%0 Journal Article
%T His or Her Parents? Perceived Parental Approval of Romantic Relationships Among College Students and Their Partners
%A Kyung-Hee Lee
%A Andrea V. R. Swenson
%A Sylvia Niehuis
%J Interpersona : An International Journal on Personal Relationships
%D 2010
%I 
%X Using social capital theory, this study of 194 dating couples examined the connection between parents¡¯ approval of the dating relationship (reported by each couple member for his/her own parents and the partner¡¯s parents) and participants¡¯ relationship distress. The Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model within Structural Equation Modeling served as the data-analytic tool. Results showed that, in support of the theory, relationship approval from strong ties (one¡¯s own parents) and from weak ties (one¡¯s partner¡¯s parents) manifested themselves differently in romantic relationships. Specifically, both men¡¯s and women¡¯s perception of relationship approval from their own parents (strong ties) and from their partner¡¯s parents (weak ties) negatively predicted couple members¡¯ own relationship distress. Moreover, path coefficients between men¡¯s and women¡¯s strong ties and their own relationship distress were roughly twice as large as those between men¡¯s and women¡¯s weak ties and their relationship distress. Findings were less clear for the association between perceptions of relationship approval from one¡¯s own and one¡¯s partner¡¯s parents and the dating partners¡¯ relationship distress. The findings are discussed in light of prior research and theory on social capital.
%K actor-partner interdependence model
%K dyadic data analysis
%K parental relationship approval
%K romantic relationships
%K social capital theory
%U http://agnaldogarcia.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/04_paper.pdf