As you walk through the hallways every day, it is probably easy to notice happy couples hand-in-hand. In fact, it is nearly impossible not to notice them. While it can be difficult to see the drawbacks of teenage relationships, studies prove that they are not nearly as close to perfection as young people often perceive them to be.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  reports that based on a study conducted in 2011 on high schoolers in the United States, 47.4 % of high have had sexual intercorse, 15.3% of those reporting to have had sex with four or more people during their life.

Early emotional and physical teen relationships often lead to violence. A survey conducted by director of violence prevention programs at the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Jay Silverman, demonstrated that “one in five high school girls [have] been physically or sexually harmed by a dating partner.”

In an article by Winifred Gallagher of the “New York Times, “Gallagher states, “Violence is not the only risk in teenage relationships.” She continues to reference a study from “The Journal of Health and Social Behavior,” reporting that compared with those who are not involved in early sexual relationships, involved adolescents were more likely to experience alcohol abuse, problems at home, struggle in school, and face depression and delinquency. By becoming involved in an intimate, physical relationship as a teenager, a person becomes much more likely to encounter emotional and physical problems.

Moreover, Silverman found that compared with girls who had not involved in early relationships, the victims were “four to six times as likely to have been pregnant, eight to nine times as likely to have attempted suicide, three to four times as likely to have used laxatives or vomiting to lose weight, and three to five times as likely to have used cocaine.”

Concerning depression, according to Miranda Hitti, a study on sexually active students in Calif. from 2002-2004 shows, “a sizeable percentage noted negative consequences such as feeling used, getting pregnant, contracting a sexually transmitted infection, or feeling bad about themselves.” These “sizeable percentages” represent 58% of people who have had vaginal sex. CDC reports that “Nearly half of the 19 million new STDs each year are among young people aged 15–24 years.”

Research proves that ages 12 to 18 are some of the most essential years of a person’s life because the brain is still forming. The National Institute for Medical Health explains that “several lines of evidence suggest that the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses is changing during the teen years.” Ruined relationships or traumatic events that occur if emotional damage happens to a teenager are likely to hurt the student later in life as well as in the present. In the end, what looks like a relationships full of sunshine and butterflies could be much worse, leading to abuse, depression, and and a rough future.