Adolescence is a particularly important and challenging time for developing long-lasting romantic relationship patterns. However, limited empirical research has explored teen perceptions of ideal partner characteristics during adolescence or their significance to the quality of current and future relationships. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 33 African American high school girls to shed light on the qualities desired in their dating relationships and relational factors that influence teen dating behaviors. Guided by the Social Ecological Framework, interviews were transcribed verbatim and entered into ATLAS.ti, for coding and analysis. Girls discussed the important influence of parents in choosing a partner and provided positive depictions of friendship and marriage with a suitable partner. More research is needed to understand how and why adolescents desire particular characteristics, how socialization shapes teen perceptions, and how these preferences may be related to current and future adolescent dating choices, including violence perpetration and victimization.

中文翻译：

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非裔美国女孩现在和未来的理想约会关系

青春期是发展持久浪漫关系模式的特别重要和具有挑战性的时期。然而，有限的实证研究探讨了青少年对青春期理想伴侣特征的看法或其对当前和未来关系质量的重要性。对 33 名非裔美国高中女生进行了半结构化的深度访谈，以阐明她们在约会关系中所需的品质以及影响青少年约会行为的关系因素。在社会生态框架的指导下，访谈被逐字转录并输入ATLAS.ti，进行编码和分析。女孩们讨论了父母对选择伴侣的重要影响，并积极描绘了与合适伴侣的友谊和婚姻。