Violence experienced by adolescent girls from their dating partners poses considerable threat to their health and well-being. This report provides an overview of the prevalence and consequences of heterosexual teen dating violence and highlights the need for comprehensive prevention approaches to dating violence. We also discuss some considerations and future directions for the study and prevention of dating violence. We begin with a discussion of the definition of dating violence and also discuss measurement concerns and the need for evaluation of prevention strategies. Although women and men of all ages may be the victims or perpetrators, male-to-female dating violence experienced by adolescent girls is the main focus of this article. We incorporate research regarding girls' perpetration of dating violence where appropriate and as it relates to prevention.

Purpose The goal of the present research was to identify distinct latent classes of adolescents that commit teen dating violence (TDV) and assess differences on demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates. Methods Boys and girls (N = 1,149; Mage = 14.3; Grades 6–12) with a history of violence exposure completed surveys assessing six indices of TDV in the preceding 3 months. Indices of TDV included controlling behaviors, psychological TDV, physical TDV, sexual TDV, fear/intimidation, and injury. In addition, adolescents provided demographic and dating history information and completed surveys assessing attitudes condoning violence, relationship skills and knowledge, and reactive/proactive aggression. Results Latent class analysis indicated a three-class solution wherein the largest class of students was nonviolent on all indices (“nonaggressors”) and the smallest class of students demonstrated high probability of nearly all indices of TDV (“multiform aggressors”). In addition, a third class of “emotional aggressors” existed for which there was a high probability of controlling and psychological TDV but low likelihood of any other form of TDV. Multiform aggressors were differentiated from emotional and nonaggressors on the use of self-defense in dating relationships, attitudes condoning violence, and proactive aggression. Emotional aggressors were distinguished from nonaggressors on nearly all measured covariates. Conclusions Evidence indicates that different subgroups of adolescents engaging in TDV exist. In particular, a small group of youth engaging in multiple forms of TDV can be distinguished from a larger group of youth that commit acts of TDV restricted to emotional aggression (i.e., controlling and psychological) and most youth that do not engage in TDV.

In the present study, we assess the effects of the Expect Respect Support Groups (ERSG) on frequency of teen dating violence (TDV) and general youth violence. ERSG is a school-based violence prevention program for youth who have been exposed to violence in their home, school, or community. Boys and girls (N=1,678, M=14.3, S.D.=1.7, Range=11-17) from 36 schools in Texas participated in this accelerated longitudinal (7-year trajectory) study beginning in 2011. Latent growth curve analyses were conducted using three waves of data from three cross-sectional cohorts of adolescents. Among boys, the number of ERSG sessions attended related to incremental declines in psychological TDV perpetration and victimization, physical TDV victimization, sexual TDV perpetration and victimization, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression. Girls attending ERSG demonstrated reductions in reactive and proactive aggression. The present findings suggest ERSG may be an effective cross-cutting strategy to reduce TDV and other forms of violence among high-risk boys and possibly girls. This information provides valuable understanding of TDV and youth violence in high-risk populations and may be useful in tailoring future prevention efforts to different groups of teens.

Expect Respect support groups, a selective prevention strategy, are designed to prevent and reduce dating violence among at-risk middle and high school students. This preliminary, uncontrolled evaluation examined changes in healthy relationship skills and emotionally and physically abusive behaviors in participants' peer and dating relationships. Self-reports (N = 144) showed significant increases in healthy relationship skills from baseline to program completion, whereas levels of victimization and perpetration remained unchanged. A subgroup of students who reported baseline levels of victimization and perpetration with means at least one standard deviation above the group mean reported significantly less victimization and perpetration at program completion.

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