Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a national sample of adolescents.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Dating violence is an important but understudied public health concern in adolescents. This study sought to examine the lifetime prevalence of serious forms of dating violence in 12- to 17- year-olds, risk and protective factors associated with dating violence, and the relation between dating violence and mental health.

METHOD:
A nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 3,614) completed a telephone-based interview that assessed serious forms of dating violence (i.e., sexual assault, physical assault, and/or drug/alcohol-facilitated rape perpetrated by a girlfriend, boyfriend, or other dating partner).

RESULTS:
Prevalence of dating violence was 1.6% (2.7% of girls, 0.6% of boys), equating to approximately 400,000 adolescents in the U.S. population. Risk factors included older age, female sex, experience of other potentially traumatic events, and experience of recent life stressors. Findings also suggested that dating violence is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive episode after controlling for demographic variables, other traumatic stressors, and stressful events.

CONCLUSIONS:
These findings indicate that dating violence is a significant public health problem in adolescent populations that should be addressed through early detection, prevention, and intervention.

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Author information

Author/s: Wolitzky-Taylor, Kate B (KB); Ruggiero, Kenneth J (KJ); Danielson, Carla Kmett (CK); Resnick, Heidi S (HS); Hanson, Rochelle F (RF); Smith, Daniel W (DW); Saunders, Benjamin E (BE); Kilpatrick, Dean G (DG);

Affiliation: National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, P.O. Box 250852, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. kwolitzky(-atsign-)mail.utexas.edu

Grants: 1R01 HD046830-01 (Agency:United States NICHD)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jul; vol 47 (issue 7) : pp 755-62

Dates: Created 2008/06/24; Completed 2008/09/02;

PMID: 18520962, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Aggression - psychology
Alcoholism - epidemiology
Child
Comorbidity
Courtship - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; epidemiology
Female
Health Surveys

Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Risk Factors
Sex Offenses - psychology; statistics & numerical data
Social Problems - psychology; statistics & numerical data
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
United States
Violence - psychology; statistics & numerical data

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