Teen dating violence: A closer look at adolescent romantic relationships

Date

2008

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

National Institute of Justice Journal

Abstract

Because teen dating violence has only recently been recognized as a significant public health problem, the complex nature of this phenomenon is not fully understood. Although research on rates of perpetration and victimization exists, research that examines the problem from a longitudinal perspective and considers the dynamics of teen romantic relationships is lacking. Consequently, those in the field have to rely on an adult framework to examine the problem of teen dating violence. However, we find that this adult framework does not take into account key differences between adolescent and adult romantic relationships. And so, to help further the discussion, we offer in this article a gender-based analysis of teen dating violence with a developmental perspective. We look at what we know — and what we don’t know — about who is the perpetrator and who is the victim in teen dating violence. We also discuss how adult and adolescent romantic relationships differ in the hope that an examination of existing research will help us better understand the problem and move the field toward the creation of developmentally appropriate prevention programs and effective interventions for teenagers. (Author Text)

Description

Keywords

child abuse, teens, juveniles, youth, review

Citation

Mulford, Carrie ; Giordano, Peggy C. (2008). Teen dating violence: A closer look at adolescent romantic relationships. National Institute of Justice Journal, 261(1), 31-40.

DOI