ABSTRACT
Recalling the pain of adolescent romantic relationship breakups often conjures up memories of weeks spent ruminating and depressed, wondering whether a relationship like that would ever be found again. Although relationship breakups are stressful, most people do eventually stop thinking about their expartner, their mood eventually improves, and they realize that there are “other fish in the sea.” In fact, most people date more than one person-and in fact may marry more than one person-in their lifetimes. In retrospect, early relationships may never have had much of a chance. Poor partner selection, a poor fit between partners, or just a general lack of knowledge about how to make a relationship work can make it difficult for adolescent romances to endure. Ideally, years of trial and error in romantic relationships enable individuals to grow in their capacity to select and sustain satisfying, stable romantic relationships.
