U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE

RESEARCH

IN BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2014
 

Teen Dating 

Violence 

How Peers Can Affect Risk 

& Protective Factors 

By Barbara Oudekerk, Ph.D. 

Dara Blachman-Demner, Ph.D. 

and Carrie Mulford, Ph.D. 
U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

810 Seventh St. N.W. 

Washington, DC 20531 

Eric H. Holder, Jr. 

Attorney General 

Karol V. Mason 

Assistant Attorney General 

William J. Sabol, Ph.D. 

Acting Director, National Institute of Justice 

This and other publications and products of the National Institute of Justice can be found at: 

National Institute of Justice 

Strengthen Science • Advance Justice 

http://www.nij.gov 

Office of Justice Programs 

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov 

The National Institute of Justice is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s 

mission is to advance scientific research, development and evaluation to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. 

The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. 

Photo Source: Shutterstock 
R

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE

ESEARCH

IN BRIEF

-

NOVEMBER 2014
 

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE
 

HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS 

BY BARBARA OUDEKERK, PH.D., DARA BLACHMAN DEMNER, PH.D., 

AND CARRIE MULFORD, PH.D. 

Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do 

not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

NCJ 248337 

RESEARCH IN BRIEF 1 

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: 

HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT 

RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS 

BY BARBARA OUDEKERK, PH.D., DARA BLACHMAN-DEMNER, PH.D., AND CARRIE MULFORD, PH.D. 

C

ompared to childhood, adolescence is a period 

marked by significant changes in the nature 

and importance of interpersonal relationships. 

Relationships with friends become more 

autonomous and central to personal well-being and, for 

the first time, many youth become involved in romantic 

relationships. Although the initiation of romantic 

relationships is a positive and healthy experience for 

many youth,1

 it is a source of violence and abuse for 

others. Approximately 9 percent of high school students 

report being hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose 

by their boyfriend or girlfriend in the past year.2 Teen 

dating violence rates appear to be even higher among 

certain populations, such as youth who have a history of 

exposure to violence. 

Recognizing the large number of youth who experience 

dating violence, policymakers at the federal and state 

levels have worked to raise awareness of dating 

violence, prevent violence from occurring, and offer more 

protection and services to victims. In response to this 

increased focus on teen dating violence, research has 

begun to flourish. Since 2008, the National Institute of 

Justice (NIJ) has provided close to $15 million in funding 

for basic, applied and policy-level research on dating 

violence. These projects have led to increased knowledge 

about risk and protective factors and psychosocial health 

behaviors associated with teen dating violence, and 

to the development and evaluation of dating violence 

prevention programs targeting diverse samples of youth. 

Research has also examined adolescents’ knowledge of 

and barriers to using protection orders against violent 

partners. 

This Research in Brief looks at the research from the 

perspective of one key emerging theme: Peers and the 

contexts in which peers interact can contribute to their 

risk for and protection against dating violence. Although 

we focus primarily on findings from NIJ-funded research, 

we also draw upon the broader literature on adolescent 

development and romantic relationships to show ways 

that teens shape each other’s experiences across the 

spectrum of entering into and leaving violent romantic 

relationships. 

Peer Roles in Teen Dating Violence 

Peer roles are best understood within a multisystemic 

framework (see the figure, page 2). That is, when teens 

begin dating, each partner enters into the relationship 

with his or her own set of perceptions, attitudes 

and behaviors shaped, in part, by the broader social 

“contexts,” or environments, in which they live. Teens 

interact with peers in many different social contexts, 

for example, schools, social clubs, sports teams, 

neighborhood parks or community centers. Each social 

context can promote attitudes and behaviors that 

encourage or discourage dating violence. For example, 

teens’ and their peers’ perceptions of whether violence 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
 

 

 

2 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

Figure 1. Peer Roles in Teen Dating Violence: A Multisystemic Framework 

Community Context Characteristics 

School Context Characteristics 

Peer and Peer Context 

Characteristics 

Community Context Characteristics 

School Context Characteristics 

Peer and Peer Context 

Characteristics 

Romantic Relationship 

Quality 

Partner 1 

Perceptions, Attitudes 

and Behaviors 

Partner 2 

Perceptions, Attitudes 

and Behaviors 

This figure illustrates the theoretical framework guiding our review of research on peers, peer contexts and teen dating violence. It is not intended to 

depict all potential influences on the quality of the romantic relationships among teens; there are a number of individual- and family-level factors, for 

example, that are not depicted in this figure. 

is acceptable within romantic relationships might depend 

on the level of violence they witness at school or in their 

neighborhood. 

Thus, when considering how peers might shape dating 

experiences, it is important to consider not only the 

context of teens’ close peer group but also the larger 

school and community contexts in which teens and their 

peers interact. 

Teens’ peers have the potential to considerably shape 

their dating experiences. Teens spend most of their 

days in school with peers and, in their free time, spend 

proportionally more time with peers than with parents 

or any other adults.3

 The desire to fit in and be liked by 

peers heightens in adolescence, and teens begin to rely 

on peers as a primary source of support and guidance.4, 5 

In addition, peer groups often set norms and offer social 

rewards for dating; for example, youth who date are often 

perceived as more socially accepted or popular than youth 

who do not date.6, 7, 8 As such, peers are likely to have a 

significant impact on teens’ decisions about whether to 

date, whom to date, and when to break up with romantic 

partners. Furthermore, the experiences that teens witness 

or perceive their peers to have within romantic relationships 

might shape teens’ perceptions of what is normal or 

acceptable in their own romantic relationships. 

It is critical to consider the very public nature of teens’ 

romantic relationships. Teen couples often interact 

in the presence of peers at school or in other social 

settings where other teens and adults are present, 

such as a mall, a movie theatre, or at home. Because of 

this, interactions that occur in public, or that happen in 

private but are shared with peers, might quickly become 

public knowledge to the larger peer network. This is 

particularly true in today’s digital world. Even when 

teens are not physically together, they are often still 

interacting by cell phone, text messages, social media 

sites, online video games and other electronic outlets 

that allow them to disseminate information quickly and 

widely. As a result, when relationships become violent or 

unhealthy in other ways, teens are at risk for experiencing 

embarrassment, being publicly ridiculed, or developing 

negative reputations among their peers. These concerns 

are very real to teens; they have to contend with their 

image among close friends and the larger peer network 

on a daily basis. 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 3 

Of particular interest to service providers is that the 

presence of peers might instigate, elevate or reduce 

the likelihood of teen dating violence, depending on the 

situation. For example, if a girl hits a boy in front of his 

friends, the boy might feel pressure to “save face” and 

hit her in return.9

 On the other hand, if peers are present 

when a couple is arguing, the peers might help defuse 

the situation and prevent the argument from escalating to 

violence — or peers who witness or hear about violence 

occurring also might seek help from an adult. 

Clearly, teens’ orientation toward peers and the 

significant amount of time spent with them affords 

numerous opportunities for peers to impact teens’ 

behaviors and decisions within romantic relationships. 

Findings emerging from NIJ-funded research on peer 

roles in teen dating violence can be viewed in terms of 

three overarching questions: 

1.	 Do risky peer contexts increase the likelihood 

that teens will experience dating violence? 

2.	 What roles do peers play in seeking help after 

teens experience violence? 

3.	 Can group interventions or those focused on 

social contexts reduce the risk for teen dating 

violence? 

Do Risky Peer Contexts Increase the 

Likelihood That Teens Will Experience Dating 

Violence? 

Research consistently shows the tendency for 

dating violence to overlap with peer victimization, 

suggesting that youth who are victims or perpetrators 

of peer violence tend to be the same youth at risk for 

experiencing violence within romantic relationships. 

As such, researchers have begun to identify risky or 

antisocial characteristics of teens’ broader peer social 

environments that increase the risk for dating violence. 

Peer violence and dating violence tend to co-occur. 

Two studies using community-based samples directly 

examined the links between dating violence and peer 

violence, including the associations between bullying 

among peers and dating violence.10, 11 One study of 1,162 

teens attending high school in Illinois revealed concurrent 

links between youth who bully and youth who perpetrate 

teen dating violence, suggesting an overlap in teens who 

victimize peers and those who victimize dating partners.10 

Specifically, female teens who bullied others were also 

likely to perpetrate sexual harassment and sexual, verbal 

and physical dating violence. Similarly, male teens 

who bullied others were also likely to perpetrate sexual 

harassment, physical dating violence and verbal dating 

violence. 

A survey of 5,647 teens across three northeastern 

states focused more specifically on the co-occurrence of 

cyberbullying and teen dating violence.11 Results revealed 

significant overlaps in who perpetrated cyberbullying 

and cyberdating violence — 26 percent of teens who 

perpetrated cyberbullying also perpetrated cyberdating 

violence, compared with only 7 percent of teens who 

did not perpetrate cyberbullying. Overlap also existed 

in victimization experiences. Teens who experienced 

cyberbullying by peers were more than three times as 

likely to experience cyberdating violence, compared with 

those who did not experience cyberbullying (38 percent 

versus 13 percent, respectively). 

Furthermore, a national study of 1,525 Latino teens 

revealed links between victimization by dating partners 

and a wide range of other forms of victimization.12 

About 71 percent of dating violence victims experienced 

peer/sibling violence, sexual victimization, stalking, 

conventional crime or another form of victimization in the 

prior year. Dating violence and peer/sibling violence were 

the two most common forms of victimization to co-occur. 

About 57 percent of teen victims of dating violence were 

also victims of peer/sibling violence. 

The consistency with which peer violence and teen 

dating violence have been found to co-occur illustrates 

that teens who struggle with establishing healthy 

peer relationships also have difficulties in romantic 

relationships. Although we know little about the details of 

how this occurs, these findings are in line with theories 

that suggest that outcomes in one relationship tend to be 

shaped by experiences, beliefs and attitudes learned in 

other relationships.13, 14 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
 

4 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

Youth in risky, antisocial environments are at 

significant risk for teen dating violence. 

Practitioners often must provide services to teens who 

have multiple risk factors for dating violence and thus 

would benefit by knowing which risk factors are most 

important to address in situations where time and 

resources might be limited. One study simultaneously 

examined multiple risk factors, including social context, 

within a sample of low-income teens who were 

receiving community-based services allocated to at-risk 

populations. Among the 223 youth in that study, there 

were 11 known risk factors for dating violence, divided 

into four categories: risky social environment, risky 

sexual history, risky family background and poor ability 

to self-regulate. Risky social environment represented 

a combination of teens’ ratings of peer delinquency, 

exposure to peer dating abuse, negative neighborhood 

quality and attitudes toward relationship abuse.15 

When the four categories of risk factors were examined 

simultaneously, risky social environment was the 

strongest correlate of physical and emotional dating 

violence victimization and perpetration within a romantic 

relationship. Teens from risky family backgrounds were 

also more likely to experience and perpetrate emotional 

and physical dating violence. However, this finding was 

partly explained by the fact that the more high-risk the 

teens’ family backgrounds were, the more likely they 

were to become involved in risky social contexts, such 

as having delinquent peers or witnessing dating violence 

among their peers.15 

Studies consistently show that teens who engage in 

delinquent behaviors are at risk for experiencing and 

perpetrating dating violence.10, 11, 12, 15 Indeed, teens’ own 

participation in delinquent behaviors is a likely indicator 

that they are embedded within a risky social environment. 

The vast majority of adolescent delinquency is committed 

in groups of peers, and teens’ and their peers’ levels of 

delinquency tend to be similarly aligned.16, 17, 18 Moreover, 

teens who engage in delinquency are also likely to choose 

delinquent romantic partners, creating risky romantic 

relationship contexts that are, in turn, associated with 

higher levels of dating violence and other health-risk 

behaviors.15, 19, 20 

Findings from NIJ-funded studies contribute to a growing 

body of literature suggesting that a diverse set of peer 

attributes are linked to whether teens experience or 

perpetrate dating violence, including close peers’ and 

the broader peer group’s behaviors, attitudes and 

guidance; teens’ social standing among the broader 

peer group; and the quality of relationships with close 

peers.21, 22, 23 Moreover, peer risk factors tend to be more 

strongly associated with dating violence perpetration 

and victimization in adolescence than with family risk 

factors.15, 24, 25 

What Roles Do Peers Play in Help-Seeking 

After Teens Experience Violence? 

Teen dating violence has been associated with negative 

psychosocial health outcomes, including delinquency, 

hostility and depression.11, 12 Once teens experience 

violence in one relationship, they are at significant risk for 

experiencing violence in another relationship.15 Thus, it is 

important that teens who experience dating violence seek 

help soon after, so they can receive services to protect 

against the potential psychosocial impacts of violence and 

reduce the likelihood of future violence. 

Peers also can have a significant impact on how teens 

respond to dating violence. Studies have identified two 

ways in which peers play a role in the aftermath of dating 

violence: (1) Peers often serve as first responders to 

dating violence, and (2) peers can hinder or encourage 

legal help-seeking in the form of a protection order. 

Peers as first responders to dating violence. 

It is difficult to determine how many teens seek help after 

violence occurs because researchers often ask different 

questions about help-seeking and dating abuse. For 

example, some researchers examine the percentage of 

teens who sought help after experiencing certain forms of 

serious physical or sexual abuse, whereas others examine 

help-seeking among teens who experienced any form 

of dating violence. Regardless, one clear message has 

emerged: Many teens do not seek help from anyone after 

violence has occurred, and those who do seek help most 

frequently turn to a friend.11, 12, 26, 27, 28 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 5 

In a study of 2,173 teens who reported being the victim 

of cyber, physical, psychological or sexual dating abuse, 

only 8.6 percent reported seeking help from at least 

one person; more females (11 percent) sought help than 

males (5.7 percent).11 Very few teens — only 4.1 percent 

of females and 2 percent of males — sought help after 

they experienced dating abuse for the first time. Among 

the teens who did seek help, more than three-quarters 

(77.2 percent) turned to a friend for help and 48.5 percent 

turned to parents. Less than 10 percent sought help 

from other service providers, such as a teacher or police 

officer. For those who did seek help, both males (69.2 

percent) and females (82 percent) were most likely to 

seek help from friends. 

Somewhat higher rates were reported in another study 

that asked only about help-seeking after experiencing 

physical, sexual or stalking dating violence in the 

past year.12 Of the roughly 90 Latino teens who had 

experienced such violence, about 63 percent sought 

help afterward (60 percent of males and 69 percent of 

females). Compared with psychological or cyber forms 

of abuse, it is possible that teens are more likely to 

recognize physical, sexual and stalking dating violence as 

abuse and thus seek help. Nonetheless, few teens (15.6 

percent) sought help from formal sources such as school, 

social services or legal professionals. Instead, male and 

female teens were most likely to turn to friends for help 

(43.6 percent and 41.4 percent, respectively).12 

These findings add to the growing evidence that peers 

tend to be the most frequent first responders to teen 

dating violence among male and female teens, teens of 

varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, and teens who 

experience different forms of dating violence.26, 27 

Peers play a role in teens’ help-seeking. 

A recent exploratory study examined teens’ use of 

protection orders, also called civil orders of protection 

or restraining orders.29 In July 2008, New York state 

law was modified to give teens access to protection 

orders without parental consent and without having a 

child in common with their partner. The study examined 

all petitions filed by dating violence victims age 18 and 

younger throughout 2009 and 2010 — a 2-year period 

shortly after the law took effect. The study found that 

the orders were not being used widely; victims filed 

only 1,200 petitions during the 2-year period. To better 

understand potential barriers to obtaining protection 

orders, the researchers conducted focus groups and 

interviewed teens who were potentially at risk for dating 

violence or had begun the process of filing for a protection 

order. 

These conversations revealed that many youth were 

hesitant to obtain protection orders because they 

were afraid of escalating violence, were reluctant to 

end the relationship, or felt overwhelmed with other 

responsibilities. Another common barrier to seeking a 

protection order was how family and friends would feel 

about it. For example, teens were concerned about being 

viewed as a “snitch” or as responsible for the violence. 

Some teens felt ashamed to admit their victimization to 

others, as shown in the following examples:29 

“I feel like you’d get talked about at school. 

‘Cause, like, I feel like we live in a small town, so 

everyone would know and figure out, and they’d 

talk about you.” 

“Your friends whatever, like, might look at you a 

different way ... they see it as you went to the 

police and you couldn’t handle it — that’s really 

not for guys.” 

Teens also were concerned that protection orders place 

victims at risk for retaliation by the abusive partners’ peer 

network and might lead to social isolation resulting from 

losing mutual friends after the breakup. For example, 

one teen’s decision to end the relationship and seek a 

protective order led to the dissolution of nearly her entire 

peer network: “It’s like I don’t have anybody.”29 Another 

teen stated,“[His] friends target you. When I was with 

him he got some other girls, and they were all, like, gang 

members ... and now there’s, like, a whole group of girls 

after me and, like, I don’t feel safe at all.” 29 

On the other hand, teens’ social networks can also be 

a source of motivation to seek legal protection. Teens 

reported that moral support from their friends and family 

is what helped them make it through the process of 

obtaining a protection order. Teens who had obtained 

a protection order recommended making peer support 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
 

 

6 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

networks available for those who are considering taking 

legal action against an abusive partner.29 

Although research on protection orders in abusive teen 

relationships is nascent, preliminary work illustrates that 

teens’ decisions to bring legal action against an abusive 

partner are shaped by more than the abusiveness of 

the relationship and guidance from caring adults. Teens 

also weigh the potential benefits of the protection order 

against the potential negative consequences such legal 

action might have on their image and social well-being 

among peers. 

Can Group Interventions or Those Focused on 

Social Contexts Reduce the Risk For Teen 

Dating Violence? 

Researchers, practitioners and policymakers are 

invested in identifying and implementing interventions 

that decrease the likelihood of dating violence among 

teen partners. Growing evidence supports the finding 

that teens tend to weigh the perceptions of peers when 

making decisions about romantic relationships. Such 

knowledge raises the question of whether interventions 

conducted on a group level — that is, among groups of 

peers within a school or other social setting — would 

be effective at reducing the risk for teen dating violence. 

Practically speaking, interventions in schools and other 

community-based peer settings are worthwhile because 

they offer opportunities to reach large numbers of teens 

in the environments where they spend a significant 

amount of their time. 

Most of the effective teen dating violence interventions 

identified to date have been school-based programs.30 

The majority of these programs take a universal 

preventive approach — where all students in a school 

receive the intervention — and have been developed for 

implementation among high school students.31 Yet, many 

youth have already started dating and have experienced 

dating violence before high school.32 As such, the new 

generation of teen dating violence prevention programs 

is beginning to focus on middle school youth, which will 

increase the likelihood of reaching teens before they begin 

dating or when they first start to date.33 Start Strong: 

Building Healthy Teen Relationships and Dating MattersTM 

are two examples of comprehensive, multicomponent teen 

dating violence prevention initiatives implemented with 

middle school-aged youth and their families across the 

United States.32, 34 

Between 2005 and 2011, NIJ funded the development 

and evaluation of Shifting Boundaries, one of the first 

teen dating violence intervention programs designed 

for middle school students.35 Shifting Boundaries was 

developed and tested in an early study in Cleveland, 

Ohio,36 and then modified and re-evaluated in 117 sixthand seventh-grade classes (30 public middle schools) in 

New York City.37 Schools and classrooms were randomly 

assigned to (1) a classroom intervention with both a 

personal interaction and a law and justice curriculum, 

including discussions on relational boundaries, laws and 

legal penalties; or (2) a school building intervention that 

consisted of building-based restraining orders, a display 

of posters about the reporting of dating violence and 

harassment, and monitoring of violence “hot spots”; 

(3) a combined classroom and building intervention; or 

(4) a control group. Compared with teens in the control 

group, teens who received the school building intervention 

seemed to benefit in many ways, regardless of whether 

they had the classroom intervention. Specifically, 6 

months after the intervention, teens who received 

the school building intervention showed significant 

reductions in sexual and other victimization by dating 

partners compared with teens in the control group.35, 37 

At that time, teens were presented with example cases of 

dating violence and asked if they would intervene. Teens 

who received only the school building intervention were 

significantly more likely than teens in the control group to 

report that they would intervene if they witnessed dating 

violence. 

Community-based interventions can also reduce 

dating violence risk among high-risk youth. Youth who 

have been exposed to known risk factors might need 

specialized intervention that aligns with their pattern of 

risk. Moreover, high-risk youth might be less likely to 

participate fully in school-based interventions, compared 

with lower-risk teens. For example, they might miss 

more days of school or be less engaged in learning 

opportunities. One study developed and evaluated 

two community-based group interventions to prevent 

dating violence victimization of teen girls involved in 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 7 

the child welfare system.38 Specifically, it compared the 

incidence of dating violence among female teens who 

did not receive an intervention with female teens who 

completed either (1) a social learning/feminist group 

intervention focused on gendered attitudes, beliefs about 

relationships, and relational skills, or (2) a risk detection/ 

executive-functioning group intervention focused on 

noticing contextual danger cues, regulating emotions and 

knowing how to respond in difficult situations. Teens who 

received one of the group treatment interventions were 

two to five times less likely to report being sexually or 

physically victimized by romantic partners over the course 

of the study, compared with teens who did not participate 

in one of the group interventions. 

Additional research is needed to determine exactly why 

the Shifting Boundaries building-wide intervention and 

the community-based social learning/feminist and risk 

detection/executive-functioning group interventions 

reduced the likelihood of dating violence among 

teens. The interventions are similar in that they use 

structured peer contexts — school-based and group 

interventions — to deliver programming. In addition, 

they focus on improving teens’ knowledge, attitudes and 

norms regarding dating violence, and they aim to teach 

teens how to recognize and respond to violence that 

occurs between youth. The findings regarding Shifting 

Boundaries are consistent with other research that shows 

positive school environments — including positive norms, 

values and expectations — are associated with lower 

levels of student aggression and bullying behaviors.39 

Implications and Key Future Research 

Questions 

Findings across numerous studies document many 

links between teens’ experiences with peers and the 

likelihood that they will be victims of dating violence, 

seek help if violence occurs, and access services and 

legal protections. Given the importance of peers during 

adolescence, it is critical to identify important areas for 

future research. Practitioners and policymakers need the 

best possible evidence regarding peers and peer contexts 

to identify teens who are at risk for dating violence. Only 

through strategically smart research and evaluation can 

we learn how to prevent and intervene in violent teen 

romantic relationships and how to promote positive 

outcomes in romantic relationships. Here are some key 

future research questions: 

Can we focus on risky peer networks to identify 

teens at risk for dating violence? 

Teens who experience or perpetrate dating violence tend 

to also be in broader peer networks that involve multiple 

other forms of risky health behaviors, such as bullying, 

delinquency and substance use.11, 12, 15 Thus, one way to 

identify youth who are at risk for dating violence is to 

screen for dating violence risk factors among broader 

peer networks that involve teens known to be involved 

in other forms of risky behavior. For example, screening 

among teens enrolled in treatment programs through the 

juvenile justice system might reveal large numbers of 

teens who have experienced dating violence. Similarly, 

if a high school is known to have a high rate of bullying 

victimization, the students might also be at high risk for 

dating violence. 

Given the overlap of different forms of violence 

perpetration and victimization, screenings among 

high-risk peer networks could focus on risk behaviors 

overall rather than risk for one specific behavior. If we 

can identify the peer networks most at risk by virtue of 

the promotion of norms, attitudes and behaviors that 

are associated with violence, then we can target the 

most intensive prevention and intervention efforts at 

the highest risk groups of teens and potentially offer 

group-level wraparound services to reduce a broad range 

of risky behaviors. Of course, this is dependent on the 

existence of effective, accessible and well-implemented 

prevention and intervention programming for high-risk 

groups. It also is important to consider how best to define 

the boundaries of peer networks in targeting screening 

efforts. For example, peer networks located in specific 

settings such as treatment programs or detention 

facilities may be easier to define than those located 

in broader contexts such as schools, where there are 

multiple peer networks. 

What is the best way to use peers and peer contexts 

as an avenue for preventing dating violence? 

Given the importance of peer relationships in adolescence 

and the mounting evidence that peers can shape the 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
 

 

8 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

quality of each other’s dating experiences, peers and peer 

contexts seem to be an appropriate target for prevention 

and intervention programming. In fact, a number of dating 

violence interventions have been widely implemented 

across the United States to encourage teens — who are 

often bystanders or the first to learn when dating violence 

occurs — to intervene. Other interventions are aimed at 

modifying peer norms about violence, particularly genderbased norms. Based on early examinations of peer- and 

norm-based interventions, four major questions have 

emerged that merit future attention by researchers and 

practitioners: 

1.	 When will teens intervene in a violent 


relationship?
 

2.	 Why should gender be considered when 

designing and evaluating intervention programs? 

3.	 What role do the norms, behaviors and 

reputations of the teens in the group play 

in understanding the effectiveness of the 

intervention? 

4.	 How should technology be used to help prevent 

dating violence and other types of interpersonal 

violence? 

When will teens intervene in a violent relationship? 

Despite the fact that significant research resources 

have been dedicated to understanding peer bystander 

interventions, very little is known about the conditions 

under which adolescent peers will actually intervene in 

violent relationships. One study revealed that most high 

school teens offered nurturing responses when their 

friends confided in them about being victims of dating 

violence.40 However, the more severe the dating violence, 

the more likely teens were to “respond” with avoidance, 

possibly illustrating an unwillingness or uncertainty about 

how to offer help in serious cases of violence.41 

There are many reasons why teens might be hesitant 

to intervene in their friends’ relationships. For example, 

they might not know how to intervene, they might not 

recognize when intervention is warranted, they might 

not want to betray the confidentiality of the friend who 

confided in them, or they might fear retaliation from the 

abuser or from the friend of the abuser. 

Often, researchers study teens’ intentions to intervene if 

they witness violence; for instance, they may give teens 

an example of a dating violence situation and ask whether 

they would intervene. Research shows that programs 

can increase teens’ intentions to intervene if they are 

bystanders to dating violence or bullying.35, 41 However, 

intentions do not always predict behavior, and more 

research is needed to determine what types of bystander 

programs increase teens’ likelihood of actually intervening. 

A recent evaluation of the Coaching Boys into Men dating 

violence prevention program suggests that when high 

school athletic coaches encouraged bystander intervention 

in cross-gender violence, male athletes reported higher 

levels of intervening in abusive or harassing behaviors 

— such as making rude comments about a girl’s body 

or physically hurting a girl — by their peers.42 Similarly, 

evidence suggests that bystander programs can encourage 

teens to intervene in situations of sexual assault or 

harassment on college campuses.43, 44 

Nonetheless, it is important to consider how perceptions 

of romantic relationships as private and “the couple’s 

business” might prevent teens from seeking help or 

intervening in violence that occurs within romantic (as 

opposed to casual) relationships, particularly if teens 

learn about but do not witness the violence.45 Moreover, 

there are many different ways teens could intervene in 

violent relationships; they could, for example, directly 

confront the abuser, tell a trusted adult, encourage their 

friend to tell a trusted adult, or provide a direct referral to 

services. More research is needed to determine the safest 

and most effective ways youth can intervene, the ways 

they feel most comfortable intervening, and the best way 

for service providers to offer teens different methods for 

intervening. 

How should gender be considered when designing 

and evaluating intervention programs? 

We know, based on preliminary work on peer- and normbased interventions, that gender should be considered 

when designing and evaluating intervention programs. 

Some interventions — such as Men Can Stop Rape and 

Coaching Boys into Men42, 47 — are gender-specific, 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 9 

designed for male teens, and others are designed to 

help female teens recognize danger signs.38 However, a 

limitation of many of these programs is that they tend to 

focus on preventing male teens’ abusive behaviors and 

victimization among female teens. It is well-documented 

that both male and female teens perpetrate dating 

violence. Moreover, although some evidence suggests 

that female teens might experience more severe types 

of abuse compared with male teens, dating violence 

has been associated with negative social and health 

outcomes for both male and female teens.24, 47 Thus, the 

development and evaluation of peer- and norm-based 

programs that target female-perpetrated dating violence 

is warranted. For example, these programs might target 

peer norms about the acceptability of female violence 

toward males — that, for example, “it’s okay for girls to 

hit boys” or “if a boy gets slapped, he deserved it.”48 

Some programs have shown more positive effects with 

teens of a particular gender. For example, “Fourth R: 

Skills for Youth Relationships” includes individual- and 

school-level components designed to prevent dating 

violence and promote healthy relationships. Among 

ninth-graders, the program showed significant effects 

on reducing perpetration of physical dating violence 

among males but not among females.49 Research on 

other programs that aim to modify attitudes about 

dating violence has revealed mixed findings, with some 

producing stronger effects among female teens and 

others producing stronger effects among male teens.50 

On the one hand, differences in the efficacy of programs 

for male versus female teens might imply a need for more 

gender-specific programming — for example, programs 

that target norms and perspectives known to promote 

dating violence for each gender. Alternatively, the focus 

on gender-based norms, sexuality and masculinity in 

many existing intervention programs might be preventing 

the development of programming that is equally effective 

at reducing male- and female-perpetrated violence. 

Gender-neutral programming focused on components 

of healthy relationships (for both boys and girls) might 

produce positive effects for both genders. It is also 

possible that programs need both gender-neutral and 

gender-specific components. Future research examining 

the role of gender in teens’ responsiveness to intervention 

is warranted. 

What role do the norms, behaviors and reputations 

of teens in the group play in understanding the 

effectiveness of the intervention? 

In designing peer-based interventions, it is important 

to consider how the norms, behaviors and reputations 

of the teens that compose the group might impact the 

effectiveness of the intervention. Some evidence suggests 

that teens’ perceptions of the attitudes and behaviors of 

others in their peer group are more strongly related to 

teens’ aggressive behaviors than peers’ true attitudes 

and behaviors.51 In addition, when teens are aggregated 

into groups, deviancy training occurs such that, over time, 

the more deviant teens in the group appear to influence 

those who are less deviant, particularly at-risk teens. As 

a result, some peer-based interventions have resulted 

in increases in violent and delinquent behaviors.52 Little 

is known about the contexts in which deviancy training 

might occur within peer-based teen dating violence 

prevention and intervention programs. Such research is 

especially relevant because growing evidence suggests 

that teens who are involved in delinquent behaviors are 

at high risk for experiencing and perpetrating dating 

violence.11, 12, 15 Future research is needed to identify 

whether interventions can effectively target the highest 

risk peer groups, without enhancing the risk for dating 

violence, through the aggregation of peers who might 

perpetuate unhealthy dating attitudes and behaviors. 

How should technology be used to help prevent 

dating violence and other types of interpersonal 

violence? 

There is significant potential for using technology and 

electronic peer networks to prevent dating violence 

and promote positive interpersonal relationships. We 

already know a great deal about the ways that teens use 

technology to bully one another and perpetrate dating 

violence.11 However, we know little about how we can 

use technology to prevent dating violence or other types 

of interpersonal violence. For example, the messages 

teens post to online social networking sites that reach 

wide audiences (such as Facebook and Twitter) can 

convey their perceptions of what is normal or acceptable 

in romantic relationships. As such, efforts to shape the 

quality of messages that youth post or share among 

their friends could reach a significant number of youth. 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
 

10 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

Similarly, peers could be trained to recognize and respond 

appropriately when adolescents post help-seeking or 

threatening types of messages. 

How can we promote positive peer relationships as 

a precursor to positive romantic relationships? 

It is important to keep in mind that preventing violent 

relationships is simply one component of the broader 

goal of promoting healthy, prosocial relationships. 

Although romantic relationships are marked by some 

unique characteristics — such as intense emotions, 

gender norms, and sexual behaviors — teens already 

have a great deal of experience in close interpersonal 

relationships before they begin dating. There is growing 

consensus among researchers that early interpersonal 

relationships with family and friends set the stage for the 

quality of later relationships with romantic partners.14 

In fact, among teens who have experienced poor 

relationships with parents, positive relationships with 

peers have been shown to buffer teens against a range 

of risky behaviors, including risky sexual behaviors and 

poor romantic relationship qualities.53, 54 Programs that 

help develop healthy peer relationships should begin 

early in adolescence, when youth are first learning 

to establish more autonomous and meaningful peer 

relationships. Youth can learn and practice with peers 

many of the positive qualities that are important in 

healthy romantic relationships, including respect, equality, 

supportiveness, warmth and autonomy. For example, 

initiatives such as Start Strong and Dating MattersTM are 

broadly focused on building healthy relationships starting 

early in adolescence, and they aim to reduce risk and 

promote positive relationships in the long term. Continued 

research is needed to determine the longitudinal effects 

of these initiatives on the quality of peer and romantic 

relationships, particularly as teens make the transition 

from adolescence into adulthood. 

Conclusion 

Romantic relationships can seem very personal in 

nature because they involve the behaviors, thoughts 

and actions of two people who commit to one another 

romantically. Events that occur within relationships 

tend to be perceived as “the couple’s business.”45 Yet, 

there is growing evidence that romantic relationship 

experiences are shaped both by experiences as a couple 

and by the unique experiences each partner brings to 

the relationship. Teens place significant value on their 

relationships with peers while also beginning to translate 

the skills they have learned in close peer relationships 

into new relationships with romantic partners. As such, 

programs and policies aimed at preventing teen dating 

violence or promoting healthy teen relationships more 

broadly are likely to be most effective if they take into 

consideration the potential ways in which peers and 

peer contexts shape teens’ experiences within close 

relationships. 

For More Information 

The findings discussed in this report are available online 

in the National Institute of Justice Office of Research and 

Evaluation’s Crime, Violence & Victimization Research 

Division’s Compendium of Research on Violence Against 

Women 1993–2013, at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ 

nij/223572/223572.pdf. 

Visit NIJ.gov, keywords “Teen Dating Violence.” 

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 11

National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov

About The Authors

Barbara Oudekerk co-authored this Research in Brief when she was an American Psychological Association Executive 

Branch Science Fellow at the National Institute of Justice. She is now a Social Science Statistician at the Bureau of 

Justice Statistics, working in the Victimization Unit. Dr. Oudekerk received her Ph.D. in Community Psychology from the 

University of Virginia.

Dara R. Blachman-Demner is a Social Science Analyst at the National Institute at Justice, where she manages a 

portfolio on teen dating violence and children exposed to violence. Dr. Blachman-Demner received her Ph.D. in Clinical/

Community Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Carrie Mulford is a Social Science Analyst at the National Institute of Justice, where she manages a portfolio on 

teen dating violence, juvenile justice, and elder mistreatment. Dr. Mulford received her Ph.D. in Community and 

Developmental Psychology from the University of Virginia.
 

12 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

Endnotes 

1. Collins, W.A. “More Than Myth: The Developmental Significance of Romantic Relationships During Adolescence.” 

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3. Csikszentmihalyi, M., and R. Larson. Being Adolescent. New York: Basic Books, 1984. 

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Children and Adolescents Aged 9 to 18 Years: Who Is Perceived as Most Supportive?” Social Development 19 (2010): 

417-426. 

5. Brown, B. “Adolescents’ Relationships With Peers,” in Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 2nd ed., ed. R. Lerner 

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6. Connolly, J., and C. McIsaac. “Romantic Relationships in Adolescence,” in Social Development: Relationships in 

Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence, ed. M.K. Underwood and L.H. Rosen. New York: Guilford Press, 2011: 180-203. 

7. Furman, W., S. Low and M.J. Ho. “Romantic Experience and Psychosocial Adjustment in Middle Adolescence.” 

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From Early to Late Adolescence.” Final report for National Institute of Justice, grant number 2011-MU-FX-0022. NCJ 

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11. Zweig, J.M., M. Dank, P. Lachman and J. Yahner. 2013. “Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and 

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National Institute of Justice | NIJ.gov 
RESEARCH IN BRIEF 13 

15. Reppucci, N.D., B.A. Oudekerk, L. Guarnera, A. Nagel, C. Reitz-Krueger, T. Walker and T. Warner. 2013. “A Review 

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14 TEEN DATING VIOLENCE: HOW PEERS CAN AFFECT RISK & PROTECTIVE FACTORS
 

29. Klein, A., A. Salomon, L. Elwyn, A. Barasch, J.L. Powers, M. Maley, J.A. Gilmer, M. Pirchner, I. Harris, J.S. Tiffany 

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RESEARCH IN BRIEF 15 

41. Polanin, J.R., D.L. Espelage and T.D. Pigott. “A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Bullying Prevention Programs’ 

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