Understanding the hesitancy to disclose teen dating violence: Correlates of self-efficacy to deal with teen dating violence

Dating violence (DV) is now recognized as an important public health issue. Prevention and intervention programs are being implemented in school contexts. Such initiatives aim to raise awareness among potential victims and offenders as well as among peer bystanders and offer adequate interventions following disclosure. Yet, a major challenge remains as teenagers may not disclose their victimization or may not feel self-efficient to deal with DV if they witness such violence. As such, teen DV remains largely hidden. A representative sample of 8194 students (age 14-18) in the province of Quebec, Canada was used to explore teenagers? self-efficacy to reach out for help or to help others in a situation of DV victimization and perpetration. Analyses are conducted to identify possible correlates of self-efficacy in terms of socio-demographic variable (sex, age) and a history of child sexual abuse and dating victimization. Implications for preven?tion and support strategies are discussed.

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Gender’s Role in Exposure to Interparental Violence, Acceptance of Violence, Self-Efficacy, and Physical Teen Dating Violence Among Quebec Adolescents

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260517707311 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (15-16) ◽

pp. 3079-3101 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Catherine Ruel ◽

Francine Lavoie ◽

Martine Hébert ◽

Martin Blais

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Teen Dating Violence ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Interparental Violence ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Teen Dating ◽

The Impact

Despite efforts to prevent physical teen dating violence, it remains a major public health issue with multiple negative consequences. This study aims to investigate gender differences in the relationships between exposure to interparental violence (mother-to-father violence, father-to-mother violence), acceptance of dating violence (perpetrated by boys, perpetrated by girls), and self-efficacy to disclose teen dating violence. Data were drawn from Waves 1 and 2 of the Quebec Youth Romantic Relationships Project, conducted with a representative sample of Quebec high school students. Analyses were conducted on a subsample of 2,564 teenagers who had been in a dating relationship in the past 6 months (63.8% girls, mean age of 15.3 years). Path analyses were conducted to investigate the links among exposure to interparental violence, acceptance of violence, self-efficacy to disclose teen dating violence (measured at Wave 1), and physical teen dating violence (measured at Wave 2). General exposure to interparental violence was linked, through acceptance of girl-perpetrated violence, to victimization among both genders and to girls’ perpetration of physical teen dating violence. No significant difference was identified in the impact of the gender of the perpetrating parent when considering exposure to interparental violence. Self-efficacy to disclose personal experiences of violence was not linked to exposure to interparental violence or to experiences of physical teen dating violence. The findings support the intergenerational transmission of violence. Moreover, the findings underline the importance of targeting acceptance of violence, especially girl-perpetrated violence, in prevention programs and of intervening with children and adolescents who have witnessed interparental violence.

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Teen Dating Violence and the Acceptability of a Safety Decision Aid: Perspectives of Puerto Rican Youth

Hispanic Health Care International ◽

10.1177/1540415320985588 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 154041532098558

Author(s):

Noemy Diaz-Ramos ◽

Carmen Alvarez ◽

Katrina Debnam

Keyword(s):

Puerto Rican ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Decision Aid ◽

Psychological Abuse ◽

Teen Dating Violence ◽

Cultural Barriers ◽

Focus Group Interviews ◽

History Of ◽

Group Interviews ◽

Teen Dating

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe Puerto Rican adolescents’ perspectives about an application “app” to prevent further injury from teen dating violence (TDV). Methods: We conducted three semistructured focus group interviews. Results: Participants ( N = 16) were 14–20 years old. Most (63%) were not currently in a relationship; three participants reported a history of TDV, and seven reported that they “did not know” whether they had ever experienced TDV. We identified four themes: (a) clarifying dating violence, (b) psychological abuse–the reality of TDV, (c) silence around dating violence, and (d) youth need a different tool. Adolescents thought that the app was beneficial for educating the user about dating violence behaviors. They also identified that the app should be modified to better suit adolescents, in part by, focusing more on psychological abuse and using other visuals to relay information rather than text. Adolescents also questioned the utility of the app as a bystander because TDV is often concealed and not discussed. Conclusion: Puerto Rican adolescents in our study expressed the need for information that could be presented in a more concise and dynamic format and highlighted the cultural barriers of silence around issues of dating violence.

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Who, When, How, and Why Bystanders Intervene in Physical and Psychological Teen Dating Violence

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/1524838018806505 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 54-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Katrina J. Debnam ◽

Victoria Mauer

Keyword(s):

Dating Violence ◽

Teen Dating Violence ◽

Bystander Intervention ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Physical Health Problems ◽

Teen Dating ◽

Survey Designs ◽

Mental And Physical Health ◽

Bystander Behaviors

Teen dating violence victimization is associated with a host of adverse mental and physical health problems. A number of bystander-focused interventions have been developed to mitigate the occurrence of abuse but with varying effectiveness. There remains a need to understand more about bystander behaviors used by adolescents to ensure that existing intervention components match with bystanders’ attitudes and behaviors about intervening. The current study is a scoping review of existing literature on adolescents’ use of bystander behaviors to determine who, when, how, and why adolescents intervene. Seventeen articles met inclusion criteria, the majority of which used qualitative or observational survey designs. Adolescents who either feel a sense of responsibility and confidence to intervene or are directly involved with or know the individuals involved in the dating violence are more likely to intervene. Adolescents intervene when they are able to define an act as dating violence and tend to intervene when the victim is female and when they have a supportive relationship with at least one teacher in their school. The various ways how bystander intervention is engaged in ranges from verbally or physically confronting the abuser, distracting the abuser, seeking support from an adult, to passively accepting the abuse. Reasons why adolescents intervene include believing the abuse is wrong and that intervening will diffuse the situation and help the victim. A number of barriers to bystander intervention emerged from analysis including individual attitudes and school climate factors. Implications for strengthening bystander intervention programs are discussed.

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A Primer for Preventing Teen Dating Violence? The Representation of Teen Dating Violence in Young Adult Literature and Its Implications for Prevention

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/1077801216666725 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (14) ◽

pp. 1730-1751 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Heather L. Storer ◽

Katyayani R. Strohl

Keyword(s):

Young Adult ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Social Issues ◽

Contextual Information ◽

Personal Characteristics ◽

Teen Dating Violence ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Structural Determinants ◽

Societal Level ◽

Teen Dating

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health issue. Preventing TDV requires attention to risk and protective factors across ecological system levels. The media is one of the primary cultural drivers of societal-level social scripts about the causes of TDV. Framing theory asserts that the media’s portrayal of social issues, including what contextual information is included and/or excluded, affects individual-level attitudes about TDV and potential policy responses. This study investigates the representation of TDV in young adult (YA) literature, a media genre that is marketed to adolescent audiences. Data include all YA novels ( N = 8) that have a primary focus on TDV. Texts were analyzed systematically using thematic content analysis methods. Results indicate that the antecedents of TDV were portrayed as being related to victim personal characteristics such as inexperience in relationships and low self-esteem. Rather than underscoring how societal-level factors contribute to TDV, perpetration was seen as stemming from family dysfunction and mental health issues. These results underscore how the structural determinants of TDV have been overshadowed in the media’s portrayal of TDV, in favor of narrow portrayals of victimization and perpetration. Implications for TDV prevention programs including the importance of media literacy are discussed.

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