Emerging Adults’ Relational Turbulence with Parents as a Function of Parent Involvement in Their Romantic Relationship: A Conditional Process Analysis

Using relational turbulence theory, this study examined the conditional direct and indirect associations between parent involvement (i.e., facilitation and interference) in emerging adults’ romantic relationships and relational turbulence in the parent-child relationship vis-à-vis the valence of conversations with parents about the romantic partner. Participants included 264 emerging adult children who were involved in a romantic relationship. Parent interference with the romantic partnership was directly and indirectly associated with turbulence in the parent-child relationship via communication valence. The direct association was conditioned by the family’s conversation orientation and whether the adult child valued the parent’s opinion about their romantic partnership, whereas the indirect association was not. Likewise, parent facilitation was directly and indirectly associated with turbulence via communication valence, though again only the direct association was conditioned by conversation orientation and valuing the parent’s opinion. Implications for relational turbulence theory are discussed.