What Are the Effects of High School Students Having a Boyfriend or Girlfriend?
Puppy love and childhood crushes turn to teenage dating activities for at least half of all high school students. With the onset of adolescence, teens spend less time with family and more time with peers. In the early teen years, mixed-gender groups predominate. By mid-teens, up to two-thirds of high school students report they have dated or are in a romantic relationship. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school can have significant effects on a teenager's social development and personal identity.
Healthy Relationships
Characteristics of healthy teen-dating relationships are open communication and trust between partners of nearly the same age, says Sarah Sorenson in "Adolescent Romantic Relationships," published online by ACT for Youth Center of Excellence. Experts disagree on the impact of having a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school, with some experts expressing concern for the need for personal identity before becoming involved in a dating relationship, while others believe that teen dating is an important part of the process of establishing self-identity. Benefits of dating while in high school include development of social skills, interdependence, cooperation, empathy and sensitivity.
Dating Age
Although many negative effects of dating during the pre-teen and early adolescent years are noted -- poor academic performance, low educational aspirations, delinquency, enduring poor social skills, sexual activity, depression and drug use, having a boyfriend or girlfriend during the high school years seems to have a more positive effect. With greater emotional development and social skills, dating in later teen years can facilitate the development of personal identity and coping skills. Sorenson reports that tenth graders, becoming increasingly more autonomous from their parents, gain social support from dating relationships, trumped only by close friends.
Parental Influence
Violence among teen dating partners has garnered national attention and
Healthy Relationships
Characteristics of healthy teen-dating relationships are open communication and trust between partners of nearly the same age, says Sarah Sorenson in "Adolescent Romantic Relationships," published online by ACT for Youth Center of Excellence. Experts disagree on the impact of having a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school, with some experts expressing concern for the need for personal identity before becoming involved in a dating relationship, while others believe that teen dating is an important part of the process of establishing self-identity. Benefits of dating while in high school include development of social skills, interdependence, cooperation, empathy and sensitivity.
Dating Age
Although many negative effects of dating during the pre-teen and early adolescent years are noted -- poor academic performance, low educational aspirations, delinquency, enduring poor social skills, sexual activity, depression and drug use, having a boyfriend or girlfriend during the high school years seems to have a more positive effect. With greater emotional development and social skills, dating in later teen years can facilitate the development of personal identity and coping skills. Sorenson reports that tenth graders, becoming increasingly more autonomous from their parents, gain social support from dating relationships, trumped only by close friends.
Parental Influence
Violence among teen dating partners has garnered national attention and