The Dating Recession: Insights form the 2025 National Dating Landscape Survey Young adults are living through a dating recession — and it’s happening during their prime years. The 2025 National Dating Landscape Survey reveals a striking paradox: most young adults want traditional relationships, marriage, and family — but many lack the dating skills and resilience to get there. Significant barriers are keeping them from even starting. It’s not a fear of commitment. It’s a skills gap. Despite widespread interest in relationship education, practical dating skills remain largely untaught — overlooked by mainstream culture and the relationship education field alike. The result: young adults who are motivated but unequipped. They need a road map. One that bridges the gap between wanting a lasting relationship and building one. What You’ll Learn: How often young adults are dating today — and why the numbers may surprise you The barriers standing between them and…
Research & Outcomes
Join Dr. Scott Stanley for a webinar and conversation on the nature of commitment. He will focus on four or five of his favorite ideas from commitment theory and research. He has studied relationship commitment for over 40 years, including work on theory, measurement, and practical implications. While he will not attempt a sweeping review, he will instead focus on the ideas he has found most engaging and useful for understanding relationships. Put to the Sound of Music, “these are a few of my favorite things.” (He will not plan to sing, however.) Topics covered include: Why is commitment more interesting than relationship satisfaction? Attachment vs. commitment. Commitment and the transformation of motivation. The nature of alternatives, from the issue of quality to the implications of monitoring; and The role of choice, structure, and chaos in how relationships develop. Let’s dig in together on some profound aspects of how commitment…
Relationship education (RE) has been effective for youth, especially in contexts of adversity (i.e., high rates of STDs, teen pregnancy). Resilience theory suggests that youth under more adversity benefit more from resource-based interventions. However, most evaluations of RE programs focus on majority youth or take a deficit approach. Our mixed method study evaluated the effectiveness of the Love Notes curriculum, comparing improvement in program outcomes for youth from various backgrounds of potential disadvantage (urban high schools, alternative education, and behavioral health contexts). We found that youth from behavioral health contexts had greater gains from participating in Love Notes than other groups on some outcomes, indicating resilience. Participants found relationship skills, recognizing risks, and sex education most useful. Our study emphasized the importance and effectiveness of youth relationship education, highlighting unique experiences based on context. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Learn about relationship education among youth and its main goals…
Sexual Cyberbullying & Healthy Relationships Join this webinar to learn about Child Trend’s project Activate: a research-to-practice translation center that creates research-based sexual and reproductive health resources for use by professionals who support young people. They focus on youth who are experiencing the child welfare and/or justice systems, homelessness, and/or disconnection from school and work. The spotlight will be on two Activate research projects focused on healthy relationships and sexual cyberbullying. You will learn the relevant research findings along with two technical assistance tools—Decoding Sexual Cyberbullying (to increase professionals’ capacity and comfort discussing sexual cyberbullying) and Crucial Conversations about Healthy Relationships (to increase professionals’ capacity to support youth to develop healthy romantic relationships). You will also be provided with additional resources related to sexual cyberbullying and healthy relationships. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Learn about Activate’s resources focused on sexual cyberbullying and healthy relationships. Learn about Activate’s research translation process….
The Innovative Uses of Mind Matters to Promote Youth & Family Well-Being This webinar will describe implementation approaches, including adaptations, of Mind Matters across diverse populations and settings, including traditional school, alternative schools for at risk students/young adults, residential treatment for youth, community-based organizations, and college campuses. The presenters will then review data collected from a series of grants/research projects evaluating Mind Matters with a focus on the impact on knowledge of trauma, trauma related coping skills, PTSD symptoms, resilience, and social skills. This discussion will also include various evaluation strategies and guidance on how to gather essential data for continuous quality improvement and documentation of impact. Lastly, the presenters will share emerging opportunities for applications of Mind Matters to new populations and issues including parents and children affected by the opioid epidemic, racial trauma, and supports for refugee/immigrant youth and families. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Describe implementation strategies and adaptations of Mind Matters across diverse populations…
Lopsided Love: Asymmetrical Commitment in Romantic Relationships One of the greatest insights on lopsided commitment came from sociologist Willard Waller in 1936, when he described the “principle of least interest,” defined in this way: “That person is able to dictate the conditions of association whose interest in the continuation of the affair is least.’’ Analogously, the person who is most committed has the least power in a relationship. There is a growing and robust literature on asymmetrical commitment, with studies showing that it is associated not only with poor relationship dynamics but also specific personal characteristics such as attachment difficulties. Dr. Scott Stanley and Dr. Galena Rhoades have published numerous papers on this topic. In this talk, they will describe what’s up with lopsided love. Objectives: Participants will: Learn about the nature and consequences of asymmetrically committed romantic relationships regarding relationship quality, relationship stability, and risks for aggression. Be able…