Search Results (7)

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a serious public health concern, with sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) at elevated risk due to minority stress and systemic inequalities. This systematic review examines individual, relational, and contextual risk factors for TDV among SGMY. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and APA PsycInfo on 10 December 2024. Studies published between 2014 and 2024 focusing on teen dating violence (TDV) as an outcome among sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) aged 13–19 were included. Study selection was independently performed by multiple reviewers using Rayyan. Risk of bias was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tools. Due to heterogeneity in the study design and measurement tools, a narrative synthesis was conducted. Results: Six risk domains emerged: (1) Demographic/Identity (e.g., gender, orientation, or race); (2) Psychological/Behavioral (e.g., distress or substance use); (3) Violence/Bullying (e.g., cyberbullying or exclusion); (4) Family/Sexual Abuse (e.g., family rejection); (5) Relational/Social (e.g., partner outing); and (6) School/Community (e.g., non-inclusive environments). Bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and racialized youth showed heightened vulnerability. Most studies were conducted in the USA and relied on non-validated TDV measures and cross-sectional designs, limiting comparability and causal inference. Conclusions: SGMY face unique, often overlooked TDV risks. There is a need for intersectional, longitudinal research and inclusive, developmentally appropriate prevention efforts that address both relational and structural factors. This review received no external funding and was not registered. Full article

Alcohol and drug abuse are recognized risk factors in scientific literature that can leave female adolescents vulnerable to experience teen dating violence (TDV) in their relationships. These risk factors are highlighted in prevention campaigns, empowering girls to proactively avoid or decline situations that may put them at risk of such violence. This study delves into an underexplored risk factor for TDV, the Mirage of Upward Mobility (MUM), and its connections to previously established elements: coercive discourse, peer pressure, and the pursuit of status. A total of 146 relevant studies on TDV, and factors related to it, have been reviewed. MUM is conceptualized as the erroneous belief that engaging in relationships with traditionally dominant and disrespectful partners increases social status and attractiveness, although in reality, what happens is that that status and that attractiveness decrease. The study discusses the existence and factors contributing to MUM and underscores its importance as a risk factor for experiencing TDV to include in prevention campaigns. Full article

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a growing issue among adolescents, leading to several negative behavioral and psychological consequences. Most studies have been carried out in North America, whereas few have been conducted in Europe and Italy. Despite the existence of some studies underlying risk factors for TDV, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have tested a comprehensive model that includes several risk factors (and their interplay) for verbal–emotional and physical TDV such as witnessing IPV, involvement in school bullying and victimization, cyberbullying and cybervictimization, deviant behaviors, and violence against teachers. Methods: A short-term longitudinal study involving 235 students aged 10–14 who filled in an online questionnaire twice. Results: The tested path analysis model showed an excellent fit to data, with a different pattern of risk factors affecting youth involvement as perpetrator and victim in physical and verbal–emotional TDV. Differential paths emerged for females and males. Conclusions: This article includes discussions on practical and policy implications for future research, stressing the need to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of primary prevention programs addressing and managing youth involvement in violent and aggressive behaviors. Full article

Teen dating violence is a public health concern that can lead to short- and long-term mental and physical health consequences, including depression, anxiety, risky behaviors, and unhealthy future relationships. Research shows that social and structural determinants of health, such as racism, low socio-economic status, and neighborhood conditions, may predispose certain communities to violence. To better understand methods to reduce TDV among ethnically and economically diverse populations, we used a trauma-informed race equity lens to adapt an efficacious prevention program known as Fourth R. This universal program has been shown to reduce some dating violence, substance use, and risky sexual behaviors, but there remains room for improvement. Specifically, more attention to trauma and the importance of societal risk and protective factors may improve the program’s effectiveness. Thus, focus group discussions were conducted with students and we then adapted Fourth R lessons specific to trauma, racism, and discrimination. Major themes discussed are that Fourth R and other prevention programs should focus attention on social and structural issues, such as racism and discrimination. Full article

Background: This study offers the design and validation of a scale for measuring violence in adolescent couples from the perspective of victimisation and perpetration for young Spanish speakers. Method: Validation study using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with online self-selected sampling and the participation of 422 subjects who met the requirements of being between 13 and 21 years old and currently or recently having a partner. Results: A scale of victimisation in adolescent partner relationships was obtained with 25 items and a scale of violence perpetration with 22 items. Both scales presented five factors: psychological violence, verbal violence, control, jealousy, and sexual violence. Significant differences were found between men and women in victimisation and perpetration of sexual violence. Conclusions: The Teen Dating Violence—Victimisation and Perpetration (TDV)—VP complies with the reliability and validity indices, constituting a very useful instrument for the detection and measurement of violence in Spanish-speaking adolescent couples in health-promotion work. Full article

This article presents findings from a systematic literature review that examined various forms of adolescent sexting, and as relevant to educator responsibilities in the support of prosocial behavior and teen dating violence (TDV) prevention within the United States. Proceeding in three parts, part one documents study methodology and offers an overview of adolescent sexting. This section also discusses tensions between sexting as adolescent empowerment and as a form of dating violence. This is followed by a deeper examination of how adolescent sexting is connected to other forms of sexual violence documented to disproportionately affect heterosexual females. Though laws on sexting are minimal, part three discusses U.S. federal and Supreme Court guidance having particular significance for this issue. This section also presents the case of New York State (NYS) to consider the connection between localized policies and schooling practices. Concerned with sexting as a form of consensual adolescent behavior, this article concludes with considerations for educational research, policy, and practice. This article contributes to established research literature weighing the prosocial aspects of sexting against those factors that contribute to and make it difficult to leave a violent relationship. Though empirical research was limited, it also highlights existent research on sexting as relevant to underserved and marginalized adolescent subgroups. Full article

The present study assesses the extent of perpetration of physical violence in predominately Hispanic high school students in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The relationship between adverse childhood experiences, exposure to interparental violence, attachment, emotion regulation, and impulsivity on two distinct, mutually exclusive, categories of severity of physical teen dating violence (TDV) perpetration is further explored. Participants completed self-report measures as part of a larger, anonymous web-based questionnaire. Two categories (i.e., minor/moderate and severe) were created to discern the contextual variables associated with different levels of severity of physical violence perpetration by males and females. Eight-hundred and twenty-nine 14- to 18-year-old adolescents from four different high schools participated in the study, of whom 407 reported having been in a dating relationship in the last 12 months. The results demonstrate that when only the most severe item of TDV is taken into consideration, the rates of violence perpetration by males and females are almost equal and remarkably lower than those reported in the literature. However, when the assessment includes minor/moderate levels of violence, such as pushing, the rates of violence perpetration by females are twice those of males and are consistent with those reported in the literature. Furthermore, different variables are associated with different levels of severity of violence perpetration. The results support approaches that emphasize the need to take the context of the violence into consideration, since all levels are not equal. The need to take the severity of violence into account in studies assessing dating violence is highlighted. Full article