Family Functioning among Rural Teens and Caregivers: Interactive Influence on Teen Dating Violence

Multi-informant assessment of family functioning is considered best practice in research and clinical settings. However, in the area of teen dating violence, multi-informant assessment of family functioning has received limited attention. The current study investigated whether and to what extent caregiver and adolescent perceptions of family functioning interact in their influence on adolescent dating violence. Participants were 493 adolescents and their primary caregivers from a rural southeastern community in the United States. As hypothesized, a paired-samples t test showed that adolescents’ scores on the family functioning measure were significantly lower than their caregivers’ scores. Logistic regressions revealed that adolescents’ positive views of family functioning were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of dating violence victimization but not perpetration and that caregivers’ views on family functioning moderated the impact of adolescent-reported family functioning on both dating violence outcomes. Post hoc analyses showed that adolescents with negative perceptions of family environment were most likely to be victims and perpetrators of dating violence when their parents also reported more negative views of family environment. The article concludes with a discussion of how these findings can: (a) advance our understanding of the impact of family functioning on teen dating relationships and (b) inform practical efforts aimed at preventing dating aggression among teens.     

Adolescent Conflict as a Developmental Process in the Prospective Pathway from Exposure to Interparental Violence to Dating Violence

Within a developmental psychopathology framework, the current study examined adolescent conflict (age 16) with families, best friends, and dating partners as mediators in the prospective pathway from exposure to interparental violence (EIPV) in early childhood (0–64 months) to dating violence perpetration and victimization in early adulthood (age 23). Adolescent conflict was predicted to partially mediate EIPV and dating violence with significant direct paths from EIPV to dating violence, given the extant literature on the salience of early childhood EIPV for later maladjustment. Participants (N?=?182; 99 males, 83 females; 67 % Caucasian, 11 % African-American, 18 % other, 4 % unreported) were drawn from a larger prospective study of high-risk mothers (aged 12–34 years) that followed their children from birth through adulthood. EIPV and adolescent conflict were rated from interviews with mothers and participants, and dating violence (physical perpetration and victimization) was assessed with the Conflict Tactics Scale. Path analyses showed that EIPV in early childhood (a) directly predicted dating violence perpetration in early adulthood and (b) predicted conflict with best friends, which in turn predicted dating violence perpetration. Although mediation of best friend conflict was not evident, indirect effects of EIPV to dating violence were found through externalizing behaviors in adolescence and life stress in early adulthood. Findings highlight that conflict with best friends is affected by EIPV and predicts dating violence, suggesting that it may be a promising target for relationship-based interventions for youth with EIPV histories. Furthermore, deleterious early experiences and contemporaneous risk factors are salient predictors of dating violence.     

Gender Differences in the Relations among Patriarchal Beliefs,Parenting, and Teen Relationship Violence in Mexican Adolescents

Teen relationship violence is a global phenomenon associated with adverse outcomes. As in other countries, teen relationship violence is of concern in Mexico. However, few studies have examined the risk and protective factors of teen relationship violence among Mexican adolescents. This study examined whether patriarchal beliefs and exposure to authoritarian parenting among Mexican adolescents are associated with perpetration and victimization of physical and verbal-emotional teen relationship violence. Two hundred and four students (15–18 years old) from Monterrey, Mexico, completed questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age revealed that among girls, authoritarian parenting was associated with physical and verbal-emotional victimization and verbal-emotional violence perpetration. Among boys, higher endorsement of patriarchal beliefs was associated with lower reports of physical perpetration and physical victimization.     

Dating Violence Perpetration: The Predictive Roles of Maternally versus Paternally Perpetrated Childhood Abuse and Subsequent Dating Violence Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated both young men's and young women's perpetration of physical, sexual, and psychological forms of dating violence, examining predictors of violence including maternally or paternally perpetrated forms of various types of child maltreatment, as well as attitudes toward dating violence and dating violence victimization. Results of hierarchical linear regressions found that childhood experiences of maternal neglect predicted men's physical perpetration, and childhood sexual abuse predicted women's sexual perpetration and men's psychological perpetration. Further, positive attitudes toward dating violence predicted women's physical, psychological, and sexual perpetration, as well as men's sexual perpetration, and experiences of dating violence victimization were the strongest predictors of most forms of dating violence perpetration, particularly among women. Implications for future research and prevention initiatives are discussed.     

Familial Influences on Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Youth

Despite theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that the family environment plays a central role in Latino youth development, relatively little is known about how family processes influence dating violence victimization among Latino adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, we used data from 210 Latino parents and their 13- to 15-year-old adolescents to examine associations between several different family processes, including both parenting practices (parent monitoring, parent–adolescent communication) and aspects of the family relational climate (family cohesion, family conflict, acculturation conflict) and psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence victimization. Consistent with expectations, lower levels of family cohesion and higher levels of family and acculturation conflict were associated with risk for dating violence victimization, although associations varied depending on victimization type. In contrast, neither parental monitoring nor parent–adolescent communication was significantly associated with any type of dating violence victimization. In addition, we found that parent, but not teen, Anglo-American acculturation was associated with higher dating violence victimization risk. Findings suggest that family-based dating abuse prevention programs for Latino youth should seek to increase family cohesion and decrease family conflict, including acculturation-based conflict.     

Age and Gender Differences in Teen Relationship Violence

Research shows that abuse in adolescence can start early and current literature regarding gender differences in teen relationship violence (TRV) is inconsistent. Age and gender differences in TRV were examined. Measures assessing TRV and its correlates were completed by 231 teens from 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade classes. A 2 (gender) by 3 (grade) multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant effects for grade and gender indicating that 7th graders have lower perpetration and victimization of TRV, less anger control, and fewer positive conflict resolution behaviors than 9th and 11th graders. Furthermore, girls perpetrate more physical and emotional abuse, whereas boys perpetrate more sexual abuse. Results have implications for timing and content of prevention programs addressing dating violence in adolescence.     

Emotion Regulation Difficulties Moderate the Association Between Heavy Episodic Drinking and Dating Violence Perpetration Among College Men

Because of high rates of heavy drinking and dating violence (psychological or physical aggression toward a dating partner) among college men, we examined whether emotion regulation difficulties moderated the association between heavy drinking and dating violence perpetration. One hundred and fifty-eight men were recruited from a large northwestern U.S. university between April 2014 and August 2014. Participants completed an online survey that assessed their emotion regulation difficulties as well as their past year history of heavy episodic drinking (HED; consuming 5+ drinks in 2 hr) and dating violence perpetration. Generalized linear models revealed that the positive association between HED and dating violence perpetration was stronger for men with greater impulse control difficulties and for those who reported limited access to emotion regulation strategies. In addition to continued efforts to reduce heavy drinking among college men, interventions targeting emotion regulation difficulties should be incorporated into standard dating violence intervention and prevention efforts to further reduce the likelihood of dating violence perpetration in this population.     

An Exploratory Study Examining Teen Dating Violence,Acculturation and Acculturative Stress in Mexican-American Adolescents

Abstract

Little is known about dating violence in Mexican-American adolescents. This exploratory study examines 82 Mexican and Mexican-American high school students' experiences with and attitudes about dating violence, and the relationship of these experiences and attitudes to acculturation and acculturative stress. Medium acculturated adolescents (as measured by language preference), compared with high and low acculturated adolescents, had less tolerant attitudes towards dating violence. In addition, acculturative stressors (e.g., conflicted ethnic identity, family acculturation conflict) generally related to more tolerant attitudes and higher rates of perpetration of dating violence. The pattern of results suggest that dating violence is a problem among Mexican-American adolescents and that acculturation and acculturative stress are important factors to consider in the context of dating violence.     

Linkages between violence-associated attitudes and psychological,physical, and sexual dating abuse perpetration and victimization among male and female adolescents

Attitudes about violence and sex in dating relationships were related to psychological, physical, and sexual teen dating abuse perpetration and victimization. Data from Wave 4 of the national, randomly selected, Growing up with Media cohort (n = 876 adolescents aged 14-19 years), collected in 2011, were analyzed. Dating youth perceived more peer pressure to have sex and were more accepting of sex in brief or nonmarital relationships than pre-dating youth. Boys had higher levels of rape-supportive attitudes than girls. Among dating youth, the relative odds of involvement in teen dating abuse as a perpetrator or a victim were generally associated with greater acceptance of relationship violence, perceived peer pressure to have sex, and acceptance of sex in brief and/or nonmarital relationships. Rape-supportive attitudes were not significantly associated with any type of teen dating abuse involvement. Programs aimed at preventing dating abuse might benefit from targeting attitudes associated with sexual activity as well as relationship violence.     

An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Family-of-Origin Experience and Current Family Violence: A Test of Mediation by Attachment Style and Mental Health Symptom Distress

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the presence of substance abuse, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and mental illness in the home or family-of-origin is predictive of variance in current family violence perpetration. Additionally, a secondary purpose of this study was to examine whether mental health symptom distress and attachment style mediated the relationship between the presence of traumatic experiences in one's family-of-origin and current family violence perpetration. The results suggested that difficult family-of-origin experiences may predict variance in current family violence indirectly through mental health symptom distress and anxious attachment.     

African Americans and Teen Dating Violence

This literature review focuses on the prevalence rates of teen dating violence in the United States, emergence of dating violence research, reasons of teen dating violence in the African American community, consequences of it regarding physical and mental health, and the impact of it on psychological and physical health. The research shows a trickledown effect of racism, low socio-economic status, and growing up in poor neighborhoods leading to domestic violence in African American families, which then gets reinforced with messages received from peers and the media.     

Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Trajectories From Middle to High School

Despite evidence documenting the negative consequences, psychological dating violence occurs frequently in adolescent dating relationships. No information exists on the trajectories that adolescents follow and their association to nonphysical peer violence. The sample comprised 624 randomly selected 6th graders. In yearly surveys from 6th through 12th grade, 550 of the 624 students reported dating at least twice during the 3 months prior to completing the survey. These students responded to questions about frequency of engagement in psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization. We used Proc TRAJ to identify developmental trajectories of behavior over time and generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations of the trajectories and peer aggression. Adolescents followed three distinct developmental trajectories related to psychological dating violence victimization and perpetration: low, increasing, and high. Based on the joint probabilities of victimization and perpetration, we identified four predominant groups: low victimization/low perpetration (LVLP; 36%), increasing victimization/increasing perpetration (40%), high victimization/high perpetration (HVHP; 15%), and increasing victimization/low perpetration (IVLP; 7%). The LVLP had significantly more boys and White students; the HVHP group had an even gender distribution and more African‐American students. For all groups, peer aggression decreased from Grade 6 to 12; students in the HVHP group reported the highest peer aggression, and students in the LVLP reported the lowest peer aggression. Findings suggest a strong, reciprocal relationship in the developmental trajectories of adolescents who experience and perpetrate psychological dating violence. Those highly engaged in these behaviors were also more likely to be violent toward peers. Aggr. Behav. 38:510‐520, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Attachment Anxiety,Depressive Symptoms,and Adolescent Dating Violence Perpetration: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a prevalent public health issue that has been linked to many negative effects, including attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Previous literature suggests that the negative mental states characteristic of attachment anxiety could be associated with dating violence perpetration. Similarly, the negative mental states characteristic of depression have also been linked to perpetration, and might potentially increase an anxiously attached individual’s likelihood of engaging in dating violence perpetration. This study used a 10-month longitudinal design with a sample of 140 middle school and high school students from Southern California. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 18 years and were ethnically diverse. The study aimed at exploring depressive symptoms as a potential mediator for the relationship between attachment anxiety and ADV perpetration. Positive associations were found between attachment anxiety and perpetration (10 months after), attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms (10 months after), and between depressive symptoms and perpetration (both 10 months after). Furthermore, depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and ADV perpetration (10 months after). These findings have implications for the development of empirically driven school-based prevention and intervention programs.     

Neighborhood Concentrated Disadvantage and Dating Violence among Urban Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Neighborhood Social Processes

The link between relationship violence and aspects of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage (e.g., percent of unemployed adults, percent of families below poverty level), has been established. However, the literature examining neighborhood social processes, including informal social control and social cohesion, in relation to adolescent dating violence has shown mixed results with a limited theoretical foundation and methodology. Using a social disorganization theoretical framework, this study examined the mediating role of these neighborhood social processes in the relation between concentrated disadvantage and adolescent dating violence within an urban context. Participants included 605 adult residents in 30 census tracts and 203 adolescents from neighborhoods on the West and South sides of Chicago. Neighborhood‐level concentrated disadvantage was measured via Census data, adult residents reported on neighborhood social processes, and youth reported on dating violence. Informal social control was negatively associated with dating violence, and social cohesion was positively associated with dating violence. A multilevel mediation model showed that concentrated disadvantage was related to higher levels of dating violence via lower levels of informal social control. These results extend social disorganization theory to dating violence within an urban context, while also highlighting the important role of neighborhood processes on relationship violence. Implications for research and intervention programming are discussed.     

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Young Adulthood Dating Violence: The Moderating Role of Stress Reactivity

Dating violence has been linked to past experiences of childhood emotional abuse; however, little research has explored how stress reactivity functions within interpersonal relationships to amplify or attenuate these associations. The present study investigated the moderating effects of cortisol stress reactivity on associations between retrospective self-reported childhood emotional abuse and later self-reported interpersonal violence in young adult dating relationships. The current sample consisted of 57 young adult heterosexual dating partners (46 females, 11 males) between the ages of 18 and 24. Salivary cortisol samples were collected before and after a stress task to measure stress reactivity. Moderation analyses were conducted through the PROCESS macro in SPSS version 22. The relation between childhood emotional abuse and dating violence varied depending on cortisol reactivity, such that the association between childhood emotional abuse and young adult dating violence was stronger for those who demonstrated low levels of cortisol reactivity. The association between childhood emotional abuse and dating violence was not significant for those who demonstrated high cortisol reactivity. Findings underscore the importance of studying physiological mechanisms that may confer risk in the relationship between child emotional abuse and later interpersonal consequences.     

Addressing Family Violence Within Juvenile Courts

Summary

Whether as overt or underlying issues, family violence is prevalent within juvenile court caseloads, yet often is not identified within intake and disposition. Focusing on juvenile victimization of parents, and to a lesser extent teen dating partners, this article discusses model programs emerging in juvenile courts specifically addressing these issues. A comparative analysis of the drug court trend is explored in the context of its applicability for specialized family violence applications in the Juvenile Court. An overview of the King County (Washington) Juvenile Court's Step-Up Program and the Santa Clara County (California) Juvenile Court's Family Violence program is offered, followed by the process by which the Travis County (Texas) Juvenile Court has implemented a program similar to these models. Effective interventions with violent families must be informed by the domestic violence community's treatment expertise, building on the paradigm of youth resilience.     

Relationship Characteristics Associated with Teen Dating Violence Perpetration

Teen dating violence (TDV) is unstable across dating relationships, suggesting that characteristics of the relationship could be related to TDV. Few empirical studies have examined these links. This study examined associations between relationship characteristics and TDV perpetration among teens and sex differences in those associations. Relationship characteristics examined include tactics used to manipulate partners, ways of responding to relationship problems, relationship duration, exclusivity of the relationship, age difference between partners, and history of sexual intercourse with partner. Data were drawn from 667 teens in a current relationship (62.5% female and 81.4% White) enrolled in the 11th or 12th grade in 14 public schools in a rural U.S. state. Bivariate and multivariable regression analyses examined proposed associations. A total of 30.1% and 8.2% of teens reported controlling and physical TDV perpetration, respectively. In multivariable models, frequent use of manipulation tactics increased risk for controlling or physical TDV perpetration. Teens dating a partner 2 or more years younger were at significantly increased risk for both controlling and physical perpetration. A significant interaction emerged between sex and exit or neglect accommodation for physical TDV. Characteristics of a current dating relationship play an important role in determining risk for controlling and physical TDV perpetration.