Development of Dating Motivations During High School: Contributions of Romantic Experiences

Adolescent dating motivations are often considered a key issue in understanding dating and sexual behaviors. Despite their initial identification, the development of these motivations and their correlates remains understudied. The present study aimed to investigate the development of dating motivations over a 3-year period using a longitudinal design, and to explore the moderating roles of romantic experiences and current dating status.

French late adolescents (N = 493; 61% girls) completed a questionnaire six times over 3 years. Rooted in self-determination theory, the questionnaire assessed their amotivation for dating, intrinsic motivation (intimacy and companionship), identified regulation (pleasure and dating timetable), and external motivation (peer pressure), as well as their romantic experiences and current dating status.

As expected, growth models revealed an increase in identified regulation and intrinsic motivation, and a decrease in amotivation, and external motivation between the beginning and end of high school. Gender differences emerged in the developmental trajectories of these motivations: girls showed a more rapid decline in amotivation and a steeper increase in identified regulation than boys. Furthermore, the gender gap in intrinsic motivation increased across the six waves.

Overall, the findings support the view that adolescents progressively shift toward more self-determined motivations with age-a process that appears to occur earlier in girls than in boys. Romantic experiences and current dating status hindered the decrease in amotivation and made only a small contribution to the development of other forms of regulation. Practical implications of the development of dating motivation and gender differences are discussed.