This study aimed to conduct a longitudinal survey of university students who did not have a romantic partner, to test whether, "those with a formed and established identity are more likely to form romantic relationships" or "having a romantic relationship reinforces identity and thus promotes identity formation and establishment." The results of the analysis were compared between those who had a romantic partner by Time 1 and those who did not by Time 2. Those who did not have a romantic partner scored higher in "self-sameness, Continuity" than those who did not. The scores were higher for those who did not have a romantic partner. In addition, an analysis of variance of the two factors by time of the survey and presence/absence of a romantic partner revealed a significant increase from Time 1 to Time 2 for the scores of "self-sameness, Continuity" and "Interpersonal identity" for those who had a romantic partner. Our findings supported the interpretation that "having a romantic relationship reinforces identity and thus promotes identity formation and establishment"; particularly the formation of a romantic relationship was found to enhance "core identity" (Tani, 2008).

This research aims to clarify the following two points based on a questionnaire survey in the context of failure in important academic tests. 1) The effects of achievement-related affections evoked at the time of failure on the subsequent coping behavior, and 2) the effects of daily social support on coping behavior, focusing on individual differences in gender and negative rumination traits. A total of 283 university students responded to the online survey. The affection of incompetence had a positive main effect on problem-avoiding coping behavior in men and a negative main effect on problem-solving coping behavior in women. Further, the affection of anticipation of punishment showed a positive main effect on both coping behaviors only in women. The evaluative support showed a negative main effect on problem-avoidance coping behavior in women. Furthermore, an interaction effect between negative rumination traits and social support was confirmed in men's problem-solving coping behavior. These findings indicate that the effect of social support on coping behavior differs depending on gender and negative rumination traits.