Early Adolescent Romantic Partner Status, Peer Standing, and Problem Behaviors

This study examined associations among early adolescent romantic relationships, peer standing, problem behaviors, and gender as a moderator of these associations, in a sample of 320 seventh-grade students. Popular and controversial status youth were more likely to have a romantic partner, whereas ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of early adolescence 2009-12, Vol.29 (6), p.839-861
Main Authors: Miller, Shari, Lansford, Jennifer E., Costanzo, Philip, Malone, Patrick S., Golonka, Megan, Killeya-Jones, Ley A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Aggression
Aggressiveness
Alcohol
Alcohol use
Behavior Problems
Correlation analysis
Deviance
Drinking
Early Adolescents
Gender
Gender Differences
Grade 7
Intimacy
Peer Relationship
Personal relationships
Social Adjustment
Studies
Teenagers
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Summary:This study examined associations among early adolescent romantic relationships, peer standing, problem behaviors, and gender as a moderator of these associations, in a sample of 320 seventh-grade students. Popular and controversial status youth were more likely to have a romantic partner, whereas neglected status youth were less likely to have a romantic partner. Similarly, youth perceived as conventional and unconventional leaders were also more likely to have a romantic partner than were non-leaders. Youth who had a romantic partner drank more alcohol and were more aggressive than were youth who did not have a romantic partner. Among those youth who had romantic partners, those who reported having more deviance-prone partners were themselves more likely to use alcohol and to be more aggressive, and those who engaged in deviant behavior with their partners used more alcohol. However, these associations varied somewhat by gender. These findings underscore the salience of early romantic partner relationships in the adjustment of early adolescents.
ISSN:0272-4316
1552-5449
DOI:10.1177/0272431609332665