantic relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood.