The “cool” kids in school don’t always go on to lead a cool life in adulthood.

According to a new study, teenagers who tried to be popular in early adolescence were more likely to experience a number of problems in adulthood, compared to teens who didn’t try to be part of the “in” crowd.

Researchers at the University of Virginia followed 184 teenagers as young as 13 years old until  the age of 23, gathering data directly from the teens themselves, as well as from their parents and peers. The teens analyzed varied in racial and ethnic backgrounds, and attended public schools both in urban and suburban areas in the southeastern U.S.

The researchers discovered that teens who engaged in delinquent activity, were involved in romantic relationships early on, and hung out with attractive peers at the expense of their morals, were more likely to be incompetent in social relationships. They were also more likely to experience problems with drugs and alcohol as adults, and participate in criminal activity.

Lead study author, Joseph P. Allen, Hugh P. Kelly Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, explained that as cool teenagers age, they need to seek out increasingly extreme behaviors in order to continue to stand out and appear cool to their peers.

“They became involved in more serious criminal behavior and alcohol and drug use as adolescence progressed. These previously cool teens appeared less competent—socially and otherwise—than their less cool peers by the time they reached young adulthood,” said Allen in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the journal Child Development.