The content and formation of college students' relational standards

College students (60 female, 33 male) were asked to describe their personal standards for romantic relationships and what types of information were important for their creation. Respondents' open-ended responses revealed an average of over six standards, the content of which closely matched a comprehensive framework of relationship standards (Vangelisti & Daly, 1997). Open-ended descriptions revealed that information about past relationships figured most prominently in creating relational standards, but social comparison information was also important. Attachment style, parental divorce, and past relationship abuse moderated the perceived importance of idealized forms of relationship information. Implications of these findings are discussed.