Teen Dating Relationships: Understanding and Comparing Youth and Adult Conceptualizations, Final Report
Date
2014
Authors
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Publisher
U. S. Department of Justice
Abstract
Description
As teen dating violence (TDV) incidence has escalated substantially in recent years, a number of research,
practice and policy efforts have been championed in response. One critical challenge in effectively
addressing teen dating violence relates to the lack of research that directly considers how youth
conceptualize teen dating in the first place, apart from specifically aggressive or violent relationships.
Most work in this area is instead guided by professionals' assumptions of adolescents' dating experiences,
with little sense of how well these assumptions align with teens' reality. The purpose of this study was to
directly engage teens and young adults to better understand how youth conceptualize teen dating
relationships, and the extent to which youth conceptualizations comport with those of adults in the field.
Group concept mapping was used capture, compare, and visually represent perspectives of teen dating
relationships across samples of teens ages 14-18, young adults ages 19-22, and adult professionals.
Subsequent facilitated discussions with samples of these three groups augmented the concept map results
with additional insight around the complexities and nuances of teen dating relationships, including
implications for TDV research and prevention. A single concept map co-authored by youth and adults
describe teen dating relationships using 100 ideas, 9 constructs, and 2 conceptual dimensions. Across
groups, substantial agreement emerged on the characteristics of teen dating, the interrelationships among
those characteristics, and participants’ opinions on their frequency and desirability. Discussions
confirmed the validity of the map content and organization, and emphasized the interaction of positive
and negative behaviors, emotions, and cognitions in teen dating as highly relevant for TDV initiatives.
Youth tend to conceptualize dating relationships as progressing through "stages," and note generally
difficulties in maintaining self-awareness while in a romantic relationship. The salience of peer networks
and the high school environment were also highly relevant to youth conceptualizations, while both youth
and professionals observed a general disconnect in how youth and adults communicate around dating
relationships. The results of this project strongly suggest that research and programming efforts focus on
the confluence of positive and negative dating aspects in shaping youth's ability to recognize unhealthy
dating characteristics, and embrace a more multidimensional, contextually and temporally sensitive
approach to work in the field. The resultant framework provides a robust basis for ongoing work in this
area that directly reflects the experiences and vernacular of teens and young adults.
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Keywords
teen dating violence, research,
Citation
U. S. Department of Justice (2014). Teen Dating Relationships: Understanding and Comparing Youth and Adult Conceptualizations,
Final Report. Washington, DC: Author.