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Teen love stops where dating violence starts
Explore the dangers of Teen Dating Violence this Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
Teen relationships can shape the expectations for love many carry throughout their lifetime.
One thing no teen romance should lead youth to expect from relationships is dating violence. Yet millions of young people in the United States encounter the adverse childhood experience.
Below we explore the characteristics and consequences of Teen Dating Violence. Learning about TDV this Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month can fuel a life-long understanding of healthy love.
The behavior types of TDV
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes TDV as a form of intimate partner violence. They add that the types of behavior associated with TDV include:
- Sexual violence – forcing or attempting to force a partner to participate in a sex act or sexual touching without their consent. Sexting or sharing sexual pictures of a partner without their consent can serve as non-physical forms.
- Physical violence – hitting, kicking or other types of physical force.
- Stalking – having repeated, unwanted contact and attention from a current or former partner. The behavior can cause fear and concern for safety that extends to loved ones.
- Psychological aggression – using verbal and non-verbal communication to mentally or emotionally harm and control a partner.
An important thing to note is that dating violence happens digitally, too. Many behaviors of TDV involve in-person contact. But others can happen online and through communication using technology.
The reach of dating violence in teen relationships
Dating violence is not rare in teen relationships. The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found as many as 1 in 12 U.S. students surveyed reported experiencing sexual dating violence and physical dating violence.
Some youth experience a greater risk of dating violence than others. The same survey found higher rates of physical and sexual violence reported among female students than males. Students who identified as LGBTQ+ or were unsure of their gender identity reported higher rates of sexual and physical violence than those who identified as heterosexual.
Teen’s environment can also influence their likelihood of experiencing dating violence. The CDC shares several societal, community and relationship risk factors for TDV.
How the effects can stretch into adulthood
During the teen years, adolescents’ brains are still developing. As the National Sexual Violence Resource Center explains, this can lead to trauma being more damaging to teens. Their coping strategies in response to stress can also be more harmful. The center shares that teens are more likely to use self-medication with drugs or alcohol and self-harm as a stress response. The CDC adds that teens exposed to TDV are more likely to experience depression and anxiety symptoms. They may also exhibit antisocial behaviors and think about suicide.
These consequences can have long-lasting effects on teens’ development — ones that carry as far as adulthood. Enduring dating violence can also shape the relationships teens have later in life. High school students exposed to TDV are likelier to experience dating violence during college.
Yet the teenage brain also has a crucial strength that can contribute to overcoming TDV: a better ability to show resilience.
What we can do to help prevent dating violence among teens
Fostering prevention of TDV can start with promoting healthy relationships. It’s also important to watch for signs of dating violence in the relationships of teens close to you. According to loveisrespect.org, a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, warning signs of abuse include:
- Checking a partner’s phone, email or social media accounts without permission.
- Putting a partner down frequently, especially in front of others.
- Isolating a partner from friends or family physically, financially or emotionally.
- Exhibiting extreme jealousy or insecurity and others.
The organization offers a 2023 Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Action Guide. The guide features community resources that extend support to teens of diverse backgrounds. These resources include services for LGBTQ+ students, deaf youth and Black or Indigenous teens.
The NSVRC also gives prevention resources for youth and parents or other caregivers to support teens’ well-being. Among these resources is a manual for advocates. The manual provides tips on working with teens who are survivors of sexual violence. It also covers confidentiality, mandated reporting laws and culturally responsive service practices.
Educating youth on healthy relationships should begin in the preteen years. One available toolkit for guiding this education process is Dating Matters. The site is “a CDC-developed teen dating violence prevention model that teaches 11 to 14-year-olds healthy relationship skills before they start dating.” The evidence-based approach involves families, neighborhoods, peers and schools in prevention efforts.
The CDC further provides six strategies for preventing TDV. These also apply to intimate partnerships across a lifespan:
- Teach safe and healthy relationship skills.
- Engage influential adults and peers.
- Disrupt the developmental pathways toward partner violence.
- Create protective environments.
- Strengthen economic supports for families.
- Support survivors to increase safety and lessen harms.