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Dating Trajectories From Middle to High School: Association With Academic Performance and Drug Use
Author(s) -
Orpinas Pamela,
Horne Arthur M.,
Song Xiao,
Reeves Patricia M.,
Hsieh HsienLin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12029
Subject(s) - dropout (neural networks) , psychology , substance use , association (psychology) , dating violence , school dropout , demography , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , medicine , environmental health , domestic violence , machine learning , sociology , computer science , psychotherapist , socioeconomics
This study identifies trajectories of dating from sixth to twelfth grade and describes the academic performance (teacher‐rated study skills and high school dropout) and self‐reported drug use associated with these trajectories, in a diverse sample randomly selected in sixth grade. Using a group‐based, semiparametric procedure, we identified four dating trajectories: low (16%), increasing (24%), high middle school (22%), and frequent (38%). Students in these latter two groups had significantly worse study skills, were four times more likely to drop out of school, and reported twice as much alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use than students in the low and increasing dating groups. This study highlights the diversity of dating trajectories and some of the risks associated with early dating.