Psychological correlates of crush experiences during early adolescence: Features of the crush experience matter

Few young adolescents are involved in romantic relationships, but many have a crush. Although an understudied romantic experience, crush experiences appear to be developmentally significant with unique psychological concomitants. Not all crush experiences are alike and may differ greatly in the extent to which interaction with the crush occurs (crush interaction) and whether the crush is aware of the affection (crush awareness). This empirical report study considers these two features of crush experiences and whether variability in these features is associated with variability in psychological outcomes during early adolescence. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 179 young adolescents (M_age = 13.71; SD = 0.82; 54% female). Results showed that most young adolescents reported interacting sometimes with their crush (crush interaction) and were uncertain as to whether their crush was aware of their affection (crush awareness). Significantly, crush interaction was related negatively to loneliness. Crush awareness was related positively to depressive symptoms, but only at low levels of crush interaction. Findings show variability in two features of crush experiences during early adolescence and suggest that these features may independently, and at times, interactively, help to explain when crush experiences pose psychological risk versus benefits.