Healthy Adolescent Relationships: Temporal Dynamics, Normative Scripts and the Transition to Sex

Award Year: 2005	Investigator: Hannah Bruckner, Peter Bearman	Budget: $274,928	Categories: Adolescent Health
Abstract: The complicated world of adolescent relationships is such a volatile topic that subjecting it to scientific scrutiny is often an invitation to controversy. But understanding and addressing some of today's most pressing public health and societal concerns, including sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, demands an unflinching look at relationships and sexuality in the often turbulent transition from child to adult. Co-investigators Peter S. Bearman, Ph.D. and Hannah Brückner, Ph.D., calmly, objectively, and thoroughly explore the public health and policy implications of adolescent relationships. Their project, Healthy Adolescent Relationships: Temporal Dynamics, Normative Scripts, and the Transition to Sex, seeks greater insight into how adolescent relationships develop over time and are influenced by peers, family, and communities. This important work will identify the ingredients of a healthy adolescent relationship and guide efforts to help young people negotiate sexuality within romantic relationships.