Characteristics of closeness in adolescent romantic relationships

This investigation was designed to describe characteristics of closeness in the romantic relationships of early, mid and late adolescents, and to dete rmine whether adolescent reports of relationship authority and reciprocity are linked to perceptions of interdependence, interaction frequency, activi ty diversity, influence, and relationship duration. Age was positively asso ciated with interdependence, daily social interaction, weekly activity dive rsity, and reciprocity but not with influence, authority, or relationship d uration; gender was unrelated to all characteristics of closeness. Authorit y and reciprocity were each positively associated with relationship influen ce. Authority moderated associations between reciprocity and several charac teristics of closeness such that reciprocity was positively linked to inter dependence, daily social interaction, and weekly activity diversity, but on ly in relationships characterized by low levels of authority. Neither recip rocity nor authority was associated with relationship duration. (C) 2001 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.