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Journal of College Student Retention:

Love and Other Research, Theory & Practice

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Effects of Romantic DOI: 10.1177/1521025115611614
csr.sagepub.com
Relationship Status on
the Academic
Performance of
University Students

Julia Schmidt1 and Brian Lockwood1

Abstract
Of the few studies that have examined the effects of romantic relationships on
academic performance, most have been concerned with adolescent students. This
study analyzes a data set of more than 300 students at a midsized, private University
in the northeast United States to determine if participating in a romantic relationship
predicts grade point average or course attendance. The results of multivariate ana-
lyses indicate that being in a romantic relationship while in college is significantly
associated with class absences, but not with grade point average. Specifically, logistic
regression models show that participation in a romantic relationship more than
doubles the odds of failing to attend three or more class meetings per course in a
semester. Practical implications of these findings include the consideration of roman-
tic relationships among the undergraduate student body by university administrators
and faculty when attempting to address course attendance concerns. Additionally,
this study suggests that future researchers examine the characteristics of romantic
relationships and romantic partners in order to more fully understand how such
relationships might affect the academic performance of university students.

Keywords
academic achievement, romantic relationships, attendance, GPA

1
Department of Criminal Justice, Monmouth University, NJ, USA
Corresponding Author:
Brian Lockwood, Department of Criminal Justice, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Ave, West Long
Branch, NJ 07764, USA.
Email: blockwoo@monmouth.edu
2 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

Introduction
As Robbins et al. (2004) note, “the determinants of success in postsecondary
education have preoccupied psychological and educational researchers for dec-
ades” (p. 261). The academic success of students in American colleges and uni-
versities has become an even larger concern in recent years, as national trends
indicate that an increasing number of students are seeking a postsecondary
education and spending increasing sums of money in this pursuit. The
National Center for Education Statistics estimated that more than 22 million
students would be enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in
2014, which would represent an increase of nearly 28% from 2004 (U.S.
Department of Education, 2012). Research by the same organization also deter-
mined that tuition at public institutions of higher learning rose by 40% from
2001 to 2012, while tuition at their private counterparts rose by 28% in that
same time period (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). When considering the
financial and temporal resources required to pursue a postsecondary education,
the effects of academic achievement to influence college persistence and retention
(D. Allen, 1999; J. Allen, Robbins, Casillas, & Oh, 2008; Leppel, 2002; McGrath
& Braunstein, 1997) are magnified. With these findings in mind, it is clear that a
richer understanding of the factors that influence the academic success of college
students is an important undertaking for researchers of higher education.
One potential factor that has been largely overlooked thus far in the academic
achievement literature is the potential role of romantic relationships, with
Giordano, Phelps, Manning, and Longmore (2008) claiming that “despite the
ubiquity and general importance of dating, the role of romantic partners on
academic achievement has not been systematically investigated” (p. 38). The
majority of the research on the link between social factors and academic achieve-
ment are concerned with parental and peer relationships and their association
with the academic achievement of adolescents; far fewer studies have analyzed
romantic relationships and college students. To address this gap in the literature,
this study intends to investigate the relationship between romantic relationships
and academic achievement among students at a midsized, private university.

Romantic Relationships and Academic Achievement

The literature on the romantic relationships of adolescents, while not nearly as
extensive as the research examining family or peer relationships (Giordano et al.,
2008) for young people, suggests that such relationships can exert both positive
and negative effects on a myriad of outcomes. Researchers have linked sexual
behavior by teens with problem behaviors, such as pregnancy (Santelli et al.,
2004), risk of sexually transmitted diseases (DiClemente & Crosby, 2003), and
criminality (Haynie, Giordano, Manning, & Longmore, 2005; McCarthy &
Casey, 2008), with gender noted to condition several of those relationships.
Schmidt and Lockwood 3

On the other end of the spectrum, researchers have also identified the effects of
romantic relationships to serve as protective factors that decrease the likelihood
of negative behaviors or can harbor positive outcomes. While purely physical
relationships can contribute to criminality, emotionally healthy relationships can
reduce the likelihood of engaging in criminality (Haynie et al., 2005). Similarly, a
study of young adult men in relationships found that stable romantic relation-
ships inhibit criminality, while antisocial behavior committed by partners
increases the likelihood that the men would commit offenses (Capaldi, Kim, &
Owen, 2008). In their study of relationships and substance use, Fleming, White,
and Catalano (2010) identified a hierarchy of the effects of relationship status on
substance use: Married individuals were the least likely to use illicit substances
with single individuals the most likely, suggesting that those in many types of
romantic relationships less likely to use drugs than those who are not roman-
tically linked to another. These findings appear to suggest that it would be too
simplistic to declare that romantic relationships are positive or negative factors
for young people; the effects of romantic relationships on numerous behaviors
seem to be conditioned on several factors, including gender and relationship
quality.
Academic achievement in higher education has been measured with a number
of metrics, although most analyses have relied on grade point average (GPA)
and retention (Robbins et al., 2004). The strongest predictor of academic
achievement in college is achievement in high school, often measured by both
high school GPA and standardized test scores (Betts & Morell, 1999; Camara &
Echternacht, 2000; Ting & Robinson, 1998). A number of demographic factors
have also been identified as correlates of GPA and retention. Gender is one such
factor but has been shown to be inconsistently linked with college GPA. Largely
dependent on the course subject (men have been shown to receive higher grades
in math, science, and business courses), analyses have found evidence that both
men and women perform better than their counterparts (Chee, Pino, & Smith,
2005; DeBerard, Spielmans, & Julka, 2004; Schram, 1996). Studies of the link
between gender and college retention have come to similarly inconsistent con-
clusions (DeBerard et al., 2004). Socioeconomic status (SES) has also been
linked to grades earned in college, with students of higher SES shown to perform
better on multiple metrics of success (Walpole, 2003). Regarding ethnicity, its
association with academic achievement in college seems to becoming less pro-
nounced, as racial and ethnic disparities in academic achievement for adoles-
cents have been noted to have narrowed in the preceding decades (Kao &
Thompson, 2003). Today, this relationship is considered mixed, with some ana-
lyses have determined that ethnicity moderates the effects of multiple factors on
academic achievement (Nettles, 1991; Nora, Cabrera, Serra Hagedorn, &
Pascarella, 1996).
Studies have also delved into the effects that psychological and social factors
have on academic achievement for students attending colleges and universities.
4 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

Higher levels of emotional and social adjustment have been linked with an
increased likelihood of student retention (Gerdes & Mallinckrodt, 1994).
Additional factors, such as self-control (Wolfe & Johnson, 1995) and an achieve-
ment-oriented personality (Foster, 1997), have been shown to be associated with
higher GPA, while stress is related to lower GPA (Pritchard & Wilson, 2003).
Drug usage while in high school has also been linked to college outcomes, with
high school drug usage predicting failure to attend college and lower retention
rates if enrolled in a college (Patrick, Schulenberg, & O’Malley, 2013). Studies of
alcohol consumption have garnered mixed results, with analyses finding that
they do (Pritchard & Wilson, 2003) and do not (Patrick et al., 2013) impact
student retention. Finally, the influence of engaging in certain activities while in
college has uncovered differing effects by activity type. Working more than
20 hours per week is linked with lower grades, while working less than
20 hours was found to improve grades (Dundes & Marx, 2006; Pike, Kuh, &
Massa-McKinley, 2008). Similarly, participation in cocurricular activities to a
moderate degree has been shown to improve grades, while too much participa-
tion is detrimental (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008).
Far fewer analyses have examined the correlates and effects of class attend-
ance for college students. Regarding the predictors of class attendance, one
researcher examined 17 sections of an undergraduate course to find that illness,
course boredom, course workload, and the course interfering with their social
lives significantly predicted increases in class absences (Van Blerkom, 1992).
Subsequent research has linked student perceptions of the importance of attend-
ance with going to class (Gump, 2006), while Gump (2004) showed that weather
and illness can influence student attendance, but those factors are dependent on
gender. Class attendance has also been linked to academic achievement, with
studies identifying the effects of high levels of course attendance to predict a
multitude of important outcomes, including performance on exams (Chen &
Lin, 2008), and final course grades (Colby, 2005; Gump, 2005; Newman-Ford,
Fitzgibbon, Lloyd, & Thomas, 2008). A meta-analysis of 68 studies by Credé,
Roch, and Kieszczynka (2010) similarly concluded that course attendance is an
important factor of both final course grades and GPA.
More pertinent for the current study are the findings that link personal rela-
tionships with academic achievement of students attending colleges and univer-
sities. The influence of family factors has been shown to exert an effect on college
success, with parental attachment shown to increase levels of adjustment for
young students (Kolkhorst, Yazedjian, & Toews, 2010; Sarigiani, Trumbell, &
Camarena, 2013) and to increase levels of psychosocial competence that are
linked with increased academic achievement (Fass & Tubman, 2002). Peer rela-
tionships have received even more attention, with researchers concluding that
the peers whom students spend time with while attending college can influence
their academic outcomes. Multiple studies have determined that peer effects
(typically operationalized in terms of the past academic achievements of one’s
Schmidt and Lockwood 5

friends, roommates, and classmates) can affect one’s college GPA and exam
scores; students who interact with lower-achieving peers can see their own
achievement levels decrease (Carrell, Fullerton, & West, 2008; Sacerdote,
2000; Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2006). However, it is important to note
that several of these studies have identified nonlinear peer effects on achieve-
ment: Strong students seem to be impervious to low-achieving peers, while
weaker students are more likely to be negatively influenced by low-achieving
peers (Goethals, Winston, & Zimmerman, 1999; Winston & Zimmerman, 2004).
Interestingly, the influence of peers has also been shown to differ by gender,
as one study determined that peers can increase the achievement for female
students but have the opposite effect for their male counterparts (Ullah &
Wilson, 2007).
The literature examining the effects of romantic relationships on academic
achievement is currently quite limited, with the majority of analyses concerned
with adolescents. Neemann, Hubbard, and Masten (1995) analyzed children and
adolescents to conclude that romantic relationships are linked with lower levels
of academic achievement. However, they found that the strength of this negative
relationship dissipated as the juveniles become older. Other researchers posit
that romantic relationships can also serve to increase academic achievement if
the young partners are intelligent and value their grades (Furman & Shaffer,
2003). Evidence of this concordance in romantic relationships was uncovered by
Giordano et al. (2008) who studied longitudinal data from more than 1,300
adolescents in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades to conclude that self-reported grades
are dependent on the grades of their romantic partners. The most pertinent
study to date was conducted by Manning, Giordano, Longmore, and Hocevar
(2009). Their work analyzed longitudinal data from more than 400 young adults
aged between 18 and 24 to first show a high degree of homophily between
romantic partners and their career and educational goals. They also found
that these young adults considered their partners to be a positive influence on
their academic goals rather than a hindrance. Similar to the previously described
literature on the effects of romantic relationships on other behaviors, it would be
appropriate to say that the effects of romantic relationships on academic
achievement are mixed, but that there is much evidence for differential effects
based on the characteristics of the romantic partners in question.

Theoretical Framework
The theory of differential association has been called upon in past research to
explain the association between peer influences and deviant behavior displayed
by adolescents and young adults (Costello & Vowell, 1999; Fleming et al., 2010;
Haynie et al., 2005; McCarthy & Casey, 2008; Rebellon & Manasse, 2004).
Differential association theory, developed by Edwin Sutherland (1947), posits
that delinquency is an outcome that occurs when young people associate with
6 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

peers who share favorable attitudes toward delinquency. While this theory has
traditionally described how peers can influence delinquency, it is believed that
the causal processes it describes can explain how romantic relationships can
affect the academic achievement of college students.
Rebellon and Manasse (2004) tested differential association through the
course of their study on the effects of romantic relationships on juvenile delin-
quency. According to their research, “romantic involvement is among the most
powerful, and perhaps most neglected, sources of reward among adolescents”
(Rebellon & Manasse, 2004, p. 362). They hypothesized that adolescents recog-
nize a need to forge romantic relationships and will be more disposed to employ-
ing whatever behaviors they deem essential to pleasing, and keeping, their
partners engaged in the relationship. If one partner is prone to deviance, the
other will follow this influence to sustain the couple’s dynamic on an even plane.
Consistent with much of the prior literature, romantic relationships had differing
effects on criminality there were dependent on the stability of the relationship
(Rebellon & Manasse, 2004).
Academic performance in college has also been examined using differential
association theory as a framework in relation to possible racial pressures
(Herman, 2009). According to Herman’s (2009) analysis, the academic achieve-
ment of multiracial students is dependent on the student’s own racial identifica-
tion and his or her corresponding peer group (Herman, 2009). These results
indicate that the people one associates with can impact certain behaviors,
which in the case of Herman’s (2009) work, includes academic achievement.
The current study suggests that romantic partners may be just as, if not more,
influential than the peer groups studied in the majority of the prior literature.

The Current Study

The purpose of the current study is to estimate the effects of romantic relation-
ships on the educational outcomes of GPA and course attendance. Based on the
literature described earlier, romantic relationships are expected to negatively
affect GPA and increase absences for students in a midsized, private university
in the northeast United States. Self-report surveys from more than 300 students
provide the data to test for these relationships.

Methods
Data
The data analyzed in this study come from an online survey completed by
undergraduate students at Monmouth University, a midsized, private university
in the northeast United States. An initial request to complete the survey was sent
via email to all undergraduate students at the university in November 2013.
Schmidt and Lockwood 7

A follow-up request was sent a week later, allowing potential respondents

approximately 2 weeks to complete the survey from the date of the initial
request. The online survey instrument included more than 40 items that asked
respondents to describe their demographic characteristics, activities while at the
university, academic achievement, and romantic relationship status during the
fall and spring semesters of the 2012–2013 academic year.
Three hundred and eighty-nine undergraduate students completed the survey,
which represents 8.4% of the undergraduate student body at the university. Of
those respondents, 56 students were not enrolled at the university during both
the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters, reducing the sample to 333 students.
While 333 students represent a rather small sample relative to the population of
undergraduate students, we believe that the sample is representative of the popu-
lation. A comparison of the sample statistics and population parameters for
several demographic variables is presented in the Results section of this article
to provide further support for this claim.

Dependent variables. The influence of romantic relationships is estimated for two

different dependent variables representing academic achievement. The first out-
come measure represents GPA. It is constructed from two survey items that
asked respondents to list their single-semester GPA for both the Fall 2012 and
Spring 2013 semesters. An item was then calculated that represents the mean
GPA from those two semesters for each respondent.
The second outcome measure represents poor class attendance over the
course of the 2012–2013 academic year. Two survey items asked respondents
to describe how often they were absent from each of their classes during both the
Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters. We then constructed a dichotomous meas-
ure of poor attendance that represents students who were absent from three or
more of each of their courses, on average, for both the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
semesters.

Independent variable. The concept of a romantic relationship is operationalized

through a survey item that asked respondents “Were you involved in any roman-
tic relationships last year, during the 2012–2013 academic year?” Romantic rela-
tionships were defined for respondents on the survey as “a labeled and mutually
understood connection to an intimate partner.” The resulting independent vari-
able is a dichotomous item.

Control variables. Several items are also included as controls in the subsequent
analyses based on their empirical links with academic achievement in higher
education, including measures representing demographics and college character-
istics. Demographic characteristics include dichotomous measures of ethnicity
(White) and gender (male), and continuous measures of age and SES (on a scale
of 1–6; 1 represents poor and 6 represents wealthy). The college characteristics
8 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

include dichotomous measures of class rank (senior), housing (on-campus), and

whether the students smoke while on campus. Continuous measures include the
number of hours per week that the respondents work and participate in extra-
curricular activities and an item representing how many nights per week the
respondents consume alcohol.

Analytic Plan
This analysis proceeds by conducting univariate and bivariate analyses to ensure
that all items described earlier can be entered into multivariate regression
models. We then estimate the first set of multivariate models by regressing stu-
dent GPA on multiple blocks of predictor items using ordinary least squares
regression models. The first block includes only the four demographic items. The
second block adds the college characteristics. The third model adds the item
representing whether the students have been in a romantic relationship during
the 2012–2013 academic year.
We then examine the influence of the predictors on poor attendance through
the use of binary logistic regression models. Similar to the process described
earlier, we add the predictor variables in blocks, beginning with demographics,
then adding college characteristics, and followed by the romantic relationship
item.

Results
The results of the univariate analysis are shown in Table 1. Beginning with the
outcome measures, we see that the mean GPA is 3.37 and that 14% of students
had poor attendance during the 2012–2013 academic year. Regarding demo-
graphics, the student sample is 24% male, 16% non-White, and has an average
age of 21.43 years. A comparison of these values with the population parameters
of the undergraduate study body indicates that women (76% in the sample vs.
61% in the population) and Whites (84% in the sample vs. 76% in the popula-
tion) were oversampled, but we do not feel that the disparity is so great as to
reduce the generalizability of the results to the population. Descriptive statistics
indicate that 46% of the sample comprised seniors, and 39% live on campus. On
average, the student sample worked for approximately 11 hours per week and
participated in slightly more than 5 hours of extracurricular activities per week.
Thirteen percent of the sample smoked and the students consumed alcohol an
average of 1.43 times per week. Finally, 57% of the student sample reported that
they were in a romantic relationship during the 2012–2013 academic year. The
results of the bivariate correlations analysis indicate that all of the items can be
entered in the subsequent regression models.
Table 2 illustrates the results of the ordinary least squares regression analyses
that estimate the effects of the predictors on GPA. Model 1 includes only the
Schmidt and Lockwood 9

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics.

n Metric Mean SD

Dependent variables
2012–2013 GPA 315 1.24–4.00 3.37 0.46
Poor attendance 333 Yes/No 0.14 0.35
Demographics
Gender (male) 333 Yes/No 0.24 0.36
Ethnicity (White) 333 Yes/No 0.84 0.43
Age 333 18–68 21.43 4.82
SES 333 1–6 3.86 0.82
Academic
Senior 333 Yes/No 0.46 0.50
On campus 333 Yes/No 0.39 0.49
Extracurricular hours 329 0–30 5.07 6.97
Work 333 0–60 11.06 11.34
Alcohol 327 0–7 1.43 1.71
Smoke 324 Yes/No 0.13
Relationship
Romantic 333 Yes/No 0.57 0.50
Note. GPA ¼ grade point average; SES ¼ socioeconomic status.

demographic variables to show that none of those items significantly predict

GPA. Model 2 adds the college characteristics and indicates that only smoking
(0.20, p < .001) is negatively related with GPA. Model 3 adds the influences of
romantic relationships to conclude that they do not significantly influence GPA.
Table 3 presents the results of the binary logistic regression models by report-
ing the odds ratios and confidence intervals for each of the predictors on poor
attendance. Odds ratios above 1.0 indicate that the predictor increases the odds
of the outcome occurring (which in this case, refers to a student having poor
attendance), while values below 1.0 indicate that the predictor decreases the odds
of poor attendance. We build the models in the same format as with the prior
ordinary least squares regression analyses. Model 1 includes the demographic
variables and shows that none of the four demographic items predict poor
attendance. Model 2 adds the college characteristics predictors to show that
several of these factors are significantly associated with decreased odds of
poor attendance, including SES (0.65, p < .05), GPA (0.48, p < .05), working
(0.95, p < .01), and smoking (0.17, p < .001). Model 3 adds the romantic rela-
tionship indicator to show that SES, GPA, working, and smoking are still nega-
tively associated with poor attendance, and that being in a romantic relationship
increases the odds of poor attendance by more than 200% (2.24, p < .05).
10 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

Table 2. Ordinary Least Squares Regression Models Estimating the Effects of

Demographics, Campus Characteristics, and Relationships on Fall 2012–Spring 2013 Grade
Point Average.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3

Demographics College factors Relationship

Intercept 3.27 (0.20)*** 3.30 (0.21)*** 3.43 (0.23)***

Demographics
Gender (male) 0.06 (0.06) 0.07 (0.06) 0.08 (0.06)
Ethnicity (White) 0.05 (0.07) 0.07 (0.07) 0.08 (0.07)
Age 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01) 0.00 (0.01)
SES 0.06 (0.03) 0.05 (0.03) 0.04 (0.03)
College factors
Senior – 0.07 (0.06) 0.08 (0.06)
On campus – 0.03 (0.06) 0.03 (0.06)
Extracurricular – 0.00 (0.00) 0.00 (0.00)
Work – 0.00 (0.00)
Alcohol per week – 0.02 (0.01) 0.03 (0.02)
Smoke 0.20 (0.08)* 0.20 (0.08)**
Relationship
Romantic – – 0.08 (0.06)
R2 .017 .055 .061
Note. SES ¼ socioeconomic status.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Discussion
This analysis tested the effects of romantic relationships on academic outcomes
to show that being in a romantic relationship while in college is significantly
associated with class absences, but not with GPA. Specifically, this analysis
concluded that being in a romantic relationship increases the odds that a student
will be absent from their classes 3 or more times. These findings are both sur-
prising and intuitive. The first set of models that regressed GPA on numerous
predictors were surprising in that only smoking predicted a decrease in GPA.
Prior studies have linked numerous factors, including demographics (DeBerard
et al., 2004; Walpole, 2003) and college characteristics (Kuh et al., 2008; Pike
et al., 2008) with college GPA, so to only identify smoking as a significant
predictor of GPA was unexpected and contrary to our hypothesis. Much of
the research on cigarette use and academic achievement involves adolescents,
with studies largely concluding that poor grades are linked with smoking
(Bryant, Schulenberg, Bachman, O’Malley & Johnston, 2000; Jeynes, 2002).
Schmidt and Lockwood 11

Table 3. Logistic Regression Models Estimating the Effects of Demographics, Campus

Characteristics, and Relationships on the Likelihood of Poor Attendance.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3

Demographics College factors Relationship

Demographics
Gender (male) 0.89 (0.43–1.82) 0.97 (0.44–2.12) 1.09 (0.49–2.44)
Ethnicity (White) 0.56 (0.21–1.52) 0.65 (0.21–1.98) 0.55 (0.17–1.71)
Age 0.99 (0.92–1.07) 1.02 (0.91–1.13) 1.02 (0.91–1.14)
SES 0.69 (0.48–1.00) 0.65 (0.43–0.97)* 0.60 (0.39–0.92)*
College factors
Senior – 1.10 (0.48–2.54) 1.01 (0.43–2.38)
On campus – 1.35 (0.57–3.23) 1.28 (0.53–3.11)
Extracurricular – 1.02 (0.97–1.07) 1.02 (0.98–1.07)
Work – 0.95 (0.91–0.99)** 0.95 (0.91–0.99)*
GPA – 0.48 (0.23–0.98)* 0.44 (0.21–0.90)*
Alcohol per week – 1.02 (0.83–1.25) 1.04 (0.85–1.27)
Smoke – 0.17 (0.08–0.40)*** 0.16 (0.07–0.38)***
Relationship
Romantic – – 2.24 (1.08–4.69)*
Note. GPA ¼ grade point average; SES ¼ socioeconomic status.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Our finding to link smoking with decreased GPA, therefore, is consistent with
those findings.
We did find support for our hypothesis that romantic relationships would
influence student attendance by determining that being in a romantic relation-
ship increases the odds of poor attendance by approximately 124%. While this
relationship has not yet been examined by studies of higher education, the afore-
mentioned literature linking attendance with academic achievement (Credé
et al., 2010) is supportive of this relationship. The majority of the additional
factors shown to be significantly associated with poor attendance (SES, working,
and extracurricular activities) can also be said to be directly or indirectly sup-
ported by the prior literature, but the influence of smoking is particularly sur-
prising. While smoking was shown to be associated with decreased GPA, which
is supported by studies of adolescent smoking and academic achievement, the
second part of our multivariate analysis determined that self-identified smokers
are significantly less likely to have poor attendance. With the limited literature
on smoking and academic achievement linking smoking with decreased achieve-
ment (Bryant et al., 2000; Jeynes, 2002), our finding is counterintuitive and
seems to contradict the relevant prior studies.
12 Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0)

From a practical standpoint, the results of this analysis suggest that university
administrators should be aware of the potential deleterious effects of romantic
relationships on the attendance of students. While such considerations would
not likely take the form of changes to course curricula by faculty, there are
multiple avenues for this information to be used effectively. One such method
would be for university psychological services departments to provide program-
ming for students regarding romantic relationships among students that would
remark on course attendance issues. Similarly, residence life staff should be
aware of these findings, so that they can also incorporate these findings into
programming initiatives that seek to enhance student well-being and academic
performance.
Our results also have implications for criminological theory by suggesting
that differential association theory might be applicable when considering the
relationship between romantic relationships and college course attendance.
While we are not describing poor attendance as an example of deviance, it is
certainly a problematic behavior for college students that is clearly linked with
lower levels of academic achievement (Chen & Lin, 2008; Credé et al., 2010). In
light of the prior studies that have called upon differential association to explain
the relationships between romantic relationships and delinquency (Rebellon &
Manasse, 2004) and racial pressures on academic achievement (Herman, 2009),
we believe that the results from the current analysis appropriately extend the
utility of differential association to explain the processes by which romantic
relationships can influence attendance for college students.
This analysis is not without limitations. Most of the weaknesses present in
this study stem from the student sample that was gathered. While a sample of
333 students is robust and more than appropriate for the multivariate analytical
techniques used here, we clearly have difficulty in generalizing the results to the
full undergraduate student body at the university. As mentioned earlier, a com-
parison of the demographic characteristics of the population with our sample
indicates that we have oversampled women, non-Whites, and senior students.
This does not negate the results of our analysis, but we are certainly unable to
claim that these findings should be true of the entire student population. Rather,
the identified effects of romantic relationships on course attendance would
be more appropriately generalized to a student population with higher-
than-average proportions of White, female, and older students.
Our analysis was also unable to consider the effects of characteristics of the
romantic relationships; we were only able to estimate the effects of whether each
student was in a romantic relationship or not. Considering that researchers have
shown that the characteristics of romantic partners can affect the link between
romantic relationships and student outcomes in teens (Giordano et al., 2008;
Manning et al., 2009), it would prudent to examine the characteristics of the
romantic relationships and partners in the current study. To that end, additional
items were included in the survey that asked respondents in relationships to the
Schmidt and Lockwood 13

length of their longest relationship and their living situation. However, there was
very little variance for these indicators—the overwhelming majority of students
who indicated that they were in a relationship reported that the duration of the
relationship was longer than 3 months (90%) and that they were dating rather
than married or cohabitating (89%), and so these items were not included in the
multivariate models. Subsequent research would nevertheless be wise to attempt
to measure the characteristics of romantic relationships, and especially the levels
of support received from romantic partners.
Similarly, with several researchers identifying the effects of gender (Ullah &
Wilson, 2007) to condition the influence of romantic relationships on academic
achievement, it is apparent that future studies should also examine how gender
and other factors might moderate the link between romantic relationships and
poor attendance identified here. The current study was unable to examine the
potentially moderating effects of gender due to the aforementioned gender
disparity in the sample. As such, subsequent analyses would be well served
to examine gender and additional factors that might moderate this
relationship.
In sum, this analysis has identified the effects of being in a romantic relation-
ship while in college to more than double the odds of poor course attendance.
Surprisingly, there was no significant link identified between romantic relation-
ships and GPA. The implications of this analysis suggest that colleges and uni-
versities should be considerate of such relationships, as they pertain to course
attendance and that future research should attempt to delve deeper into the
nature of these relationships to understand if the characteristics of such rela-
tionships also play a role in potentially affecting academic outcomes.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

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Author Biographies
Julia Schmidt received her B.A. in Criminal Justice from Monmouth University
in 2014. Ms. Schmidt currently is working at the Monmouth County
Prosecutor’s Office in both the Forfeiture and Megan’s Law Units. In the
future, she will be pursuing her paralegal certification. She is interested in
researching differential association theory in relation to sex offenders.

Brian Lockwood is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice

at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. His research interests
include criminogenic facilities, juvenile delinquency, and the use of GIS in
Criminal Justice. Recent publications have appeared in the Journal of
Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, and Social Science
Research.