Aim: This study explores the impact of Stephanie Myer’s wildly popular Twilight Series on adolescent female’s romantic patterns of attachment. Traditionally, adolescent females place a high priority on the meaning of relationships; particularly dating relationships. Additionally, the rate of depression and post-traumatic stress is exceptionally high within this demographic group. Given the recent literary success of high school romance novels (i.e., Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series), the purpose of this project was to determine the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adolescent females involved in codependent dating relationships post breakup; and evaluate coping styles that may serve as a protective factor.
Methods: Using qualitative and quantitative inquiry methodology, female high school students in a small sized high school in the pacific northwest were interviewed to determine a) the rate of codependent relationships, b) the experience of PTSD, and c) coping mechanisms used post breakup. Coping mechanisms were measured with the Coping in Relationship, Youth (CRY) Inventory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participant post breakup and with her self-identified support network (e.g., friends and rebound boyfriends).
Results: In all, 67% of participants experienced clinically significant levels of PTSD. Participants identified wallowing, visual hallucinations, and periods of comatose behavior as coping mechanism. Friends identified feeling rejected and dissinvolved with the ‘dumped’ individual. Interviews with rebound boyfriends yielded no thematic results.
Conclusions: Owing to the already heightened levels of risk for depression, post-traumatic stress, and maladaptive coping mechanisms, we found that the romanticizing of codependency between the characters of Bella Swann and Edward Cullen has lead to an unrealistic expectations on romantic relationships for adolescent females within the “Twilight” cohort. This proliferation of unrealistic expectations has lead to maladaptive attachment styles within young relationships, causing increased incidence of depression, risk seeking behaviors, and vampirism within this cohort. Therefore, beyond the safe-sex versus abstinence debate, high school sex education classes have a requisite need to screen for PTSD and teach appropriate coping skills.
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