It's generally believed that dating is a perfectly healthy part of being a teenager. Forming a romantic connection for the first time can help teens’ grow their self-esteem, mature on an emotional level, and develop important social skills for later on in life. While all of that still holds true, researchers from the University of Georgia say that not dating can be just as, if not more, beneficial for teens.

　　人们普遍认为约会是促进青少年健康成长的一个重要环节。第一次建立一段亲密关系可以帮助青少年建立自尊心，在情感层面上更加成熟，并且为以后的人生旅途训练出重要的社交能力。尽管所有这些理论都是正确的，但对于青少年来说，不约会也同样对他们有益。

　　哈哈哈果不其然，

　　这一上来看到这句：

　　即使不约会也同样受益。

　　真的是太令人因其舒适了吧!

　　不仅内心大笑了起来～

　　不行

　　内心的冲动驱使着我继续看下去

　　一定还有惊喜，嘿嘿!

　　The research team discovered that teens who had not dated during middle or high school displayed good social skills, low levels of depression, and generally fared equal to or better than their classmates who were dating.

　　研究小组发现，在中学或高中期间没有约会的青少年，表现出了良好的社交能力，抑郁程度比较低，总体表现与约会的同学持平甚至更好。

　　"The majority of teens have had some type of romantic experience by 15 to 17 years of age, or middle adolescence," explains doctoral student and the study's lead author Brooke Douglas in a release. "This high frequency has led some researchers to suggest that dating during teenage years is a normative behavior. That is, adolescents who have a romantic relationship are therefore considered 'on time' in their psychological development."

　　“大多数15到17岁的青少年，或是处在青春期中期的年轻人，都有过某种类型的浪漫经历，”该研究的主要作者布鲁克·道格拉斯博士在一份报告中解释道。“这种高频率就会让一些研究人员认为，青少年时期的约会是一种普遍现象。也就是说，青少年在心理发展过程中，谈恋爱被认为是“合时宜的”。

　　纳尼?什么叫合时宜的、准时的!

　　那你这意思是我没谈过恋爱，

　　我就是迟到生了吗???

　　我这样一个遵纪守法，

　　从不迟到的优秀好同志可接受不了!

　　我一定得再看看!

　　So, in order to investigate if this societal assumption is correct, Douglas and her team looked at a group of 10th grade students who had reported none to very little romantic activity over a seven-year period. They examined each student’s emotional and social capabilities and then compared that information with their more oft-dating peers.

　　因此，为了调查这种社会假设是否正确，道格拉斯和她的团队观察了一组10年级的学生，这些学生在7年的时间里并没有谈恋爱。他们研究了每个学生的情感和社交能力，然后将这些信息与经常约会的他们的同龄人进行比较。

　　The student-collected data used for the study was gathered from a group of Northeast Georgia students as they progressed from sixth to 12th grade. Data collection began in 2013. Each spring, students were asked about their dating habits, as well a number of other emotional and social factors such as positive relationships with friends, home life, behavior at school, depression symptoms, and suicidal thoughts. Each student's teachers were also surveyed, and asked about the child's social skills, leadership characteristics, and depression symptoms.

　　这些用于研究的数据，是从乔治亚州东北部的一群六到十二年级之间的学生中收集的。他们从2013年就开始收集数据了。每年春天，学生们都会被问及他们的约会习惯，以及其他一些情感和社会因素，如与朋友的积极关系、家庭生活、学校行为、抑郁症状和自杀念头。每个学生的老师也接受了调查，并询问了孩子的社交能力、领导能力和抑郁症状。

　　Surprisingly, the study's authors discovered that non-dating students had either similar, or better, interpersonal skills than their dating classmates. Furthermore, while self-reported positive relationship scores did not differ between either groups, teachers rated the non-dating students significantly higher than their romance-seeking classmates in terms of social and leadership skills.

　　令人惊讶的是，该研究的学者发现，没有约会的学生的人际交往能力与他们的约会同学相似，甚至有的会更好。此外，虽然两组同学的自我报告里，对于情感的积极程度得分没有差异，但在社交和领导能力方面，教师对不约会学生的评价明显高于那些谈恋爱的同学。

　　“As public health professionals, we can do a better job of affirming that adolescents do have the individual freedom to choose whether they want to date or not, and that either option is acceptable and healthy,” Douglas concludes.

　　道格拉斯博士最后总结说：“作为公共卫生的专业人士，我们可以更好地确认青少年确实有选择是否约会的个人自由，而且这两种选择都是健康和可以接受的。”