High expectations across multiple domains, peer norms and physical dating violence among California adolescents

To develop effective prevention programs, protective factors associated with dating violence must be determined. Purpose: To assess whether high expectation messages (from school, home and community), and peer norms, were associated with physical dating violence victimization among a representative sample of California middle and high school students. Secondarily, to assess whether these associations were mediated by self-efficacy. Significance: About 25% of adolescents report experiencing verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from a dating partner each year. Methodology: Data from 7th, 9th and 11th grade respondents of the 2008-2010 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) were analyzed (N=85,198). CHKS is an anonymous, school-based cross-sectional survey. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for expectations in each domain (school, community, and home), peer norms, and their cumulative effects on physical dating violence victimization. We tested the mediation effect of self-efficacy. Findings/Results: Ten percent of students reported experiencing physical dating violence victimization in the past year. Students who reported very low overall expectations had significantly higher odds of experiencing dating violence (OR=4.19, CI=3.58-4.90) compared to those who reported high expectations. This association held across all expectation domains and peer norms when tested in separate models, and also when tested together in a single model. Self-efficacy partially mediated the associations between high expectations and dating violence. Conclusions/Recommendations: Findings highlight the importance of high expectation messages across many aspects of adolescents' lives. Fostering adult mentors who communicate high expectations to youth may help to reduce dating violence.