Seminar 10 - Dec. 7, 2009

In terms of studies on romantic relationships of individuals in high school I find that in looking back to my own experiences, I see so much possibility for error that I would hesitate to generalize the assumptions amongst this population. Take the article we read by Connolly and McIssac as an example. Of all available students to participate in the study, 74% took part and contributed data. That is a drop-out rate of 26% which in terms of a high school setting is a significant number considering that so many different social groups exist with vastly different relational experiences, it is quite possible that entire groups were not taken into account. The study also combined the data on the students from grades 9 to 12. These years in a person's life have been proven to be the years where the most change occurs to all aspects of personality and character. From personal experience, I know that the person I was when I entered high school and the person I was when I left were radically different. The maturity level (or so I hope) of teens as they go through high school changes dramatically which could lead to significant errors if all the students' data from all the grades were considered the same. It is likely that even the concept of a romantic relationship changed from year to year and even the 'fit' and criteria for need also changed. I believe that it would be very interesting if the researchers could analyze the data within each grade and determine the differences that they hold on a romantic relationship and the varying needs and desires. If a longitudinal approach were used I think the overall data would be much clearer and give a more accurate sense of how the individual changes throughout the high school years. Overall, I think that the article was well written and provided new insight into a field that will need much more research to fully understand.