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According to Erikson´s Theory of Psychosocial Development and because marriage as an undergraduate student is not the norm, marital status may have implications for college students´ academic performance. In addition, relationship quality may predict how well undergraduates perform academically. Thus, the goal of this study is to examine how marital status predicts academic performance and whether or not relationship quality moderates this association. Data for this study comes from an online survey of undergraduate students from a university in the Midwestern United States (N = 111, 81.1% female, 87.4% White/Caucasian, 21.2% married). Results revealed that marital status is negatively associated with cumulative grade point average (GPA) and perception of GPA. There were no significant effects of relationship satisfaction, relationship communication, or the interaction of relationship quality and marital status for academic performance. Implications for academic performance and young adult development will be discussed.

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Langlais, Michael
Dr. Mickey Langlais got his Bachelor´s Degree in Psychology and Classical Civilizations from the University of Tennessee and received his Master´s and PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Texas - Austin. Selena Beard received her Bachelor´s Degree in Family Studies with a minor in Public Health from the University of Nebraska - Kearney.

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