Dating violence among US high school students: Correlates of victimization and perpetration

Background: Understanding dating violence among adolescents is important given the risk of immediate harm and potential detrimental effects on expectations regarding adult intimate relationships. In the 2010 Next Generation Health Study, a nationally-representative sample of students (N=2,511) provided self-reported data on dating violence (10-items) and other heath behaviors.

Methods: Tenth- grade classrooms were randomly selected from a sample of 80 schools stratified by census region. To facilitate examination of health disparities, Blacks were oversampled; the Hispanic sample was adequate. Students completed a 45-minute baseline survey.

Analysis: Frequency of dating violence victimization and perpetration are reported. Multivariate logistic regressions, adjusted for cluster-based sampling design, will be fitted to examine associations of dating violence with parent, peer, and individual correlates.

Results: Of the total sample, 23% reported both victimization and perpetration, 4% reported only victimization, and 6% reported only perpetration. Among girls, 27% reported both, 5% reported only victimization, and 6% reported only perpetration. For boys, these percents were 18 for both, 1 for only victimization and 8 for only perpetration. Examining race/ethnicity, in all groups a greater percent reported both (White=20%, African American=34%, Hispanic = 21% and Other=13%) than only victimization (White=7%, African American=5%, Hispanic=7%, Other=6%) or only perpetration (White=3%, African American=6%, Hispanic=3%, Other=6%).

Discussion: The NEXT study provides a unique opportunity to examine characteristics that protect or place youth at risk for involvement in dating violence. Findings have implications for the prevention of dating violence among 10th graders.