Teen Dating Violence: Connecting the Dots

1
Teen Dating Violence Connecting the Dots

• Presented by
• Melina Fraga
• Violence Prevention Program Coordinator
• mfraga_at_projectpave.org
• 303-322-2382

2
A Trip Down Memory Lane
3
What is Teen Dating Violence?

• Any attempt to gain
• Over another person using
• physical, emotional or sexual tactics

Power Control
4
What is Teen Dating Violence?

• 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.

5
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.

6
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.

7
What does it look Like?

• 6 Types of Abuse

Physical
Economic
Mental
Emotional
!!Verbal !_at_!
Sexual
8
WARNING SIGNS

• How do you know someone is a
• Victim/Survivor?
• How do you know someone is an
• Abuser?

9
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

10
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

11
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
12
Barriers to Breaking Up
No Resources
Status Popularity
LOVE
??Confusion??
PARENTS
Fear
Isolated
Sex
13
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?

14
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.

15
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

16

• For more information please contact
• Melina Fraga
• Violence Prevention Program Coordinator
  mfraga_at_projectpave.org
• 303-322-2382

17
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators
Additional Research
18
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Acceptance 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.

19
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. OKeefe, 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.

20
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Peer 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.

21
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Alcohol 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.

22
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Depression
• 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. AND
• Howard, 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, 6878.

23
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Problem 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,
  744753.
• 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,, 3952.
• Aggressive men and women were exposed to
  significantly more relationship problems and
  reported fewer resources to solve their
  interpersonal conflicts.
• Riggs, D., OLeary, K., Breslin, F. (1990).
  Multiple predictors of physical aggression in
  dating couples. Journal of Interpersonal
  Violence, 5, 6173.

24
Risk Profiles of Teen Dating Violence Survivors
and Perpetrators

• Self 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, 6878.
• 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.