Social Development Research on:

Intimate Relationship Development:
During the Transition to Adulthood:
Differences by Social Class

PSY/201

October 22, 2011

Shawna Harlin-Clifton

I chose the article “Intimate Relationship Development: During the Transition to Adulthood: Differences by Social Class” because I have believed there was a difference in intimate relationships when it came to different social classes. This article had various data graphs that informed me of the percentages of teen relationship experiences, teen sexual experiences as well as the percentage of early cohabitation and marriage by family income. It was very interesting to see that in adolescence, class differences shape intimate relationships such as in holding hands, kissing on the mouth or telling someone you loved her. While class differences in relationship experience are not that different, there are vast differences in sexual experiences. Concerning sexual experiences those with higher incomes are least likely to have had sexual experiences and that was the particular trend amongst the males. Class differences are also evident in early marriage and cohabitation rates. According the Study of Adolescent Health Data, collected in 2001, approximately 28 percent of youth who had lower income have cohabited by the age of 20 compared to 15 percent of higher income youth. This is also true concerning marriage. Youth in the lower income category are more likely to arrive at marriage earlier than higher incomes. This marriage usually will end in divorce and may be the reason behind the economic setbacks. Those youth with higher incomes appear to make family related transitions later. The Longitudinal Data from the Youth Development Study (Mortimet, 2003) shows that the timing of transitions to marriage and parenthood is strongly related to parents, income, education and,