Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Personality, family history, and competence in early adult romantic relationships
M Brent Donnellan1, Dannelle Larsen-Rife, Rand D Conger
1Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA. donnel59@msu.edu
Abstract:
The present investigation tested how well family characteristics and the personality traits assessed by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (A. Tellegen, 1982) measured in late adolescence predict aspects of romantic relationships in early adulthood. Nurturant-involved parenting practices and personality traits were related to observed negative interactions and to couples' reports of relationship quality. These results from a prospective longitudinal study suggest that the origins of competence in romantic relationships can be found both in individual differences in personality (especially in negative emotionality) and in differences in developmental experiences. Discussion further develops an account of relationship success and dysfunction that integrates proximal factors, such as couple interactions, with more distal factors such as personality and socialization experiences.
Related Concept Videos
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Desirable Characteristics in Others
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Factors Influencing Attraction VI: Personality Traits
Adler's Individual Psychology
Relationship Formation
