Teen Dating Violence: Connecting

the Dots

Presented by:

Melina FragaViolence Prevention Program Coordinator

mfraga@projectpave.org 303-322-2382

A Trip Down Memory Lane…

What is Teen Dating Violence?

Any attempt to gain

Over another person using

physical, emotional or sexual tactics

Power & Control

A pattern of actual or threatened acts of physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, used by an adolescent against a current or former dating partner. The abusive teen uses this pattern of violent and coercive behavior, in a heterosexual or GLBTQ dating relationship, in order to gain power and maintain control over the dating partner.

What is Teen Dating Violence?

Scope of the Problem 1 out of 5 high school age girls has been physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner

The highest rate of intimate partner violence affect women ages 16-24.

Dating violence happens just as often in GLBTQ relationships as it does in heterosexual relationships. GLBTQ youth face additional barriers as victims

A Colorado survey found that 60% of all rapes were date rapes. The majority of victims were between the ages of 16 and 24.

35% of 8th & 9th graders report being a victim of at least one nonsexual dating violence act, and 10% report at least one act of sexual violence.

Secondary Health Issues • Eating disorders

– A strategy to regain control or cope with victimization • Truancy and drop out

– Partner encourages teen to miss school and/or sabotages schoolwork

• Risky sexual behaviors– Increased risk and likelihood of contracting SDIs and STDs

• Teen pregnancy– Birth control sabotage, pressure to engage in risky sexual

behaviors and early sexual activity• Drug and alcohol abuse

– A strategy to regain control or cope with victimization • Suicidality • Mental health issues

– Depression, PTSD, etc.

What does it look Like?

6 Types of Abuse:

Physical $ Economic $

#!%#!Verbal !@#!$

Emotional

Mental

WARNING SIGNS

How do you know someone is a Victim/Survivor?

How do you know someone is an Abuser?

Warning Signs Of A VICTIM

• Isolated from friends or family

• Changes (that you see since they have started dating their partner) •Personality

•Mood

•Clothes or hairstyle

•Easting habits

• Skips classes

• Depressed

• Seems afraid of or tentative around dating partner

• Bruises or marks

• Minimizes the way their dating partner treats them

Warning Signs Of AN ABUSER• Controlling

• Possessive or jealous

• Charming

• Says “I love you” early in relationship

• Says hurtful things about their dating partner to others

• Has abused a partner before

• Has witnessed abuse at home

• Believes in ridged gender stereotypes

• Blames partner for their own behavior

• Uses guilt trips

• Pressures for intimacy

Cycle of Abuse

1 Build Up

2 Blow Up 3 Make Up

The average cycle of abuse occurs 4 or 5 times before the victim considers leaving. As the cycle continues, it generally speeds up while becoming more

and more violent. 3

Barriers to Breaking Up

Status & Popularity

No Resources

PARENTS

LOVE ??Confusion??

Additional Barriers for Survivors

• What barriers might teens of color encounter?

• What barriers might teens in the GLBTQ community encounter?

• What barriers might teens of a low SES encounter?

• What barriers might disabled teens encounter?

• What barriers might an undocumented teen encounter?

• What barriers might young men in heterosexual relationships encounter?

What Can We Do?• Education – teens need to know what teen dating violence looks like and how to

have healthy relationships.

• Empower – Teens listen to other teens. Empower teens to take an active role in the teen dating violence prevention and intervention movement.

• Increase Awareness – Teens need to know that dating violence is a very real problem that can occur anywhere and to any teen.

• Watch for It – Pay attention to teen relationships. Watch and listen for signs.

• Listen – Teens need to know you are someone who will listen and hear without judgment.

• Know the Barriers – For teens to trust adults they need to know we understand how confusing and difficult it can be to be in an abusive relationship.

• Find Support – Know where to help teens find outside help if they need it.

• Discuss – Encourage class discussions on healthy relationship behaviors.

• Educate Yourself – School personal and youth advocates must be able to recognize teen dating violence.

• Plan – Have a system in place and procedures to deal with teen dating violence within your school or organization. Use safety plans and outside agency advocacy to support teens.

Education as Advocacy

• Have discussions with teens about the messages they get in the media about what a healthy relationship looks like verses unhealthy.

• Invite community agencies to work with your teens

• Train staff to recognize and respond to unhealthy dating relationships

• Prevent language in your school or youth organization that sexually objectifies people

• Address behaviors that desensitize teens and can set the stage for serious forms of abusive behavior

• Stress responsibility of bystanders when dating violence occurs

• Use high quality and developmentally appropriate instructional materials to teach teens about dating violence

• Incorporate teen dating violence education into existing curricular studies

For more information please contact:

Melina Fraga Violence Prevention Program Coordinator

mfraga@projectpave.org 303-322-2382

Additional Research Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and Perpetrators

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsAcceptance of Violence

• One of the most consistent and strongest factors found to be associated with inflicting violence against a dating partner is the belief that it is acceptable to use violence. Malik, S., Sorenson, S. B., & Aneshensel, C. S. (1997). Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21 (5), 291-302.

• Both sexes were more accepting of females’ use of dating violence than males, and males were more accepting of their own use of dating violence than females. O'Keefe, M. (1997). Predictors of dating violence among high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12 , 546-568.

• Males who initiated violence against their partner were more likely to expect positive consequences whereas non-violent males were more likely to expect violence to dissolve the relationship. Riggs, D. S., & Caulfield, M. (1997). Expected consequences of male violence against their female dating partners. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 12, 229-240.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and Perpetrators Family violence

• 51% of the students who had experienced dating violence reported witnessing their parents being abusive to each other. O’Keefe, M. K., Brockopp, K., & Chew, E. (1986). Teen dating violence. Social Work, 31, 465-468.

• 60% of adolescents exposed to one form of family violence and 78% for adolescents exposed to three forms of family violence were involved in violent behavior Thornberry, T. P. (1994). Violent families and youth violence. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

• The association between exposure to family violence and perpetrating dating violence was mediated by both acceptance of dating violence as well as an aggressive conflict response style. This relationship held for both males and females. 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 (10), 1619-1622.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsPeer Attitudes

• Having friends in violent relationships was associated with an adolescent's own experience as both a perpetrator and victim of dating violence. This variable was more influential than the effects of witnessing interparental violence. Longitudinal analysis showed friend violence statistically predicted later inflicting dating violence for both males and females, but friend violence statistically predicted becoming the victim of dating violence for females only. Arriaga, X. B., & Foshee, V. A. (2004). Adolescent dating violence: Do adolescents follow in their friends', or their parents', footsteps? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19 (2), 162-184.

Community Violence •Exposure to multiple forms of violence was a strong predictors of involvement in violence in the community and in dating relationships, both as perpetrator and as victim. For both genders, a particularly important predictor of both community and dating violence perpetration and victimization was exposure to weapons and violent injury in the community. Malik, S., Sorenson, S. B., & Aneshensel, C. S. (1997). Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 291-302.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsAlcohol and Substance Abuse

• Both girls (31%) and boys (53%) reported using alcohol before or during a date where violence occurred. Rhynard, J., Krebs, M., & Glover, J. (1997). Sexual assault in dating relationships. Journal of School Health, 67(3), 89-93.

Sexual Violence

• Risk factors for sexual violence in dating relationships include the following additional factors: younger age at first date, early sexual activity, earlier age of menarche, and/or prior sexual victimization and low self-esteem. Burke, P. J., Stets, J. E., & Pirog-Good, M. A. (1989). Gender identity, self-esteem, and physical and sexual abuse in dating relationships. In M. A. Pirog-Good & J. E. Stets (Eds.), Violence in dating relationships (pp. 72-93). NewYork: Praeger.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsDepression

• Sad and hopeless feelings, and suicidality were found to be associated with victimization for both males and females in a nationally representative sample of high school student. Kreiter, S. R., Krowchuk, D. P., Woods, C. R., Sinal, S. H., Lawless, M. R., & DuRant, R. H. (1999). Gender differences in risk behaviors among adolescents who experience date fighting. Pediatrics, 104 (6), 1286-1292.

Similar results found in: Howard, D. E., & Wang, M. Q. (2003a). Psychosocial factors associated with adolescent boys' reports of dating violence. Adolescence, 38 (151), 519-533. ANDHoward, D. E., & Wang, M. Q. (2003b). Risk profiles of adolescent girls who were victims of dating violence. Adolescence, 38 (149), 1-14.

Support Systems• Severely violent males reported less social support than their nonviolent controls. Magdol, L., Moffitt, T., Caspi, A., Newman, D., Fagan, J., & Silva, P. (1997). Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21-year-olds: Bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 68–78.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsProblem Solving

•Dysfunctional problem-solving has begun to be investigated as a risk marker for victimization of dating violence. Destructive problem-solving predicted distress, though not specifically physical abuse, in dating couples. Rusbult, C., Johnson, D., & Morrow, G. (1986). Impact of couple patterns of problem solving on distress and nondistress in dating relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 744–753.

•Males initiating dating violence exhibited fewer positive communication patterns than a nonviolent comparison group. Follette, V., & Alexander, P. (1992). Dating violence: Current and historical correlates. Behavioral Assessment, 14,, 39–52.

•Aggressive men and women were exposed to significantly more relationship problems and reported fewer resources to solve their interpersonal conflicts. •Riggs, D., O’Leary, K., & Breslin, F. (1990). Multiple predictors of physical aggression in dating couples. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 61–73.

Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence

Survivors and PerpetratorsSelf Esteem

•The relationship between low self-esteem and the perpetration of dating violence is still being investigated. Empirical data indicate that psychological characteristics of male perpetrators, including low self-esteem, depression, and features of antisocial personality disorder are clinically significant. Magdol, L., Moffitt, T., Caspi, A., Newman, D., Fagan, J., & Silva, P. (1997). Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21-year-olds: Bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 68–78.

Media Influence

•Exposure to violent music led to a normalization of the use of violence (including violence against women) among listeners. Johnson, J. D., Adams, M. S., Ashburn, L., & Reed, W. (1995). Differential gender effects of exposure to rap music on African American adolescents’ acceptance of teen dating violence. Sex Roles, 33(7/8), 597-605.