A Qualitative Exploration of African American Teens' Definitions and Understanding of Teen Dating Violence

Background: Teen dating violence is a serious problem disproportionately affecting African American teens.  However, little is known about how these teens define or perceive dating violence. 

Methods: Male and female African American teens aged 13-18 were purposively recruited from two high schools in a Southern U.S. city (n=20). Participants were identified via lunchtime recruitment and referral from school personnel. In in-depth qualitative interviews, respondents defined and described their perceptions of dating violence.  Preliminary thematic analysis was conducted.

Results: Four categories of dating violence were identified: physical; sexual; emotional/psychological/verbal; and cyber. Most respondents defined males hitting and/or slapping a female as “always” dating violence but when queried about females hitting and/or slapping males, some specified that if it was “justified” (e.g. cheating) or with little force, was not dating violence. Respondents also reported different standards for dating violence associated with sexual activities.  Most felt that males forcing females to participate in sexual acts is dating violence but when the aggressor is female, some disagreed. Respondents had difficulty consistently labelling emotional and psychological manipulation, verbal abuse, and various forms of cyber abuse as violence.  Whether an event was labeled as violence also depended on their interpretation of the context (e.g. justifiable, intentional, or persistent) and whether the event led to physical contact or not.

Conclusions: Teens’ definitions of dating violence may not match researchers’ definitions and appear to be contested.  Research and program needs to explore teen understanding of violence to more accurately bridge the gap between researchers, program and teens.