Dating Abuse

1 in 3 teens is abused in a relationship. And most partners stay in the relationship in spite of it.

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Teenagers often experience violence in dating relationships. Statistics show that one in three teenagers has experienced violence in a dating relationship. In dating violence, one partner tries to maintain power and control over the other through abuse. Dating violence crosses all racial, economic and social lines. Most victims are young women, who are also at greater risk for serious injury. Young women need a dating safety plan.

Teen dating violence often is hidden because teenagers typically:

  • are inexperienced with dating relationships.
  • are pressured by peers to act violently.
  • want independence from parents.
  • have "romantic" views of love.

Teen dating violence is influenced by how teenagers look at themselves and others.

Young men may believe:

  • they have the right to "control" their female partners in any way necessary.
  • "masculinity" is physical aggressiveness
  • they "possess" their partner. keylogger
  • they should demand intimacy.
  • they may lose respect if they are attentive and supportive toward their girlfriends.
Young women may believe:
  • they are responsible for solving problems in their relationships
  • their boyfriend's jealousy, possessiveness and even physical abuse, is "romantic."
  • abuse is "normal" because their friends are also being abused.
  • there is no one to ask for help.

Teenagers can choose better relationships when they learn to identify the early warning signs of an abusive relationship, understand that they have choices, and believe they are valuable people who deserve to be treated with respect.

 

 

Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls
and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy
Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior,
Pregnancy, and Suicidality
Jay G. Silverman, PhD
Anita Raj, PhD
Lorelei A. Mucci, MPH
Jeanne E. Hathaway, MD, MPH
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV)
against women is a major public
health concern. Estimates from a recent
large-scale, nationally representative
survey1 indicate that more than
1.5 million women are physically and/or
sexually abused by an intimate partner
each year in the United States, and 25%
will experience IPV at some point during
their lifetimes. Research among
adults has shown that younger age is a
consistent risk factor for experiencing
and perpetrating IPV.2-4 Rates of IPV
among nonrepresentative samples indicate
that approximately 25% of adolescents
have experienced physical and/or
sexual dating violence,5,6 an estimate
consistent with the estimated lifetime
prevalence of IPV among adult women.
1 However, no representative epidemiologic
studies of lifetime prevalence
of physical and sexual dating violence
experienced by adolescents have been
conducted to provide a reliable estimate
of the scope of the problem, indicate
which groups of adolescents may
be at greatest risk, or assess whether
other health risks faced by adolescents
are associated with a history of IPV.
Most IPV is directed at women. The
rate of violence against females by intimate
partners is 3 to 6 times that of
IPV against males.1,2 Injuries that result
from such violence are significantly
more common among females
for both adolescent7 and adult populations,
1 and approximately 10% of intentional
injuries to adolescent girls are
reported to be the result of violence