Prevalence of teen dating violence in Europe: A systematic review of studies since 2010

Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescent Dating Violence Victimization and Adverse Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Evidence on the outcomes of adolescent dating violence (ADV) victimization mainly derives from cross-sectional studies, which have limitations in suggesting causal relationships. Furthermore, the complexity of factors and overlapping dimensions in dating violence research, such as the forms of violence experienced, may have contributed to the variability of findings across the literature. To address these gaps and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of ADV, this study reviews findings from prospective cohort studies, with a focus on the type of violence experienced and the gender of the victim. A systematic search was conducted in nine electronic databases and additional relevant journals. Prospective longitudinal studies were included if dating violence victimization occurred during adolescence and chronologically preceded the outcomes. A quality assessment was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A narrative approach was used to synthesize findings. After screening 1,838 records, 14 publications met the selection criteria and were included in this review. Our findings suggest that experiencing ADV is longitudinally associated with many adverse outcomes, including higher internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors, poorer well-being, increased substance use, and increased revictimization. However, the associations are not consistently reported across studies when considering the type of ADV experienced and the gender of the victim. This review highlights the limited number of longitudinal studies examining the outcomes of ADV victimization, the unbalanced approach in investigating different forms of violence, and the lack of diverse samples examining this subject. Implications for research, policy, and practice are outlined.

Experiences of nursing students who are victims of dating violence: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Dating Violence (DV) is a type of Intimate Partner Violence that occurs between young people, and they are those behaviours that cause physical, sexual or psychological harm.

OBJECTIVE/AIM

To know the experience of university students around dating violence.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted through semi-structured individual interviews with nursing students' victims of dating violence with the same starting categories. The public involve in this study were nursing students who freely agreed to participate in the interviews and gave their informed consent.

RESULTS

Eleven nursing students participated, the sample was heterogeneous for gender and sexual diversity. Obtaining results about their experience with dating violence, manifestations of dating violence and cyber violence in their relationships, consequences, formal and informal help seeking and proposals for help as nursing students, among others.

CONCLUSION

Dating violence is a serious problem that seriously affects the victims and requires the creation of prevention programs. The experiences of university students about DV are mainly painful experiences, with serious consequences for those involved, needing help from their close environment and professional help to overcome the problems generated by their partners.

IMPLICATIONS

It is important due to the high prevalence of this phenomenon, also among nursing students, to provide key points to future health professionals and victims of dating violence on the correct way to act against violence due to lack of knowledge on the subject. This study clarifies the experiences of dating violence and how to offer help to victims from the informal and professional sphere.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Clinical Research of the Health Area of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo) with code 01/2021.

The Boomerang Effect of Suppression of Emotional Expression: Relationship Power, Affectivity and Adolescent and Youth Male-To-Female Dating Violence

Scarce research has been performed on the role of power, affectivity, and suppression of emotional expression in the use of dating violence by adolescents and young men. This study aims to analyze a model of the associations between perceived power (control and dominance), affectivity (positive and negative affect), suppression of emotional expression and the frequency of use of male-to female dating violence. Participants in this cross-sectional and correlational study were 786 Spanish students aged between 13 and 25 years (M = 18.80; SD = 2.93) divided in two groups: 13-18 (316 adolescents, M = 15.58; SD = 1.02) and 18-25 (462 young men, M = 20.79; SD = 1.98) with 8 participants not stating their age. Different sequential mediation models confirmed that, only in young men, affectivity (negative and positive affect) and suppression of emotional expression mediate the relationship between power and the use of dating violence. Fostering equal relationships, associating them with positive emotional states, avoiding the frustration derived from low power perception, and providing young men with strategies for appropriately expressing their emotions may help decrease the use of dating violence.

[An evaluation of teacher training to promote healthy and equitable relationships: transforming or reproducing?]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of the training on teacher capacity to implement Posem el Focus, a socio-educational intervention adapted from Lights4Violence to prevent the gender-based violence during adolescence.

METHOD

Evaluation study of a training using qualitative methodology in Terrassa, 2019-2021. The socio-constructionist perspective was used to understand the impact of teacher training and its translation into educational practice. A purposive sampling of teachers (n=32) was carried out. A descriptive-interpretative analysis of the discourses was carried out based on the written productions of the participants in the training and their answers to some open questions. An explanatory theoretical framework was developed.

RESULTS

Teachers reported acquiring concepts, developing new skills and modifying some attitudes. Teachers stated theoretical understanding of the sex-gender system, intersectionality and explicit and implicit violence. However, they reproduced gender stereotypes, did not understand the inclusive approach and pointed out not identifying implicit violence. Teachers perceived the training as useful and felt empowered to implement the intervention. No differences were identified in discursive production with respect to gender or age.

CONCLUSIONS

Teacher training ensures minimum knowledge and facilitates the acquisition of some skills, although it does not achieve in-depth changes in attitudes. It is concluded that the training enables teachers to implement Posem el Focus, although it is recommended that it be reformulated.

Jealousy, sexism, and romantic love myths: the role of beliefs in online dating violence

With the massification of the Internet and social networks, a new form of dating violence called cyber-violence has emerged, which involves behaviors of control, humiliation, intimidation and threats towards the partner or ex-partner. Using a non-probabilistic sample of 1,001 participants aged 18 to 25 years, the present study used an ex post facto, retrospective, cross-sectional, single-group design to analyze the joint effects that beliefs associated with dating violence such as romantic love myths, jealousy, and sexism have on the victimization and perpetration of cyber-violence. The results evidenced that jealousy is involved in both Cyber-victimization and Cyber-harassment perpetrated, while sexist beliefs are only involved in perpetration. In the discussion section, it is postulated that cyber-violence is a phenomenon that is more related to the probability of aggression, but not to the probability of being a victim. Finally, limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

The Perceptions of Sexual Harassment among Adolescents of Four European Countries

Sexual harassment is a crucial public health issue among adolescents. In order to develop school health promotion programs, there is a need to involve adolescents themselves paying particular attention to their perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and practices. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the adolescents' perceptions about sexual harassment as well as the ways it could be prevented. Four focus groups were conducted during an online "camp" in autumn 2021, facilitated by members of SHEHAP project research team. Participants were secondary school students from Finland, Greece, Lithuania and Portugal. The qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. Concerning how participants perceive sexual harassment, the themes that emerged were: physically expressed sexual harassment; verbally expressed sexual harassment; virtually expressed sexual harassment; violation of self-determination. Virtual environment; school environment; public environment; familiar environment, were identified as the places where sexual harassment may occur. Finally, in regard to the participants' views on the prevention of sexual harassment, the following themes emerged: youth education; adult education aiming teachers and parents; professional, peer and family support; official consequences; health education methods. The findings of the current study can be used for the development of school-based programs aiming to prevent sexual harassment among adolescents.

Violence in Dating Relationships: Validation of the CADRI Questionnaire in a Young Adult Population

Dating violence in the young adult population is reaching alarming levels. However, the instruments used to measure it and their results are still heterogeneous. The main aim of this study was to validate the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory questionnaire for a young adult Spanish university population aged between 19 and 25 years old, and to describe the types of violence perpetrated and suffered.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. A validity analysis was carried out through a confirmatory factor analysis. The relative frequencies for each type of violence and the Chi2 test for two dichotomous variables were used to describe the different types of violence perpetrated and suffered.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 976 young adults aged 19-25 years old (M = 21.7 years. SD = 1.8). The confirmatory factor analysis had an adequate structure and a good fit to the model. The types of violence perpetrated and suffered were described according to the sex of the participants, with significant differences found for verbal-emotional violence and physical violence exerted.

CONCLUSIONS

The confirmatory factor analysis allowed us to consider the application of the questionnaire to be correct for the study population.

Early Childhood Predictors of Teen Dating Violence Involvement at Age 17

The distal relationship between risk factors in childhood and subsequent dating violence in late adolescence has not often been explored using longitudinal data. This study aims to shed light on the problem of dating violence by examining children’s backgrounds at age 7 and the link to the future involvement in dating violence at age 17 using the first and seventh waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso, n = 644). The sample consists of 644 multiethnic adolescents (57.14% female, M = 17.47, SD = 0.37), mainly Swiss-born (90%), though more than half of their parents (60%) were born in another country. A latent class analysis was applied to identify three different profiles (a) zero (or minimal) involvement in teen dating violence, (b) perpetrators/victims of controlling behaviors, and (c) perpetrators/victims of controlling behaviors and of physical violence. Participants who were corporally punished and/or victims of bullying at age 7 were significantly more likely to belong to the controlling and physical violence profile than children in the non-violent class. These results suggest a certain chronicity of the effects of violent experiences in early childhood on the patterns of romantic relationships at 17 years old.

Effects of DARSI Intervention Program on Adolescents’ Perceptions of Love, Tolerance toward Abuse and Dating Violence Perpetration

Teen dating violence is a serious problem and intervention programs aimed at reducing this violence and helping adolescents to develop healthier romantic relationships are needed. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the DARSI program on the development of a more adequate perception of love, the reduction of tolerance toward abuse in romantic relationships, and the reduction of the perpetration of dating violence in adolescents. The sample consisted of 129 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years (M = 14.05, SD = 1.08). A repeated measures (pre-test and post-test) quasi-experimental design with an intervention group and a control group was used to assess the effects of the program. The results showed significant decreases in unhealthy perceptions of love (linking love with control and dependence), tolerance toward abuse in romantic relationships, and dating violence perpetration in the intervention group. Healthier perceptions of love (linking love with respect and communication) were observed in the intervention group after the implementation of this program. These findings support the implementation in educational contexts of programs focused on the development of non-violent and healthy romantic relationships in adolescents.

Exploring risk and protective factors for adolescent dating violence across the social-ecological model: A systematic scoping review of reviews

BACKGROUND

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a serious issue that affects millions of youth worldwide. ADV can be any intentional psychological, emotional, physical, or sexual aggression that occurs in adolescent dating and/or sexual relationships, and can occur both in person and electronically. The mental health consequences of ADV can be significant and far reaching, with studies finding long-term effects of dating violence victimization in adolescence. Preventing ADV so that youth do not experience negative mental health consequences is thus necessary. To be effective, however, prevention efforts must be comprehensive and address more than one domain of the social-ecological model, incorporating risk and protective factors across the individual level; relationship level; community level; and societal level. To support researchers and practitioners in designing such prevention programs, an understanding of what risk and protective factors have been identified over the past several decades of ADV research, and how these factors are distributed across levels of the social-ecological model, is needed.

METHODS

This study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We included peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2000 and September 2020. The search strategy was developed in collaboration with a research librarian. Covidence was used for title and abstract screening and full text review. Data were extracted from included articles using a standardized charting template, and then synthesized into tables by type of factor (risk or protective), role in ADV (victimization or perpetration), and level(s) of the social-ecological model (individual, relationship, community, societal).

RESULTS

Our initial search across six databases identified 4,798 potentially relevant articles for title and abstract review. Following title and abstract screening and full text review, we found 20 articles that were relevant to our study objective and that met inclusion criteria. Across these 20 articles, there was a disproportionate focus on risk factors at the individual and relationship levels of the social-ecological model, particularly for ADV perpetration. Very little was found about risk factors at the community or societal levels for ADV victimization or perpetration. Furthermore, a very small proportion of articles identified any protective factors, regardless of level of the social-ecological model.

CONCLUSION

Despite best practice suggesting that ADV prevention strategies should be comprehensive and directed at multiple levels of an individual's social ecology, this systematic scoping review of reviews revealed that very little is known about risk factors beyond the individual and relationship level of the social-ecological model. Further, past research appears steeped in a risk-focused paradigm, given the limited focus on protective factors. Research is needed that identifies risk factors beyond the individual and relationship levels, and a strengths-based focus should be used to identify novel protective factors. In addition, a more critical approach to ADV research - to identify structural and not just individual risk and protective factors - is needed.

The gender symmetry problem in physical teen dating violence: A commentary and suggestions for a research agenda

Dating violence is a serious manifestation of harmful behaviour during adolescence. During the past decades, considerable research has shed light on patterns, causes, and consequences of dating violence. One of the most notable findings emerging from widely used survey instruments is that female adolescents report perpetrating physical dating violence more or equally frequently as male adolescents. Similarly, male youth appear to equally frequently report that they have been victims of physical dating violence as female adolescents. This commentary reviews issues emerging from the debate on gender symmetry in dating violence and proposes directions for future research. It suggests that future research needs to consider three interrelated issues to advance the field, namely: to improve the understanding of differences in harm, advance the knowledge of gender differences in the short-term dynamics involved in conflict and aggression, and strengthen the evidence base on shared and gender-specific developmental aetiologies of dating violence.

Physical teen dating violence in high school students in Slovenia: Prevalence and correlates

Although teen dating violence (TDV) is internationally recognized as a serious threat to adolescents' health and well-being, almost no data is available for Slovenian youth. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of TDV among Slovenian adolescents for the first time. Using data from the SPMAD study (Study of Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Delinquency), 330 high school students were asked about physical TDV victimization and perpetration as well as about their dating history, relationship conflicts, peers' antisocial behavior, and informal social control by family and school. A substantial number of female and male adolescents reported victimization (16.7% of female and 12.7% of male respondents) and perpetration (21.1% of female and 6.0% of male respondents). Furthermore, the results revealed that lower age at the first relationship, relationship conflicts, and school informal social control were associated with victimization, whereas being female, relationship conflicts, having antisocial peers, and family informal social control were linked to perpetration. Implications of the study findings were discussed.