Youth Perspectives on Healthy Relationships and Teen Dating Violence Prevention: A California-Wide Health Assessment

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) is associated with negative health outcomes including injury, mental health issues, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Research demonstrates a clear need for increased TDV prevention strategies, particularly in California where 8.2% of 11th grade students report physical abuse by their partners. This California-wide assessment investigated healthy relationship development among adolescents, amplifying the voices of youth to inform TDV prevention programming and statewide policy. Methods: A quantitative statewide survey was completed by 74 California youth leaders, ages 14-18, recruited from a convenience sample of eight youth-serving organizations (53% return rate). Three focus groups were conducted with 17 San Francisco Bay Area youth leaders.

Results: Youth identified four barriers to developing healthy relationships: 1) a lack of healthy relationship education in schools (96%); 2) limited healthy relationship education during early childhood and preadolescence (94%); 3) gender expectations (42%), with the media reinforcing gender inequity and pro-violent social norms (77%); and 4) a lack of positive role models (34%). Additionally, youth reported: 1) peers (79%) and family members (75%) as most influential on young people's dating behaviors; 2) the need for incentives to support youth participation in TDV prevention work (46%); and 3) the desire for leadership opportunities (42%) and peer-to-peer healthy relationship education (22%).

Conclusions: Youth-driven recommendations include: 1) healthy relationship education in California school wellness policy; 2) peer-to-peer role modeling initiatives; 3) media campaigns challenging gender roles and pro-violent social norms; 4) youth-led advocacy efforts modifying environmental influences; and 5) incentive systems for youth leadership.