Does Type of Teen Dating Violence Matter for Substance Use, Mental Health, or Sexual Behaviors?

• In Event: Intimate Partner Violence Theory and Typologies

Abstract

Teen dating violence literature treats it as a unitary phenomenon, despite evidence of different types of violent relationships (Johnson, 2006; Zweig et al., 2013) including: intimate terrorism (IT) which involves a physically violent perpetrator asserting control through tactics such as threats, intimidation, isolation, emotional abuse, and sexual control; and situational couple violence (SCV) which involves physical violence between partners which may or may not be reciprocal, but is absent control dynamics. We examined female and male reports of their own victimization and perpetration using a sample of 3,378 youth (mean age=15) in three northeastern states in current or recent dating relationships (54% female; 69% White). Twenty-nine percent experienced some type of physical violence victimization. Of these, similar proportions of female and male victims reported IT (14%) and SCV (83%). We will describe whether the substance use, mental health, and sexual experiences of IT and SCV victims varied and whether gender moderated these relationships. Implications for prevention and intervention will be discussed.

Authors

• Janine Zweig, Urban Institute

• Jennifer Yahner, Urban Institute

• Meredith Dank, Urban Institute

• Pamela Lachman, Pew Research Center