Development and Validation of the Teen Dating Aggression Measure Among Canadian Youth

Teen dating violence (TDV) victimization is a traumatic experience that can have adverse consequences for adolescents. Current measures that assess TDV do not fully distinguish between psychological and relational forms of aggression, nor do they capture aggressive acts that are common within adolescent relationships. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Teen Dating Aggression Measure (TeDAM) using a sample of 730 Canadian adolescents (M = 15.88 years, SD = 1.23). The measure is an expansion of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory and includes items that describe other forms of violence such as coercion and control, along with more traditional indicators of dating violence (e.g., sexual aggression). Factor analyses yielded three factors, namely psychological aggression, sexual and physical aggression, and relational aggression, which were correlated with more frequent cannabis and alcohol use as well as rape myth acceptance. These results provide initial support for the utility of the TeDAM for assessing TDV with adolescents.

Understanding Sexual and Gender-Based Violence through an Adolescent Lens- Qualitative Findings from New Delhi, India

The present cross-sectional, qualitative study assesses perspectives, attitudes, and experiences of adolescents with SGBV. 19 students from Delhi, were recruited via snowball sampling and telephonically interviewed during April and May 2020. Three key themes emerged post analysis: (i) Introduction and reinforcement of a patriarchal structure (ii) Violence in teen dating (iii) Justice System. Findings of the study bring out adolescents’ experiences with everyday abuse, their perception towards reporting of SGBV, and a complex process of how this violence continues to remain an intricate part of their lives. The results of this study highlight an urgent need for adolescent-friendly health-promoting and gender-equitable interventions.