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In e na ional Jou nal o Social and Educa ional Inno a ion
Vol. 12, Issue 24, 2025
ISSN (p in ): 2392 – 6252
eISSN (online): 2393 – 0373
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17285434
LOVE LEARNED EARLY: HOW CHILDHOOD SOCIAL SUPPORT CAPITAL
INFLUENCES ROMANTIC LOVE
Ma ius MARICI
*
S e an cel Ma e Uni e si y
0000-0001-7763-7091
[email p o ec ed]
Pa icia RUNCAN
Wes Uni e si y o Timisoa a
0000-0002-3346-0762
[email p o ec ed]
Remus RUNCAN
„Au el Vlaicu” Uni e si y o A ad
0000-0002-1282-4942
emus. unca[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
Backg ound o he S udy: I is widely belie ed ha lo e is a lea ned beha io , wi h he
common assump ion ha child en who expe ience lo e and suppo a e mo e likely o
de elop heal hy, lo ing ela ionships, while hose exposed o abuse may con inue cycles o
abuse in hei own pa ne ships. This s udy aims o in es iga e how social suppo
expe ienced in childhood in luences he capaci y o ma i al lo e in adul hood, add essing he
po en ial long- e m impac o ea ly social expe iences on la e ela ional dynamics.
Me hod: A o al o 114 adul s (mean age = 38.4, SD = 6.15) pa icipa ed in he s udy.
Responden s comple ed sel -adminis e ed, indi idual sel - epo ed ques ionnai es,
s anda dized and dis ibu ed online ia Google Fo ms. The da a ocused on assessing he
ela ionship be ween he le el o social suppo pe cei ed du ing childhood and he
dimensions o lo e in adul ela ionships, including emo ional in imacy, commi men , and
passion.
Resul s: As hypo hesized, he esul s indica ed a signi ican posi i e associa ion be ween he
social suppo el du ing childhood and he abili y o expe ience and exp ess lo e in
adul hood. Responden s who epo ed highe le els o childhood social suppo demons a ed
*
Co esponding au ho : Ma ici Ma ius, Email: [email p o ec ed], Mobile: 0040747494707.
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s onge lo e dimensions in hei adul ela ionships, sugges ing ha a nu u ing ea ly
en i onmen con ibu es o heal hie ela ional ou comes la e in li e.
Conclusion: The indings o his s udy highligh he c ucial ole o childhood social suppo
in shaping an indi idual’s capaci y o lo e and emo ional connec ion in adul hood. These
esul s unde sco e he impo ance o ea ly posi i e social expe iences o he de elopmen o
heal hy, long-las ing ma i al ela ionships, p o iding aluable insigh s o in e en ions and
s a egies aimed a os e ing emo ional well-being om childhood h ough adul hood. esul s
highligh he impo ance o add essing amily con lic o mi iga e i s po en ial nega i e
e ec s on child de elopmen .
Keywo ds: social suppo , lo e, adul s, quali a i e esea ch.
1. In oduc ion
Scien i ic esea ch shows ha pa en s in luence child en in many ways, including suppo and
con ol (Ma ici & Tu liuc, 2011; Ma ici, 2015a; Ma ici, 2015b). Bu s udies also show ha
social suppo , in gene al, as pa o he social capi al o child en, ma e s in hei e olu ion as
adul s in oman ic ela ionships (Sal a o e e al. 2011; Allen e al. 2020; Gi me e al. 2021).
Resea ch in de elopmen al psychology highligh s se e al heo ies ha unde sco e he
impo ance o lo e expe ienced du ing childhood in shaping heal hie oman ic ela ionships
in adul hood. A achmen heo y, sugges s ha secu e emo ional bonds o med wi h
ca egi e s in ea ly childhood lay he ounda ion o us ing and s able ela ionships la e in
li e (Feeney, 2013). Simila ly, E ikson's Psychosocial Theo y posi s ha success ully
na iga ing he " us s. mis us " s age in in ancy os e s a sense o secu i y and emo ional
esilience, which posi i ely in luences adul in imacy (Oh, & Minichiello, 2013). Social
Lea ning Theo y u he explains ha child en who obse e heal hy exp essions o lo e and
communica ion be ween hei pa en s a e mo e likely o model hese beha iou s in hei own
oman ic pa ne ships (S ua , 2003). Wha is mo e, Cogni i e De elopmen Theo y,
emphasizes ha expe iencing consis en ca e and a ec ion helps child en de elop a posi i e
sel -concep and empa hy, bo h o which a e c i ical o o ming deep emo ional connec ions
in adul hood (Soloski e al., 2013).
1.1. Pa en -Child Rela ionship
Being a good lo e in oman ic ela ionships is a lea ned beha io and pa en s a e he i s
socializing ac o ha eaches child en how o beha e as lo e s. The exposu e o child en o
pa en al oman ic in e ac ions, he in e ac ions o child en wi h hei siblings o hei mo he
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o a he a e ac o s ha each child en no ms, conduc s, mic o skills, a i udes, emo ions o
e en complex know-hows like sus aining a pleasan con e sa ion o helping.
Resea ch consis en ly demons a es ha wa m h and esponsi eness wi hin he amily o
o igin can ha e a - eaching implica ions o indi iduals’ la e oman ic ela ionships
(Conge , Cui, B yan , & Elde , 2000; Sei ge-K enke, e al., 2001). Fo ins ance, Conge e
al. (2000) ound ha ea ly pa en al a ec ion os e s be e communica ion skills and
ela ional compe ence in eme ging adul hood, whe eas Sei ge-K enke e al. (2001) epo ed
ha he ma i al s a us o pa en s, he pa en -child quali y o ela ionship and a sense o body
compe ence was associa ed wi h connec edness and a ac ion in oman ic ela ionships.
Secu e a achmen o pa en s—o en a ising om consis en a ec ion— u he con ibu es o
enhanced sel - egula ion and com o wi h in imacy (Shulman & Sei ge-K enke, 2001).
Addi ional e idence unde sco es ha nu u ing mo he –child in e ac ions a e linked o
heal hie adul oman ic ou comes (Ka en, 1998), while o e all suppo i e amily
en i onmen s bols e socioemo ional skills essen ial o sa is ying in ima e bonds (Collins &
Lau sen, 2004). Me a-analy ic indings highligh ha posi i e pa en ing p ac ices educe
beha iou al p oblems and acili a e heal hie ela ionship o ma ion (Hoe e, e al., 2009).
Longi udinal wo k indica es ha s ong pa en al lo e and ea ly a achmen secu i y p edic
mo e adap i e ep esen a ions and beha iou s in young adul s’ oman ic ela ionships
(Roisman, e al., 2005). Al oge he , hese s udies e eal ha suppo i e, lo ing ela ionships
wi h pa en s play a pi o al ole in os e ing emo ional s abili y, e ec i e communica ion, and
o e all ela ional success in adul hood.
Howe e , Lo e and Rejec ion Messages Theo y (LRMT; Ma ici, 2025) claims ha p esen
in e ac ions ma e he mos , as hey p oduce he immedia e, li ed expe ience in he couple—
wha each pa ne ac ually eels, in e p e s, and eac s o now. I is no he dis an pas o e en
he sum o his o ical g ie ances ha de e mines he emo ional clima e o he ela ionship, bu
a he he mic o-messages exchanged in e e yday li e: he glances, wo ds, silences, ges u es
o a ec ion o absence, iny alida ions o sub le ejec ions ha accumula e and shape he
p esen emo ional one.
Ne e heless, LRMT ecognizes a c ucial nuance: hese p esen -day oman ic skills,
sensi i i ies, and ulne abili ies do no a ise in a acuum. They a e, in ac , he ui s o
ea lie socializa ion—pa e ns and habi s acqui ed in childhood, amily o o igin, and he
o ma i e yea s o one's i s signi ican ela ionships. Du ing he ini ial socializa ion pe iod,
indi iduals unconsciously abso b ela ional "sc ip s" abou lo e, in imacy, con lic , and
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ulne abili y. These in e nalized models guide how hey exp ess needs, ead hei pa ne ’s
signals, and in e p e ambiguous beha iou s.
1.2. Close F iends and Roman ic Rela ionships
Close iends add mo e alue o child en’s expe ience in he oman ic ealms as hese
beha io s a e close and in ol e deepe disclosu es abou oman ic iends and in ima e ac s.
Close iendships p o ide a c ucial “ aining g ound” o ela ionship skills—such as
pe spec i e- aking and con lic esolu ion— ha indi iduals can la e apply in hei oman ic
pa ne ships, he eby enhancing us , communica ion, and o e all ela ionship quali y.
(F aley, & Da is, 1997) Ano he s udy p esen s he ac ha iendships p o ide a space o
p ac ice communica ion, emo ional egula ion, and con lic esolu ion, which la e enhance
oman ic in e ac ions. T us and in imacy lea ned in iendships shape expec a ions o
oman ic pa ne s, os e ing heal hie and mo e esilien ela ionships. (Fu man, 1999). Mo e
speci ic, ano he s udy ound ha bo h in iendships o in oman ic ela ionships a e in ol ed
he same skills ega ding secu ing commi men in ela ionship such as, non-cos y o cos y
beha iou s. (Yamaguchi, e al. 2015)
1.3. School Colleagues and Roman ic Rela ionships
School colleagues may ep esen good chances o child en o ha e good in e ac ions o
con lic s, which a e all eachable momen s. School colleagues can con ibu e o he
de elopmen o be e oman ic ela ionships in se e al ways.
In e ac ing wi h a di e se g oup o pee s a school helps indi iduals p ac ice communica ion,
coope a ion, and con lic esolu ion (Tu liuc & Ma ici, 2013), which a e essen ial o
enhancing social skills (Mille e al., 2009). Classma es o e pe spec i es on beha iou ,
social no ms, and ela ionship dynamics, helping indi iduals e ine hei unde s anding o
a ac ion, emo ional exp ession, and pa ne expec a ions. Tha means ha colleagues may
p o ide social eedback (Suleiman, & Dea do , 2015). Obse ing pee ela ionships—bo h
iendships and oman ic ones—allows indi iduals o lea n om successes and mis akes,
shaping hei own app oach o in imacy and commi men . Thus, he e a e c ea ed
oppo uni ies o ela ionship modelling (Fu man, & Rose, 2015). Engaging in pee
in e ac ions os e s sel -es eem and iden i y de elopmen , which a e c ucial o o ming
independen , secu e, and ul illing oman ic ela ionships. This o ms con idence and iden i y
(Ha is, & O h, 2019).
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1.4. Teache s and Roman ic Rela ionships
Teache s ep esen he mo al igu es in school wi h whom child en spen la ge amoun s o
ime. In e pe sonal expe iences wi h mul iple eache s can shape an adolescen ’s b oade
ela ionship expec a ions (e.g., belie s abou us wo hiness, suppo , and con lic ), which
also ha e implica ions o la e oman ic ela ionships (Ma in, & Collie, 2019). Shows how
he quali y o a suppo i e adul –you h ela ionship can shape you hs’ ela ional capaci ies,
empa hy, and emo ional openness—quali ies ha p edic heal hie oman ic and pee
ela ionships (Va ga, & Deu sch, 2016). Al hough i doesn’ ocus exclusi ely on oman ic
ela ionships, i unde sco es how wa m, suppo i e eache –s uden ela ionships os e mo e
adap i e “in e nal wo king models” o ela ionships—a concep closely ela ed o how
child en la e app oach in ima e pa ne ships (Da is, 2003).
2. The P esen S udy
The aim o he p esen s udy was o in es iga e he e ec o social suppo capi al on couple
lo e. Fo ha , we p oposed a s uc u al equa ion model o be es ed (See G aph 1).
G aph 1: The model o causal ela ionships in AMOS
3. Pa icipan s
A o al o 114 pa en s pa icipa ed in he s udy, wi h ages anging om 22 o 53 yea s (M =
38.4, SD = 6.15), and one missing age alue. The sample size was de e mined based on
es ablished me hodological ecommenda ions o SEM analyses, which sugges a minimum
o 5–10 pa icipan s pe es ima ed pa ame e (Kline, 2023; Hai , 2009). Gi en ha ou model
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includes 8 obse ed a iables and 16 es ima ed ela ionships, he sample o 114 pa icipan s
was conside ed adequa e o ensu e su icien s a is ical powe and model s abili y o
de ec ing all hypo hesized e ec s.
Mos amilies (82.5%) had a pa en wo king ab oad (compa ed o 2.6% wi h bo h pa en s
wo king in he coun y and 14.9% wi h bo h pa en s wo king ab oad). Rega ding mon hly
income (M = 2.18, SD = 1.37), o e hal (53.5%) ea ned insu icien money, ollowed by
28.9% ea ning mo e han hey need, 11.4% exac ly as hey need, 5.3% less han hey need,
and 0.9% much mo e han hey need. Ma i al s a us (M = 2.11, SD = 0.486) showed ha
78.1% we e ma ied, 14.9% we e di o ced o sepa a ed, 6.1% we e li ing in ci il
pa ne ships, and 0.9% had one o bo h pa en s deceased. Mos pa icipan s (71.1%) came
om u ban se ings, while 28.9% we e om u al se ing. Finally, 55.3% o esponden s
epo ed hei child’s gende o be male, and 44.7% as emale.
4. Hypo heses
H1: Pa en al social suppo will be posi i ely associa ed wi h (a) couple a ec i i y, (b)
couple in imacy, (c) couple passion, and (d) couple commi men .
H2: Close iend social suppo will be posi i ely associa ed wi h (a) couple a ec i i y, (b)
couple in imacy, (c) couple passion, and (d) couple commi men .
H3: Teache s’ social suppo will be posi i ely associa ed (a) couple a ec i i y, (b) couple
in imacy, (c) couple passion, and (d) couple commi men .
H4: School Colleagues social suppo will be posi i ely associa ed (a) couple a ec i i y, (b)
couple in imacy, (c) couple passion, and (d) couple commi men .
5. Ins umen s
The T iangula Lo e Scale (S e nbe g, 1997) was de eloped by Robe J. S e nbe g, who
p esen ed i in his a icle. This ins umen measu es h ee componen s o lo e—in imacy,
passion, and commi men — h ough 45 i ems (15 pe componen ), a ed on a 9-poin Like
scale ( om “No a all” o “Ex emely”). An example i em migh be, “I can imagine my lo e
o my pa ne las ing o he es o my li e.” Each subscale (in imacy, passion, commi men )
a ge s a speci ic dimension o lo e: emo ional closeness, physical/sexual a ac ion, and he
decision o p omise o main ain he ela ionship o e ime. P e ious esea ch by Madey and
Rodge s (2009), Sum e , Valkenbu g, & Pe e , 2013, and Acke and Da is (1992) ha e
employed his scale o examine how hese componen s ela e o ela ionship sa is ac ion and
s abili y.
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The Child and Adolescen Social Suppo Scale (CASSS) (Malecki & Dema ay, 2002). I
con ains 60 i ems assessing s uden s’ pe cei ed suppo om pa en s, eache s, classma es,
and close iends, o en a ed using a 6-poin Like scale (e.g., “Ne e ” o “Always” o
equency, and a pa allel impo ance a ing). An example i em could be, “My eache lis ens
o me when I’m upse .” The CASSS includes dis inc subscales o each suppo sou ce,
cap u ing bo h how equen ly suppo is p o ided and how impo an ha suppo is
pe cei ed o be. The ins umen was adap ed o e ospec i e coding, o adul s.
The p esen s udy also measu ed demog aphic a iables such as: esponden s’ age, income,
ma i al s a us, u ban o u al backg ound and gende .
6. S a is ical P ocedu e
The s udy u ilized IBM SPSS o p elimina y s a is ical analyses and IBM Amos o
S uc u al Equa ion Modelling (SEM). SPSS was used o compu e desc ip i e s a is ics,
Pea son co ela ion coe icien s, and chi-squa e es s o assess ela ionships be ween social
suppo and oman ic lo e a iables. Pea son co ela ion analysis helped iden i y signi ican
associa ions be ween childhood social suppo ( om pa en s, eache s, close iends, and
school colleagues) and adul oman ic ela ionship dimensions (a ec i i y, in imacy, passion,
and commi men ).
Fo mo e ad anced modelling, Amos was employed o es he hypo hesized S uc u al
Equa ion Model (SEM). SEM allowed o he simul aneous es ima ion o mul iple
ela ionships be ween a iables, inco po a ing bo h di ec and indi ec e ec s. The model was
ini ially es ed wi h all hypo hesized pa hs, bu a model imming app oach was used o
emo e non-signi ican pa hs, esul ing in an op imized model wi h imp o ed i indices.
7. E hics
The p esen s udy adhe ed o igo ous e hical s anda ds in acco dance wi h he Decla a ion o
Helsinki and ele an ins i u ional guidelines. All pa icipan s we e in o med abou he
objec i es o he esea ch, he olun a y na u e o hei in ol emen , and he con iden iali y
o hei esponses. In o med consen was ob ained om each pa icipan be o e comple ing
he ques ionnai e, wi h assu ances ha hey could wi hd aw om he s udy a any ime
wi hou penal y. Da a we e collec ed anonymously, and all iden i ying in o ma ion was
emo ed p io o analysis o p o ec pa icipan s’ p i acy.
Fu he mo e, he s udy ecei ed app o al om he e hics commi ee a Au el Vlaicu
Uni e si y o A ad Facul y o Educa ional Sciences, Psychology and Social Wo k Cen e o
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Resea ch De elopmen and Inno a ion in Psychology, wi h ID no. 77/15.06.2025, ensu ing
ha all p ocedu es espec ed pa icipan s’ igh s and well-being. Pa icula a en ion was
gi en o he sensi i e na u e o ques ions ega ding childhood social suppo and adul
oman ic ela ionships, wi h clea ins uc ions ha esponden s could skip any ques ions hey
ound dis essing. The esea che s main ained a commi men o anspa ency, in eg i y, and
espec h oughou he esea ch p ocess. The da a we e used exclusi ely o scien i ic
pu poses, and he indings we e epo ed in agg ega e o m, ensu ing ha no indi idual could
be iden i ied.
8. Resul s
8.1. Co ela ion Ma ix
The Pea son co ela ion indica ed he ollowing associa ions (see Table 1):
Table 1: Pea son co ela ion be ween he main a iables o he esea ch.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2. Teache s_Social
_Suppo
0.519*
**
3. SchoolColleague
s_Social_Suppo
0.488*
**
0.685*
**
4. CloseF iend_Soc
ial_Suppo
0.417*
**
0.595*
**
0.748*
**
5. Couple_A ec i i
y
0.856*
**
0.507*
**
0.481*
**
0.445*
**
6. Couple_In imi y
0.392*
**
0.458*
**
0.486*
**
0.491*
**
0.428*
**
7. Couple_Passion
0.338*
**
0.451*
**
0.510*
**
0.507*
**
0.387*
**
0.895*
**
8. Couple_Commi
men
0.371*
**
0.466*
**
0.515*
**
0.515*
**
0.417*
**
0.867*
**
0.882***
The highes Pea son co ela ion coe icien (0.895), signi ican a he 0.01 le el, is obse ed
be ween he a iables Couple In imacy and Couple Passion. The lowes co ela ion alue, ye
s ill signi ican a he 0.01 le el, is 0.338, and i occu s be ween he a iables Pa en al Social
Suppo and Couple Passion. All 28 co ela ions a e signi ican a a signi icance h eshold o
< 0.001.
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8.2. SEM Analysis
The Amos analyses indica ed he ollowing esul s (See G aph 2). The esul s indica ed ha
school colleagues social suppo has no signi ican e ec on any o he endogenous a iables,
hus i was elimina ed om he model.
G aph 2: The Final Amos T immed Model o he S uc u al Equa ion Model P esumed
No e: The g aph p esen s only he signi ican ela ions in he model, he co a iances and he pa h
coe icien s be ween he obse ed a iables. The nonsigni ican associa ions we e emo ed om he
model.
The inal model shows an excellen i o he da a, as indica ed by he nonsigni ican chi-
squa e (χ² = 8.529, d = 7, p = .288), he e y high compa a i e i indices (CFI = .998, TLI =
.993), and a low RMSEA (.044). Pa en al social suppo has a s ong di ec e ec on couple
a ec i i y (s anda dized es ima e = .812), while eache and close iend social suppo bo h
signi ican ly p edic couple in imacy, passion, and commi men , wi h mode a e s anda dized
coe icien s ( anging om abou .23 o .37). The squa ed mul iple co ela ions sugges ha
he model accoun s o a subs an ial amoun o a iance in couple a ec i i y (abou 74%) and
mode a ely explains he o he h ee couple a iables (28–30%). O e all, hese esul s
unde sco e he impo ance o social suppo om pa en s, eache s, and close iends in
shaping a ious dimensions o a couple’s ela ionship.
