When I was in high school, my parents tried to scare me away from sex. “You don’t want to end up like your cousin” and “pregnancy is possible even if it’s your first time, ya know” were said more than once. My parents (and countless others) would love to add recent findings coming from The University of Texas at Austin to their arsenal, though the actual data may show less significant findings than the author would have you believe.

The study included data taken from a little over 1,600 participants and was repeated at intervals for a period of about thirteen years. By the end of the study, no participant had passed the age of thirty. The information taken included age at first sexual intercourse, categorized as early (fourteen or younger), on time (between fifteen and nineteen), and late (nineteen and older). Compared with those who got down with it at a much earlier age, the late-bloomers were the ones who reported the least amount of dissatisfaction in a romantic pairing. The late-bloomers were also “associated with decreased odds of marriage or nonmarital (sic) cohabitation and fewer romantic partners in adulthood”. A late-bloomer myself, I was interested in this study because it indicates that I have a better shot at figuring out this crazy little thing called love over someone else who may have let things go a bit too far in the back of the bus with the JV point guard. (They had just won the big game. Back off, judgement face.)

That is, until I read the actual report. My qualms started early, first with the researchers’ definition of “in a relationship”. Anyone who’s had to DTR (define the relationship) knows that it’s a very tricky procedure with a wide array of definitions that are all, in effect, correct. If a participant answered “yes” when asked if they were in a “special romantic relationship” or had been in one in the past eighteen months, they were categorized as being in a dating relationship. Sounds good.

The problem arises when those who denied having such a “special romantic relationship” were categorized as being in a dating relationship as well:

Adolescents who denied having a special romantic relationship but reported that they had told another person (who was not a family member) that they “liked” or “loved” him or her and had held hands with and kissed this person were also classified as being in a dating relationship.

Harden, playing the part of best friend who accidentally calls your sport-humping buddy your boyfriend, denotes “dating relationship” to one-night stands and too many tequila shots, lumping those participants in with the ones who claim to be in a committed relationship. According to these rules, I’d be in a dating relationship (but I’m not. Wink).

Secondly, the data seems a little weak. The late-bloomers only had at most a 2.4 numeric decrease in dissatisfaction (1.4 at least), a number which the author claims is “small but significant”. If significance is not found in size, where is it found? (In the motion of the ocean, ya’ll).

Thirdly, the analysis of relationship dissatisfaction versus timing of loss of virginity only included data from participants who were in a currently intact marriage or cohabiting relationship. I’m curious as to why participants who were classified as single couldn’t recall their last “special romantic relationship” and respond in turn. Questions could also be asked about how that last relationship ended – still friends or dead to one another, for instance.

I think the moral of my story mirrors Harden’s – more research is needed for a life-span approach to understanding the psychology of romantic relationships. In this case, waiting to make the call might be the best answer.

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October 26, 2012

Categories: Uncategorized . Tags:dating, love, press release, psychology, relationships, science, sex, sociology . Author: Nina E. Hawley

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