Exploring Romantic Relationship Patterns among Turkish Emerging Adults: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

For the current study, a grounded theory methodology was utilized to generate a substantive theory that illustrates Turkish emerging adults’ different romantic experiences. The study participants were 25 emerging adults (12 female, 13 male), ages ranging from 19 to 26 years. The data analysis revealed four romantic patterns namely, balanced intimacy, learning intimacy, high-dependent intimacy, and lack of intimacy. The findings of the current study contribute to research on romantic relationship models by suggesting that the romantic self-descriptions, connection with the family and the culture, and meaning of past romantic experiences conjointly generate the four different romantic patterns among emerging adults. Furthermore, results suggest that Turkish emerging adults’ romantic experiences show many developmental similarities with their western counterparts while maintaining unique cultural characteristics.