Teen Dating Violence: a Closer Look at Adolescent Romantic Relationships by Carrie Mulford, Ph.D., and Peggy C

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Teen Dating Violence: A Closer Look at Adolescent Romantic Relationships by Carrie Mulford, Ph.D., and Peggy C. Giordano, Ph.D.

ost teenagers do not experience physically violent to a romantic partner. physical aggression when they Interestingly, the rates of reported victimiza- date. However, for one in 10 tion versus perpetration in the state were M 3 teens, abuse is a very real part of dating similar for boys and girls. However, when relationships. it comes to severe teen dating violence — including sexual and physical assault — According to the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior girls were disproportionately the victims.4 Survey, approximately 10 percent of adolescents nationwide reported being the victim At a recent workshop on teen dating of physical violence at the hands of a violence, co-sponsored by the U.S. romantic partner during the previous year.1 Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health The rate of psychological victimization is and Human Services (HHS), researchers even higher: Between two and three in 10 presented findings from several studies reported being verbally or psychologically that found that girls and boys perpetrate abused in the previous year, according the same frequency of physical aggression to the National Longitudinal Study of in romantic relationships. This finding was Adolescent Health.2 at odds with what practitioners attending the workshop said they encounter in their As for perpetration rates, there are currently professional experience. Most of the practi- no nationwide estimates for who does the tioners in attendance — representing abusing, and state estimates vary signifi- national organizations, schools and victim cantly. In South Carolina, for example, nearly service community-based agencies — 8 percent of adolescents reported being said that they primarily see female victims,

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and when they discuss teen dating violence with students, they hear that boys are the Because teen dating violence has only primary perpetrators. recently been recognized as a significant So what is the reality? public health problem, the complex nature Because teen dating violence has only recently been recognized as a significant of this phenomenon is not fully understood. public health problem, the complex nature of this phenomenon is not fully understood. half reported they were the sole victim, and Although research on rates of perpetra- 6 percent reported that they were the sole tion and victimization exists, research that perpetrator.6 examines the problem from a longitudinal perspective and considers the dynamics These findings are generally consistent of teen romantic relationships is lacking. with another study that looked at more Consequently, those in the field have to than 1,200 Long Island, N.Y., high school rely on an adult framework to examine students who were currently dating. In that the problem of teen dating violence. 2007 survey, 66 percent of boys and 65 percent of girls who were involved in physically However, we find that this adult framework aggressive relationships reported mutual does not take into account key differences aggression.7 Twenty-eight percent of the between adolescent and adult romantic girls said that they were the sole perpetra- relationships. And so, to help further the tor; 5 percent said they were the sole victim. discussion, we offer in this article a gender- These numbers were reversed for the boys: based analysis of teen dating violence 5 5 percent said they were the sole perpetra- with a developmental perspective. We tor; 27 percent the sole victim. look at what we know — and what we don’t know — about who is the perpetrator and In a third study, teen couples were video- who is the victim in teen dating violence. taped while performing a problem-solving We also discuss how adult and adolescent task. Researchers later reviewed the tapes romantic relationships differ in the hope that and identified acts of physical aggression an examination of existing research will help that occurred between the boys and girls us better understand the problem and move during the exercise. They found that 30 per- the field toward the creation of developmen- cent of all the participating couples demon- tally appropriate prevention programs and strated physical aggression by both partners. effective interventions for teenagers. In 17 percent of the participating couples, only the girls perpetrated physical aggres- Victims and Perpetrators: sion, and in 4 percent, only the boys were What the Research Says perpetrators.8 The findings suggest that boys are less likely to be physically aggres- In 2001-2005, Peggy Giordano and her col- sive with a girl when someone else can leagues at Bowling Green State University observe their behavior. interviewed more than 1,300 seventh, ninth and 11th graders in Toledo, Ohio. [Editor’s Considered together, the findings from these Note: Giordano is one of the authors of this three studies reveal that frequently there is article.] More than half of the girls in physi- mutual physical aggression by girls and boys cally aggressive relationships said both they in romantic relationships. However, when it and their dating partner committed aggres- comes to motivations for using violence and sive acts during the relationship. About a the consequences of being a victim of teen third of the girls said they were the sole dating violence, the differences between the perpetrators, and 13 percent reported that sexes are pronounced. Although both boys they were the sole victims. Almost half of and girls report that anger is the primary the boys in physically aggressive relation- motivating factor for using violence, girls ships reported mutual aggression, nearly also commonly report self-defense as

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Who Perpetrates Teen Dating Violence?

How girls in physically aggressive relationships see it

Mutual aggression 36% 28% Girls are sole perpetrators 51% 65% Boys are sole perpetrators 5% 13%

Source: Toledo Adolescent Source: Suffolk County Study of Relationship Study Dating Aggression in High Schools

How boys in physically aggressive relationships see it

27% 47% 47% 66% 5%

Source: Toledo Adolescent Source: Suffolk County Study of Relationship Study Dating Aggression in High Schools

What is observed in physically aggressive couples

33% 58%

Source: Oregon Youth (Couples) Study

a motivating factor, and boys also commonly have already touched on the existing body cite the need to exert control.9 Boys are of research on perpetration and victimiza- also more likely to react with laughter when tion rates. Yet there is not a great deal of their partner is physically aggressive.10 Girls research that uses a longitudinal perspec- experiencing teen dating violence are more tive or that considers the dynamics of teen likely than boys to suffer long-term negative romantic relationships. As a result, prac- behavioral and health consequences, includ- titioners and researchers in the field tend ing suicide attempts, depression, cigarette to apply an adult intimate partner violence smoking and marijuana use.11 framework when examining the problem of teen dating violence. Applying Adult Perspectives to Teen Dating Violence A split currently exists, however, among experts in the adult intimate partner violence Why do teenagers commit violence against arena, and attendees at the DOJ-HHS teen each other in romantic relationships? We dating workshop mirrored this divide. 36 NIJ Journal / Issue No. 261

Some experts hold that men and women are mutually combative and that this behav- Because most abusive teen dating relationships are ior should be seen as part of a larger pattern of family conflict. Supporters of this view characterized by mutual aggression, prevention generally cite studies that use “act” scales, which measure the number of times a per- efforts must be directed toward both males and son perpetrates or experiences certain acts, such as pushing, slapping or hitting. These females, and interventions for victims should include studies tend to show that women report perpetrating slightly more physical violence services and programming for boys and girls. than men.12 It is interesting to note that most studies on teen dating violence that have been conducted to date have relied Adolescent girls are not typically dependent primarily on “act” scales. on romantic partners for financial stability, and they are less likely to have children to Another group of experts holds that men provide for and protect. generally perpetrate serious intimate partner violence against women. They contend that The study of seventh, ninth and 11th graders men in patriarchal societies use violence to in Toledo, for example, found that a majority exert and maintain power and control over of the boys and girls who were interviewed women.13 These experts also maintain that said they had a relatively “equal say” in their “act” scales do not accurately reflect the romantic relationships. In cases in which nature of violence in intimate relationships there was a power imbalance, they were because they do not consider the degree more likely to say that the female had more of injury inflicted, coercive and controlling power in the relationship. Overall, the study behaviors, the fear induced, or the context found that the boys perceived that they had in which the acts occurred.14 Studies using less power in the relationship than the girls “act” scales, they contend, lack information did. Interestingly, males involved in relation- on power and control and emphasize the ships in which one or both partners reported more common and relatively minor forms physical aggression had a perception of less of aggression rather than more severe, power than males in relationships without relatively rare forms of violence in dating physical aggression. Meanwhile, the girls and intimate partner relationships.15 Instead, reported no perceived difference in power supporters of this perspective use data on regardless of whether their relationships injuries and in-depth interviews with victims included physical aggression.18 and perpetrators.16 It is interesting to note that adults who We believe, however, that applying either perpetrate violence against family members of these adult perspectives to adolescents often see themselves as powerless in their is problematic. Although both views of relationships. This dynamic has yet to be adult intimate partner violence can help adequately explored among teen dating inform our understanding of teen dating partners.19 violence, it is important to consider how adolescent romantic relationships differ Lack of Relationship Experience from adult romantic relationships in several key areas. A second key factor that distinguishes violence in adult relationships from violence How Teen Dating Violence in adolescent relationships is the lack of Differs: Equal Power experience teens have in negotiating romantic relationships. Inexperience in One difference between adolescent communicating and relating to a romantic and adult relationships is the absence of partner may lead to the use of poor cop- elements traditionally associated with ing strategies, including verbal and physi- greater male power in adult relationships.17 cal aggression.20 A teen who has difficulty

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expressing himself or herself may turn to are also more likely to be “on the scene” aggressive behaviors (sometimes in play) and a key element in a couple’s social life. to show affection, frustration or jealousy. A In fact, roughly half of adolescent dating recent study in which boys and girls partici- violence occurs when a third party is pres- pated in focus groups on dating found that ent.26 Relationship dynamics often play out physical aggression sometimes stemmed in a very public way because teens spend from an inability to communicate feelings a large portion of their time in school and in and a lack of constructive ways to deal groups. For various reasons, a boyfriend or with frustration.21 girlfriend may act very differently when in the presence of peers, a behavior viewed by As adolescents develop into young adolescents as characteristic of an unhealthy adults, they become more realistic and relationship. For example, boys in one focus less idealistic about romantic relationships. group study said that if a girl hit them in They have a greater capacity for closeness front of their friends, they would need to hit and intimacy.22 Holding idealistic beliefs her back to “save face.”27 about romantic relationships can lead to disillusionment and ineffective coping Conflict over how much time is spent with mechanisms when conflict emerges.23 each other versus with friends, jealousies It also seems reasonable to expect that stemming from too much time spent with a physical aggression may be more common friend of the opposite sex, and new romantic when adolescents have not fully developed possibilities are all part of the social fabric their capacity for intimacy, including their of adolescence.28 Although “normal” from ability to communicate. a developmental perspective, navigating such issues can cause conflict and, for some The Influence of Peers adolescents, lead to aggressive responses and problematic coping strategies, such as We would be remiss to try to understand stalking, psychological or verbal abuse, and teen behavior and not consider the profound efforts to gain control. influence of friends. Peers exert more influence on each other during their adolescent Where Do We Go From Here? years than at any other time.24 Research has confirmed that peer attitudes and behaviors Adult relationships differ substantially are critical influences on teens’ attitudes and from adolescent dating in their power behaviors related to dating violence.25 dynamics, social skill development and peer influence. These factors are critical to Not only are friends more influential in understanding physical violence and psycho- adolescence than in adulthood, but they logical abuse in early romantic relationships and may help explain the similar perpetration rates among boys and girls suggested by About the Authors current statistics.

Carrie Mulford is a social science analyst at the National Institute of All of this points to important implica- Justice. She has worked extensively with research on juvenile justice, tions for teen dating violence prevention teen dating violence, child abuse, elder mistreatment, enforcement and intervention strategies. Because girls of victims’ rights laws, hate crime and situational crime prevention. engage in high levels of physical aggression Since 2006, she has been the coordinator of the Federal Interagency and psychological abuse and most abusive Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence, whose members contributed relationships are characterized by mutual to this article. aggression, prevention efforts must be directed toward both males and females, Peggy Giordano is the Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and interventions for victims should include at Bowling Green State University. Her research centers on social services and programming for boys and girls. relationship experiences during the adolescent period, focusing Interventions must also distinguish between particularly on studies of the nature, meaning and impact of friend- severe forms of violence that produce injury ships and romantic relationships. and fear and other more common abuse,

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and they must respond with appropriate Notes safety planning, mental health services, and criminal or juvenile justice involvement. 1. Eaton, D.K., K.S. Davis, L. Barrios, N.D. Brenner, and R.K. Noonan, “Associations of More research on traditionally gendered Dating Violence Victimization with Lifetime Participation, Co-Occurrence, and Early relationship dynamics — and the links to Initiation of Risk Behaviors Among U.S. High relationship violence — is also needed. School Students,” Journal of Interpersonal For instance, some male behavior may Violence 22 (2007): 585-602; Halpern, C.T., stem from an attempt to emulate other S.G. Oslak, M.L. Young, M.W. Waller, S.L. males who they believe (not always accu- Martin, and L.L. Kupper, “Partner Violence Among Adolescents in Opposite-Sex rately, as data show) are confident and Romantic Relationships: Findings From the “in charge.” Further, nearly one in five National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent adolescent girls reports having sex with Health,” American Journal of Public Health a partner three or more years older. These 91 (2001): 1679-1685; and Halpern, C.T., girls are at increased risk of acquiring a sexu- M.L. Young, M.W. Waller, S.L. Martin, and L.L. Kupper, “Prevalence of Partner Violence ally transmitted disease because they are in Same-Sex Romantic Relationships in a less likely to use a condom — possibly a National Sample of Adolescents,” Journal result of unequal power dynamics in these of Adolescent Health 35 (2004): 124-131. 29 relationships. This power imbalance might 2. Halpern, “Prevalence of Partner Violence”; also increase their risk for violent victimiza- Halpern, ”Partner Violence Among tion by older partners. Adolescents”; and Roberts, T.A., and J. Klein, “Intimate Partner Abuse and High- And finally, research on the extent to Risk Behavior in Adolescents,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 157 which teens involved in abusive relation- (2003): 375-380. ships become involved in adult abusive relationships — whether as victims or 3. Coker, A.L., R.E. McKeown, M. Sanderson, K.E. Davis, R.F. Valois, and E.S. Huebner, perpetrators — is sorely needed. Many “Severe Dating Violence and Quality of delinquent youth, for example, have a well- Life Among South Carolina High School documented path of illegal behavior; this Students,” American Journal of Preventive behavior peaks in adolescence and dramati- Medicine 19 (2000): 220-227. cally declines in early adulthood. A similar 4. National victimization prevalence estimates look at aggressive adolescent romantic from a study of adolescents aged 12 to 17 relationships may help us better understand years showed 0.6 percent for boys and 2.7 the possible progression from teen dating percent for girls. These estimates are lower than those from other studies because ado- violence to adult intimate partner violence. lescents who had never been in a relationship NCJ 224089 were included in the sample (Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., K.J. Ruggiero, C.K. Danielson, H.S. Resnick, R.F. Hanson, D.W. Smith, B.E. Saunders, and D.G. Kilpatrick, “Prevalence and Correlates of Dating Violence in a National Additional Contributions Sample of Adolescents,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Michele Lynberg Black, an epidemiologist Psychiatry 47 (2008): 755-762). Other stud- at the Centers for Disease Control and ies have also found sex-based differences in Prevention (CDC), also contributed to this rates of sexual victimization and perpetration article. During her more than 20 years at in adolescent relationships (e.g., O’Keefe, M., “Adolescents’ Exposure to Community CDC, Black has worked across a broad and School Violence: Prevalence and range of disciplines, including reproductive Behavioral Correlates,” Journal of Adolescent health, environmental health and violence Health 20 (1997): 368-376; and Molidor, C., prevention. She has also worked with the R.M. Tolman, and J. Koeber, “Gender and National Center for Injury Prevention and Contextual Factors in Adolescent Dating Violence,” The Prevention Researcher 7 Control’s Division of Violence Prevention (2000): 1-4). Although most research tends since 2002, focusing on the areas of inti- to indicate that more severe forms of physi- mate partner violence, dating violence, cal violence are disproportionately experi- sexual violence and family violence. enced by girls, this is not a universal finding (O’Leary, K.D., A.M. Smith Slep, and S.G.

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O’Leary, “Multivariate Models of Men’s and 15. Dobash, “The Myth.” Women’s Partner Aggression,” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 75 (2007): 16. Archer, “Sex Differences.” 752-764). 17. Wekerle, C., and D.A. Wolfe, “Dating Violence 5. A developmental perspective considers in Mid-Adolescence: Theory, Significance, changes over time. This can include, for and Emerging Prevention Initiatives,” Child example, behavioral, biological, social and Psychology Review 19 (1999): 435-456. emotional changes. 18. Giordano, “Recent Research.” 6. Giordano, P., “Recent Research on Gender 19. Dutton, D.G., “Intimate Abusiveness,” and Adolescent Relationships: Implications Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice for Teen Dating Violence Research/ 2 (1995): 207-224. Prevention,” presentation at the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services 20. Laursen, B., and W.A. Collins, “Interpersonal and Justice Workshop on Teen Dating Conflict During Adolescence,” Psychological Violence: Developing a Research Agenda Bulletin 115 (1994): 197-209. to Meet Practice Needs, Crystal City, Va., 21. Fredland, N.M., I.B. Ricardo, J.C. Campbell, December 4, 2007. P.W. Sharps, J.K. Kub, and M. Yonas, “The 7. O’Leary, K.D., A.M. Smith Slep, S. Avery-Leaf, Meaning of Dating Violence in the Lives of and M. Cascardi, “Gender Differences in Middle School Adolescents: A Report of Dating Aggression Among Multiethnic High a Focus Group Study,” Journal of School School Students,” Journal of Adolescent Violence 4 (2005): 95-114. Health 42 (2008): 473-479. 22. Montgomery, M.J., “Psychosocial Intimacy 8. Capaldi, D.M., H.K. Kim, and J.W. Shortt, and Identity: From Early Adolescence to “Observed Initiation and Reciprocity of Emerging Adulthood,” Journal of Adolescent Physical Aggression in Young, At-Risk Research 20 (2005): 346-374. Couples,” Journal of Family Violence 22 23. Kerpelman, J.L. “Youth Focused Relation- (2007): 101-111. ships and Marriage Education,” The Forum 9. O’Keefe, M., “Predictors of Dating Violence for Family and Consumer Issues 12 (2007). Among High School Students,” Journal of 24. For example, Steinberg, L., Adolescence, Interpersonal Violence 12 (1997): 546-568. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. 10. Molidor, “Gender and Contextual Factors.” 25. Adelman, M., and S.H. Kil, “Dating Conflicts: 11. Ackard, D.M., M.E. Eisenberg, and D. Rethinking Dating Violence and Youth Neumark-Sztainer, “Long-Term Impact of Conflict,” Violence Against Women 13 (2007): Adolescent Dating Violence on the Behavioral 1296-1318; Fredland, “The Meaning”; and and Psychological Health of Male and Female Noonan, R.K., and D. Charles, “Developing Youth,” Journal of Pediatrics 151 (2007): Teen Dating Violence Prevention Strategies: 476-481; and Olshen, E., K.H. McVeigh, Formative Research With Middle School R.A. Wunsch-Hitzig, and V.I. Rickert, Youth,” Violence Against Women (in press). “Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and 26. Molidor, C., and R.M. Tolman, “Gender and Suicide Attempts Among Urban Teenagers,” Contextual Factors in Adolescent Dating Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Violence,” Violence Against Women 4 (1998): Medicine 161 (2007): 539-545. 180-194. 12. Archer, J., “Sex Differences in Aggression 27. Fredland, “The Meaning of Dating Violence.” Between Heterosexual Partners: A Meta- Analytic Review,” Psychological Bulletin 126 28. Larson, R.W., G.L. Clore, and G.A. Wood, (2000): 651-680. “The Emotions of Romantic Relationships: Do They Wreak Havoc on Adolescents?” in 13. Dobash, R.E., and R.P. Dobash, Violence The Development of Romantic Relationships Against Wives: A Case Against the Patriarchy, in Adolescence, ed. W. Furman, B.B. Brown, London: Open Books, 1980. and C. Feiring, Cambridge: Cambridge 14. For example, Dobash, R.P., R.E. Dobash, M. University Press, 1999: 19-49. Wilson, and M. Daly, “The Myth of Sexual 29. Schelar, E., S. Ryan, and J. Manlove, Symmetry in Marital Violence,” Social Long-Term Consequences for Teens With Problems 39 (1992): 71-91; and Kimmel, M.S., Older Sexual Partners, Washington, DC: “Gender Symmetry in Domestic Violence: A Child Trends, 2008. Substantive and Methodological Research Review,” Violence Against Women 8 (2002): 1332-1363.