Cybercontrol in teen dating: An emerging area for public health

Cybercontrol in teen dating is “irritating”, according to adolescents in a series of focus groups concerning teen dating violence (TDV). Cybercontrol includes monitoring a partner's behavior through the use of cell phones, text messaging, email, and social networking websites. With an increase in access to technology by today's youth, public health professionals can expect an increase in this problem (David-Ferdon, Feldman Hertz, 2007). The US Senate Resolution 388 devoted one-third of its language on teen dating violence awareness and prevention to the problem of cybercontrol.

This presentation will discuss findings from qualitative and quantitative studies that were conducted by the Tula`i Project, in collaboration with the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center at the University of Hawai`i. Focus groups were conducted in 2006 with high school girls and boys of Native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Filipino ancestry (N=51). Results showed that youth understood that verbal, physical, and sexual violence were unacceptable in dating relationships; however, cybercontrol was below their violence threshold. To determine prevalence rates, 2007 school-wide surveys of youth violence included measures of TDV victimization and perpetration. Results showed that the most prevalent form of TDV reported by boys and girls was cybercontrol. Additionally, of interest to public health professionals working in school contexts is that TDV impacts school safety: boys and girls reported that dating is one of the top three contributors to school fights. Our presentation will explore these findings and outline implications for continued surveillance, and prevention with youth and families in the home, school, and community.