Wyndol Furman
Professor, Clinical Child

My interests are centered around the study of close relationships in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. Of particular interest to me are peer relationships, the problems which occur in them, and their consequences for health and adjustment. In the past, I have conducted studies on friendships, sibling relationships, friendships, adolescent groups and cliques, and parent-child relationships. My research on "normal" peer relations has been complemented by research on problems in peer relations and their development. By combining these different facets of my work, I hope to understand both normal development and its associated problems.

My current work focuses on romantic relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. We have developed a behavioral systems theory of these relationships that is based on an integration of attachment theory and Sullivanian theory. My lab and I have have conducting a large research project in which we have gathered interview, observational and questionnaire data on relationships with their parents, friends, and romantic partners. We have been following them for almost a decade to see how their romantic relationships develop, and how these affect and are affected by their other close relationships and their psychological adjustment (internalizing and externalizing problems, substance abuse, risky sexual behavior). Students working with me have the opportunity to participate in a large research project and learn the Adult Attachment Interview, observational methods, and questionnaire techniques. Students are able to take a particular part of the project to do their research projects on and we often collaborate on papers together.

I have taught graduate courses on research methodology, assessment techniques with children, personality, personal relationships of children, and teaching psychology.

Representative Publications:

Furman, W., Brown, B.B. & Feiring, C. (Eds.) (1999).  The development of  romantic relationships in adolescence.  New York: Cambridge University Press.

Furman, W., Simon, V.A., Shaffer, L., & Bouchey, H.A. (2002).  Adolescents' working models and styles for relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners.  Child Development, 73, 241-25

Furman, W,. (2002) The emerging field of adolescent romantic relationships.  Current directions in Psychological Science, 11, 177-180.

Furman, W., & Shaffer, L. (2003).  The role of romantic relationships in adolescent development.  In P. Florsheim (Ed.), Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 3-22).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Furman, W. & Simon, V. A. (2004). Concordance in attachment states of mind and styles with respect to fathers and mothers, Developmental Psychology, 40, 1239-1247..

Furman, W. & Simon, V. A. (2006).  Actor and partner effects of adolescents’ working models and styles on interactions with romantic partners.  Child Development, 77, 588-604..

Furman, W. & Collins, W. A. (in press).  Adolescent romantic relationships and experiences.  In K. H. Rubin, W. Bukowski, & B. Laursen (Eds.).  Peer interactions, relationships, and groups.  New York: Guilford Press.

Furman, W., Low, S., & Ho, M. (in press).  Romantic experience and psychosocial adjustment in middle adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

Furman, W. & Shomaker, L. (in press).  Patterns of interaction in adolescent romantic relationships: Distinct features and associations with other close relationships.  Journal of Adolescence.

Hand, L. S. & Furman, W. (in press).  Rewards and costs in adolescent other-sex friendships: Comparisons to same-sex friendships and romantic relationships.  Social Development.

Shomaker, L. B. & Furman, W. (in press).  Parent-adolescent relationship qualities, internal working models, and styles as predictors of adolescents’ observed interactions with friends, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Simon, V. A. & Furman, W. (in press).  Interparental conflict and adolescents’ romantic relationships.  Journal of Research in Adolescence.

Wyndol Furman
Ph.D. 1978,
University of Minnesota

Professor, Clinical Child
office: Frontier Hall,
Rm. 231
phone: 303.871.3688
e-mail: wfurman@du.edu
website