For girls, this context has the advantage of providing constraints on sexual activity with a dating partner. Even so, sexual activity does take place as part of dating for adolescents and, by age 15, most girls and boys from these studies report having had at least some sexual experience. It seems that they are thinking about having a good time with someone that they like and, of course, about sex. Positive personality traits and physical attractiveness are the top rated things that adolescents like about dating partners, followed by intimacy, support, and companionship. As you could probably guess, boys are more likely to mention physical attraction as one of the best things about the girls.
Girls are more likely to mention support and intimacy when describing dating partners.
When it comes to the advantages of having a dating partner, companionship was on the top of both genders' lists. It also seems that girls mention intimacy and social status more than boys do. Disadvantages of dating for both sexes are too much commitment and fights. Only boys said that having to spend money on dates was a disadvantage. In addition to this, adolescents reported ages ranging from 3 to 18 for the first time they had fallen in love, with 12 being about average.