REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Before going into the main variables of the study, the researchers will discuss in the first

part why do adolescents get involve in romantic relationships and how does these relationships

contribute in the growth and development of adolescents. In the next part, the researchers talk

about the connection of independent variables in this study such as the romantic relationship

which involves time, motivation and anxiety. These three variables were looked into to

determine or to see if there is relationships exist between romantic relationship the academic

performance of individuals and its effect. In the last part of the chapter, the researchers try to

evaluate previous studies related to the topic of this study.

Humans, particularly adolescents get involve in romantic relationships with

variety of reasons. According to Aristotle, humans are “social animals” which made them long to

form an intimate relationship in which love can be given and received freely which the

psychologists called “the need to belong” (Myers, 2010). Rest assured of the love and care given

by the persons close to them, they are secured with the trust and confidence that they are

acceptable to individuals whom they can depend on for the satisfaction of their needs. Raman

(2010) stated that being in romantic relationship involves physical contact which causes

chemical arousal to the persons involved and at the same time gain love and confidence in which

they are longing for. Koob & Bloom (1982) also explained this by stating that the individuals

who are in love release a number of chemicals within the brain such as oxytocin, vasopressin and

endorphins which cause “short-term” joy and pleasure.

 On the other hand, According to Arnet (as cited in Fincham& Cui, 2011) "late

adolescents" is the stage where teenagers experienced how to be totally and socially independent.

This is the time for curiosity & explorations in choosing and having a partner, and explores this

kind of curiosity that somehow leads to romantic relationship. However, this kind of relationship

may not lead to a pleasant and intense love affair. This is just a result of their inquisitive mind

and a sort of finding on how to fit into the world. “What is life all about?” Questions such as

these assume special significance during teenage years, as adolescents seek to find their

place in broader and social world. This quest takes adolescents along several routes.

Consequently, “half of all teens have been in a dating relationship and nearly one

third of all teens have been in a serious relationship” (Teenage Research Unlimited, as cited in

Luqman, 2009). According to Furman (2002), romantic relationships become more and more

significant to adolescents in their social world as they also develop from puberty towards late

adolescence. This shows how prevalent is romantic relationship among adolescents.

Luqman (2009) said that an adolescent relationship plays an important role to adolescents

as it develops the ability for committed relationships. Additionally, Pelt (2004) stated that those

relationships help develop personality. She also added that it is

a way of knowing one’s unique qualities of opposite sex and at the same time choosing the right

life partner. Moreover, researchers theorized that romantic relationship is

essential to the development of adolescents in different aspects such as “transformation”

of family relationships, close relationships with peers, sexuality, and career planning” (Furman,
2002).
 An article of Barber & Eccles (as cited in Luqman, 2009) talked about the

importance of romantic relationships to adolescent development and its “long lasting”

effects on self-confidence. It affirmed that romantic relationship teaches moral values on

romance, “intimate relationships and sexuality”. In addition to this, healthy romantic

relationship could possibly benefit student’s education (Phelps, 2007). Romantic

relationship provides positive outlook of adolescents’ life which motivates the

adolescents in achieving goals such as performing well in the studies. According to

Zulueta & Maglaya (2004), “motivation constitutes the degree of an individual’s behavior

as manifested by his interests, attitudes, and aspirations to satisfy his desired goal. It is

an urge to satisfy goal object” (p. 212). Provided a positive romantic relationship,

adolescents would strive hard on performing well in studies to bring a brighter future in their

relationship.

According to Lucas & Curpuz (2007), “quality personal relationships that provide

stability, trust, and caring such as romantic relationships can increase learners’ sense of

belonging, self-respect and self-acceptance, and provide a positive climate for learning” (p. 16)

and thus increase academic performance. According to the theory of incentive

approach of motivation, the desirable properties of external stimuli – whether grades, money,

affection, food, or sex – account for person’s motivation.

Moreover, theorists suggested that romantic relationship has a great role in the
academic performance of adolescents. Vgotsky’s theory states that social interaction

plays a very important role in the cognitive development of an individual and could not be

understood without looking into the social and cultural context. Furthermore,

Vygotsky’s ideas about “cognitive development” have become major influences in

psychology and education today (Lucas & Corpuz, 2007). Theorists suggested that romantic

relationship has a great role in the academic performance of adolescents. Parents, peers, and

partners, on the other hand, cooperate, collaborate and enrich the learning experience (Lucas

&Corpuz, 2007). In this way, adolescents who are more knowledgeable can help in the cognitive

development of their partner.

However, romantic relationships do not always behave in a positive way. There are

instances in which romantic relationship may harm adolescents and because of this, they need

adults who will guide them in developing healthy relationships (Luqman, 2009). In the same

vein, Connolly & Johnson (cited in Weichold& Barber, 2008) said that even though romantic

relationship plays an important role in the development of an adolescent, most romantic

relationship in the adolescence stage last for only 6 months to 1 year. This situation implies

frequent break-ups which cause anxiety among adolescents. Monroe et. al (as cited in Furman,

2002) affirmed that breakups are mostly the cause of depression among adolescents. Furman

(2002) also states that adolescents are mostly prone to problems in adjustment when they got

involved in romantic relationships at an early stage of their adolescent life. According to Erikson

(as cited in Feldman, 2009) people proceed through eight stages of psychosocial development

across their lives. He suggested that each stage requires the resolution of a crises or conflict and

may produce both positive and negative outcomes. During the identity-versus-role confusion

period an adolescent feels pressure to identify what to do with his life. These pressures come at a

time of major physical changes and adolescent find a period an especially difficult one, thus peer

group and close relationship becomes increasingly important in clarifying their personal

identities. Erikson added that identity- versus-role confusion stage marks a pivotal point in

psychosocial development, paving the way for continued growth and the future development of

personal relationship.
. In another way, romantic relationship gives more negative effects on the academic

performance of adolescents. Teens nowadays consider romantic relationship as the number one

source of stress (Manning et al., 2009). It results from the break-ups or conflicts with partner.

Even those who give more importance on academics, spending

time with one’s partner may also serve as a distraction. Myers (2010) also said that:

For students, relationships consume much of life. How much of your waking life is spent
talking with people? One sampling of 10,000 tape recordings of half- minute slices of
students’ waking hours (using belt-worn recorders) found them talking to someone 28% of
the time – and that doesn’t count the time they spent to someone (Mehl&Pennebaker,
2003). In 2008, the average American 13-17 year-old sent or received 1742 text messages
per month (pp. 393-394).

The time spent with the partner would consume much time that must be allotted for

studying; taking into consideration the time management of a student being involved in romantic

relationship affects the academic performance. As stated by Crissey (2006) in her study about

impact of romantic relationship on high school girls, there is really a challenge in "balancing

romantic relationship and academic performance" in a teenager's life. It gives pressure on how to

maintain the romantic side and the academic works as well. She also pointed out that there is

more than the pressure someone will going to feel if there is a competition inside the classroom

for the academic awards at the end of the school year.

Crissey (2006) then added that having a romantic affair especially when you are just a

student would not just give a "source of stress" but also a disturbance. Having a romantic

relationship is really disturbing because a student will deal on managing time between the school

and in the romantic side that somehow leads to give academic works a lesser priority.
 Stress is a continuous feeling of worry about work or personal life that prevents someone

from relaxing. Campbell, as cited by Crissey (2006), pointed out that stress is a condition or

effect that is bad and can cause some problems. For example, students who are having any

romantic affair will have a higher percentage of stress than those who don't have because instead

of focusing to their academic work and academic stresses, they also commit their time to their

relationship.

Morris &Maisto (1995) added that anxiety which can be taken from “internal and

external forces” brings about stress. They also described how someone or something

frustrates individuals when it stands between them and their goals. This would cause a

dilemma on “irreconcilable demands, opportunity, needs or goals”. They added that

“delays, lack of resources, losses, failure and discrimination” are the primary cause of

aggravation.

On the other situation, negative effects of romantic relationships are very evident

in the report of Namaganda (2009) saying that “developing feelings of love, two weeks before

exams can lead to lack of concentration during the time a learner should be

revising and thus failure” (para. 6). Thus, GastoneByamugisha (as cited in Namaganda, 2010) a

psychologist and lecturer at Kyambogo University said that heart-break is not

the only cause of student’s failure in exams.

Moreover, Furman, Brown &Feiring (1999) stated in their book entitled “The

Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence” that romantic relationship at

an early age is the cause of higher rates of drug use, minor delinquency, and
psychological or behavioral difficulties, as well as lower levels of academic achievement that

those who are not currently involved in a relationship or who delay romantic activity until later

in adolescence.

In conclusion, relationships and academics can’t be joined together. On one side, the

student is spending time with his/her lifelong partner, but on the other side, the student is busy

trying to fulfill other responsibilities in school like making projects, studying, and maintaining

grades.

On the other hand, studies about romantic relationship and its effects to academic

performance revealed different results.

The study of Luqman (2009) on romantic relationship and its effects on academic

performance, identity and self-esteem of 101 students attending B. Z. University and

100 students studying 10th grade Educator High School at Department of Pschology Bahauddin

Zakriya University Multan reveals that there is not relationship between the grade point average

and dating status of adolescents. The variables considered were dating status, level of

involvement, grade point average, identity status and self-esteem.

However, in his methodology, he only considered the students’ grade in the latest exam.

This would make his data less accurate because initial level academic performance of the

respondents was not recorded. The purpose of having an initial level of academic performance is

to have a comparison of before and after situations which will predict whether the academic

performance of the respondent has increased or decreased during the course of romantic

relationship. He then suggested that initial levels of academic achievement of students should be

considered in the future research about

romantic relationship and its effects to academic performance to get more accurate results.

Pham (n.d) studied about the relationships between dating and college performance of

Loyola University students who were aged between 18-24 years old. It was hypothesized that

dating and involvement will result in a lower grade point average. The variables were age,

gender, class standings, dating status and levels together with the academic performance of the

respondents. The data did not allow the rejection of the null hypothesis. It implies that dating and

involvement in romantic relationship shows

no significant relationship on academic performance of college students. Thus, Pham’s study

revealed the same result with Luqman’s (2009) study.

Moreover, an investigation on the effect of early parenthood among Bohol Island

State University (BISU) – Candijay Campus female students was conducted by Balaba, Betos,

Galvadores, Felisco&Atupan(2008). There were 25 unmarried mothers which were the

respondents of the study. Average grades of the respondents before and after having a child were

compared and the researchers discovered that academic performance was not significantly

affected by the occurrence of early motherhood. Nevertheless, results of the study showed that

the respondents found it hard to concentrate on their studies because of the problems they met

being early parents. This study relates to the present study because it involves time management,

motivation and anxiety. Early parents were motivated to study to provide a brighter future for

their child. On the contrary, it is not easy for them to focus on their studies because of the

problems they met as early parents and they find it hard to divide their time between studies and

family.
 Similarly, Toreon (2011) in his study on the Effect of Romantic Relationship on

Teacher Education Students’ Academic Performance at Bohol Island State University.

The study used a descriptive survey method employing convenience sampling for each

year level. The variables of the study were students’ grade, intensity, level of involvement in a

romantic relationship and, self-esteem. Findings describe significant effect of romantic

relationship on academic performance. Intensity and level of

involvement also exhibited a significant relationship on the students’ academic performance. It

was also found out that a student who is involved in romantic relationship for more than two

years have better score as those involved for 3 to 6 months. It was further found that the basic

characteristic of the individuals who are

most successful at love is high self –esteem. It has been determined that those high in self-esteem

experience romantic love more as been found in the number of years of being attached to each

partner.

On the other hand, relationship between dating status and academic achievement on

grades 8, 9 and 10 in Santa Clara University in California were studied by Quatman, Sampson,

Robinson and Watson (2001). The result of the study showed that higher frequency in dating

would imply a lower academic performance because most of the romantic experiences showed

higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels in academic motivation. However, this

study focuses on younger population. The results may not be the case in the more mature age

group.

In another study, a dissertation of Crissey (2006) focused on the differences of gender

on the high school academic outcomes which were influenced by romantic relationships. The

study found out that when students divided their attention to

education and romance, there was a negative outcome on the academic performance especially

when they take too much concern on their romantic relationships. This

situation occurs mostly on girls because of the “school romantic climate where romance

is more valued. On the other hand, the study showed that boys’ “academic well-being” is being

slightly affected. The increased risk of sexual activity mainly affects this situation (Crissey,

2006). However, data from the National Longitudinal Study of

Adolescent Health (as cited in Allen, 2010) revealed a different result in which males’ academic

performance is negatively affected by the romantic climate.

A dissertation of Stefan (2006) which is a qualitative study on the impact of romantic

relationship on the academic performance of high school girls applies merely

on the western culture. Results of the study showed that there is really a “social pressure” for

teenage girls who are involved in dating. She also found out this societal pressure means that

girls are engaged in this kind of dating situation merely “because of some influences peers,

magazines, televisions”, etc. Sometimes, if a girl doesn’t engage herself in dating, some may

considered her as "weird", maybe because in the western society today, there's no more thing

such as Maria Clara's, which refers to those who are a little bit conscious in dating as well as

engaging in romantic relationships. She said that majority of the people would expect girls to

already have a dating partner especially when girls reach into their adolescent stage. She also

added that this dating is usually considered as a threshold or the first step towards romantic

relationships. After conducting her study, she concluded that dating/romantic relationships have

"negative and positive" outcomes into the academic performance of

someone involved – positive in the sense that dating gives inspiration/motivation for
girls to do well in their academic works, if and only if girls will know how to manage time

wisely and properly and that girls will not take dating seriously. However, it is negative on the

other hand because it will just cause "distraction".

The findings of the study made by Phelps (2007) noted that the influence of partners,

parents and peers of African American Youth to their school achievement. He considered

dividing the samples by race and he found some difference that each variable influence to the

romantic relationship for the Anglo and African American sub-samples. He concluded that

effects of academic achievement vary on race. Part of the result of his study is that peers also

affect to the academic performance of the

respondents. For the African American, it is their peers’ academic orientation that

affects the academic performance while for Anglo Americans, both peers’ academic

orientation and behaviors towards romantic relationship affects their academic performance.

The result of the study of Phelps (2007) implies that factors assumed to affect academic

performance of students such as personal relationships vary in each race.

Moreover, Furman (2002) stated that there has still been a great interest of romantic

relationships because this interest sparks from the observation that these

relationships are significant to adolescents’ lives. A lot of research has been made about this

topic but most of these studies center on Euro-American youths or mostly Western societies.

Western culture has differences to Asian culture especially on the social aspects. Example would

be perceptions on dating.