Middle School Dating Leads to Higher Dropout Rates

According to a new study, students who date in middle school are more likely to drop out and start using drugs than their single peers.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Georgia found that students who begin dating in middle school are four times more likely to drop out and begin using marijuana, tobacco and alcohol than their classmates who remain single.

"Romantic relationships are a hallmark of adolescence, but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.

The study included the analysis of 624 students over a period of seven years from sixth standard to twelfth standard. Each year the students were asked to fill out a survey that included reporting if they had dated, any occurrence of different behavior and use of drugs and alcohol. Teachers of these students were asked to fill out questionnaires about these students' academic efforts.

"In our study, we found four distinct trajectories," Orpinas said. "Some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school. We also saw a large number of students who reported dating since sixth grade."

It was also found that at all points teachers reported students who noted lowest dating frequencies as having the best academic skills. Children that dated early were also twice as likely to use alcohol and drugs.

The results of the study were recently published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.