Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Adolescence pp 615–623Cite as

Dating Abuse: Primary Prevention Efforts

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:

Overview

This essay provides an overview of the efforts to prevent adolescent dating abuse. Prevention programs that have been evaluated using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are described, followed by a synthesis of study findings, programmatic issues, and methodological issues in these RCTs. The essay concludes with implications for practice.

Introduction

Romantic relationships are a central part of adolescents’ lives and play an important role in their development. These romantic relationships can provide social support; influence sexuality, intimacy, and identity development; and offer a context in which teens can develop their social skills and establish their autonomy and independence. However, while romantic relationships may play an important positive role in adolescent development, research also suggests that romantic relationships can be abusive. National estimates indicate that between 9% and 12% of US youth have been victims of past-year physical dating violence...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   2,050.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ackard, D. M., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2007). Long-term impact of adolescent dating violence on the behavioral and psychological health of male and female youth. The Journal of Pediatrics, 151, 476–481.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Avery-Leaf, S., Cascardi, M., O’Leary, K. D., & Cano, A. (1997). Efficacy of a dating violence prevention program on attitudes justifying aggression. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 11–17.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., & Lavoie, F. (2001). Reactive and proactive aggression: Predictions to physical violence in different contexts and moderating effects of parental monitoring and caregiving behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 293–304.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A., Cosgrave, E., Killackey, E., Purcell, R., Buckby, J., & Yung, A. R. (2009). The longitudinal association of adolescent dating violence with psychiatric disorders and functioning. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 1964–1979.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., & Clark, S. (1998). Prospective family predictors of aggression toward female partners for young at-risk males. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1175–1188.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Surveillance summaries. MMWR Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 57 (SS04), 1–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapple, C. (2003). Examining intergenerational violence: Violent role modeling or weak parental controls? Violence and Victims, 18, 143–162.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V., & Lazgwick, S. (2004). Safe Dates: An adolescent dating abuse prevention curriculum (p. 241). Minneapolis: Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., & Reyes, H. L. M. (2009). Primary prevention of adolescent dating abuse: When to begin, whom to target, and how to do it. In D. Whitaker & J. Lutzker (Eds.), Preventing partner violence (pp. 141–168). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., & Reyes, H. L. M. (in press). Dating abuse: Prevelance, consequences and causes. In J. R. Roger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of adolescence. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Arriaga, X. B., Helms, R. W., Koch, G. G., & Linder, G. F. (1998). An evaluation of Safe Dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 45–50.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Greene, W. F., Koch, G. G., Linder, G. F., & MacDougall, J. E. (2000). The Safe-Dates program: 1-year follow-up results. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1619–1622.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Linder, F., MacDougall, J. E., & Bangdiwala, S. (2001). Gender differences in the longitudinal predictors of dating violence. Preventive Medicine, 32, 128–141.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Ennett, S. T., Linder, G. F., Benefield, T., & Suchindran, C. (2004). Assessing the long-term effects of the Safe Dates program and a booster in preventing and reducing adolescent dating violence victimization and perpetration. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 619–624.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Benefield, T. S., Ennett, S. T., Bauman, K. E., & Suchindran, C. (2004). Longitudinal predictors of serious physical and sexual dating violence victimization during adolescence. Preventive Medicine, 39, 1007–1016.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Ennett, S. T., Suchindran, C., Benefield, T., & Linder, G. F. (2005). Assessing the effects of the dating violence prevention program “Safe Dates” using random coefficient regression modeling. Prevention Science, 6, 245–258.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Benefield, T., Suchindran, C., Ennett, S. T., Bauman, K. E., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., et al. (2009). The development of four types of adolescent dating abuse and selected demographic correlates. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19, 380–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V.A., Reyes, H.L.M., & Ennett, S.T. (2010). Examination of sex and race differences in longitudinal predictors of the initiation of adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 19 (5), 492–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Reyes, H. L. M., Ennett, S. T., Cance, J. D., Bauman, K. E., & Bowling, J. M. (in press). Assessing the effects of Families for Safe Dates, a family-based teen dating abuse prevention program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, H., Hagan, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). Age, puberty, and exposure to intimate partner violence in adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1036, 151–166.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R. (1983). An operational classification of disease prevention. Public Health Reports, 98, 107–109.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R. (1987). An operational classification of disease prevention. In J. A. Steinberg & M. M. Silverman (Eds.), Preventing mental disorders. Rockville: Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Oslak, S. G., Young, M. L., Martin, S. L., & Kupper, L. L. (2001). Partner violence among adolescents in opposite-sex romantic relationships: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 1679–1685.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Young, M. L., Waller, M., Martin, S. L., & Kupper, L. (2004). Prevalence of partner violence in same-sex romantic and sexual relationships in a national sample of adolescents. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 35, 124–131.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Spriggs, A. L., Martin, S. L., & Kupper, L. L. (2009). Patterns of intimate partner violence victimization from adolescence to young adulthood in a nationally representative sample. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 45 (5), 508–516.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaycox, L. H., McCaffrey, D., Eiseman, B., Aronoff, J., Shelley, G. A., Collins, R. L., et al. (2006). Impact of a school-based dating violence prevention program among Latino teens: Randomized controlled effectiveness trial. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 694–704.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraizer, S., & Larson, C. L. (1993). Dating violence: Intervention and prevention for teenagers. [Program manual]. Tulsa: University of Oklahoma, College of Continuing Education, National Resource Center for Youth Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavoie, F., Hebert, M., Tremblay, R. E., Vitaro, F., Vezina, L., & McDuff, P. (2002). History of family dysfunction and perpetration of dating violence by adolescent boys: A longitudinal study. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 30, 375–383.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macgowan, M. J. (1997). An evaluation of a dating violence prevention program for middle school students. Violence and Victims, 12, 223–235.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., & Silva, P. A. (1998). Developmental antecedents of partner abuse: A prospective-longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 375–389.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malik, S., Sorenson, S. B., & Aneshensel, C. S. (1997). Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 291–302.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S., Gorman-Smith, D., Sullivant, T., Orpinas, P., & Simon, T. R. (2009). Parent and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration in early adolescence: Tests of moderation and gender differences. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38 (4), 538–550.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, L., Stueve, A., Myint-U, A., Duran, R., Agronick, G., & Wilson-Simmons, R. (2006). Middle school aggression and subsequent intimate partner physical violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25, 693–703.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Keefe, M. (1997). Predictors of dating violence among high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 546–568.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Keefe, M., & Treister, L. (1998). Victims of dating violence among high school students: Are predictors different for males and females? Violence against Women, 4, 195–223.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, K. D., Smith-Slep, A. M., Avery-Leaf, S., & Cascardi, M. (2009). Gender differences in dating aggression among multiethnic high school students. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 42 (5), 473–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Toole, L., Schiffman, J., & Edwards, M. (2007). Gender violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacifici, C., Stoolmiller, M., & Nelson, C. (2001). Evaluating a prevention program for teenagers on sexual coercion: A differential effectiveness approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69 (3), 552–559.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Plass, M. S., & Gessner, J. C. (1983). Violence in courtship relations: A southern sample. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 11, 198–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, T., Klein, J. D., & Fisher, S. (2003). Longitudinal effect of intimate partner abuse on high-risk behavior among adolescents. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 157, 875–881.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salazar, L. F., & Cook, S. L. (2006). Preliminary findings from an outcome evaluation of an intimate partner violence prevention program for adjudicated, African American, Adolescent males. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice, 4, 368–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidman, E. (1987). Toward a framework for primary prevention research. In J. A. Steinberg & M. M. Silverman (Eds.), Preventing mental disorders. Rockville: Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, J., Raj, A., Mucci, L., & Hathaway, J. (2001). Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. JAMA, 286, 572–579.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Lin, K., & Gordon, L. C. (1998). Socialization in the family of origin and male dating violence: A prospective study. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 467–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spriggs, A. L., Halpern, C. T., Herring, A. H., & Schoenbach, V. J. (2009). Family and school socioeconomic disadvantage: Interactive influences on adolescent dating violence victimization. Social Science & Medicine, 68 (11), 1956–1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, B., Stein, N., & Burden, F. (2010). The effects of gender violence/harassment prevention programming in middle schools: A randomized experimental evaluation. Violence and Victims, 25 (2), 202–223.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D., Wekerle, C., Gough, R., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Grasley, C., Pittman, A., et al. (1996). The Youth Relationships Manual: A group approach with adolescents for the prevention of woman abuse and the promotion of healthy relationships. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D., Wekerle, C., Scott, K., Straatman, A., Grasley, C., & Reitzel-Jaffe, D. (2003). Dating violence prevention with at-risk youth: A controlled evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 279–291.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C., Jaffe, P., Chiodo, D., Hughes, R., Ellis, W., et al. (2009). A school-based program to prevent adolescent dating violence. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 163, 692–699.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 19B Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599 7440, USA

    Vangie A. Foshee

  2. Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 19E Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599 7440, USA

    Heathe Luz McNaughton Reyes

Authors
  1. Vangie A. Foshee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Heathe Luz McNaughton Reyes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vangie A. Foshee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this entry

Cite this entry

Foshee, V.A., Reyes, H.L.M. (2011). Dating Abuse: Primary Prevention Efforts. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_146

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_146

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1694-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1695-2

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation