• Assessing Couple and Family Stability Over Time
  Presented by: Randal D. Day, Alan C. Acock, Isaac J. Washburn, Sherry Cowan, Richard B. Miller and Stephanie Blickfeldt

• The Role of Family in Latinos’ Romantic Relationships in Early Adulthood
  Presented by: Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, F. Scott Christopher, Adriana Umaña-Taylor

Assessing Couple and Family Stability Over Time
Presented by: Randal D. Day, Alan C. Acock, Isaac J. Washburn, Sherry Cowen, Richard B. Miller and Stephanie Blickfeldt

This paper explores how stability in relationships is a key and understudied idea. We employ a sample of 346 couples to examine the stability of couple processes using growth curve analyses over the course of five waves of assessment. This preliminary paper focuses on couple conflict. Our analyses demonstrate how family stability over time can be assessed using a latent growth curve model approach. We suggest these analyses show that families and family life, in general, are relatively stable over time. We conclude by suggesting that further analyses need to be prepared and explored as we search for elements of family life that may be more or less stable and durable over time.

The Role of Family in Latinos’ Romantic Relationships in Early Adulthood
Presented by: Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, F. Scott Christopher, Adriana Umaña-Taylor

Experiences in the family of origin are associated with young adult romantic relationship functioning. Latinos are a large and rapidly growing segment of the US population, and yet, most research on young adult romantic relationships draws from European American samples and less is known about romantic relationship development and functioning in other ethnic and cultural groups in the US. The focus of this conceptual paper is the role of the family of origin, gender, and cultural influences on the dyadic attributes, functioning, and fate of Latino young adults’ romantic relationships.