Relationship between dating violence and high risk behaviors in an adolescent population in upstate New York

Over past ten years, reports of dating violence have increased dramatically especially among high school and college students. The 2004 YRBS data showed that the prevalence rate for dating violence in high school students had increased nationally from 8.9 % in 2002 to 10.2% in 2004 (Center for Disease Control, 2005). The purposes of this study were to examine the prevalence of dating violence in five high schools in an upstate New York county; and to determine the relationship between demographic characteristics, high risk behaviors, abuse, suicidality and dating violence. This study is descriptive and correlational and used a secondary database. The data was collected using the Teen Assessment Program (TAP) 2002 data. The TAP questionnaire is composed of 152 questions on: demographic data, adolescent worries, parents and home life, adolescent activities, high risk behaviors, and school, home and interpersonal violence/abuse. A convenience sample of 1,211 students from five high schools (1 upstate metropolitan, 2 suburban, and 2 rural) participated in the TAP survey. The sample was evenly divided between genders, and represented students in grades 7, 9, and 11. The sample was predominately white (84%). SPSS 14.0 was used to analyze the data. Frequencies were used to describe the sample population, and the Chi square statistic was used to investigate the presence of statistically significant relationships between demographic information, high risk behaviors, abuse and dating violence. The prevalence rate for dating violence was found to be higher than the national average at 18.5%. The following statistically significant relationships were found in this study: dating violence increased with grade level; males reported being the victims of dating violence more frequently than females; as students grades decreased dating violence increased; students who were victims of personal violence/abuse were more likely to experience dating violence; high risk behaviors were also significantly related to dating violence. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate the need for junior and senior high schools to address dating violence throughout the curriculum. The results also support the need for continuing research into the causes of dating violence in order to develop effective prevention programs.