Adolescent health brief
Dating violence: a comparison of rural, suburban, and urban teens

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Abstract

This study analyzed rural, suburban, and urban differences in teen dating violence using the 1996 Teen Assessment Project data. Teens in rural school districts were more likely to be victims of dating violence than their suburban and urban counterparts; males reported being slapped, hit, or kicked more frequently than females. The findings of this study indicate that students in rural school districts are at greater risk for participating in dating violence than suburban and urban students, with rural female students at greatest risk.

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Methods

This study used data from the 1996 Teen Assessment Project (TAP) questionnaire (16). TAP surveyed junior and senior high school students on a variety of health and sociobehavioral topics to assist educators in designing programs to meet the needs of students. The TAP questionnaire was administered to a sample of students who attended five school districts in upstate New York. Students in grades 7, 9, and 11, who were in attendance at school on a designated day, were surveyed. A total of 2094

Results

Table 2 shows the relationship between dating violence and location of school district. Sixteen percent of students in rural areas reported having been slapped, kicked, or hit by a boyfriend or girlfriend several times compared with 9% of suburban and 8% of urban students (X2 = 28.88; p = .000).

Table 2 also depicts the association between location of school district and dating violence victimization by gender. Male students in rural areas (18%) were more likely to have been slapped, hit, or

Discussion

The results of this study cannot be generalized because of sampling and measurement factors. The urban school districts in this study were located in cities with a population of approximately 55,000; thus, they cannot be generalized to school districts in major metropolitan areas. In addition, all of the measures used in the study were based on self-reported data. Self-reported data have inherent problems owing to the reporting of incorrect information either consciously or unconsciously. The

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