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## Other Youth Topics

## Breadcrumb

            -  Youth Topics 
            -  Dating Violence Prevention 
            -           Preventing Teen Dating Violence      

# Preventing Teen Dating Violence

The ultimate goal of education about youth violence is to stop teen dating violence *before* it begins. During the preteen and teen years, young people are learning the skills they need to form positive, healthy relationships with others, and it is therefore an ideal time to promote healthy relationships and prevent patterns of teen dating violence that can last into adulthood.1 Learn more about characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships.

In addition to teaching relationship skills, prevention programs can focus on promoting protective factors—that is, characteristics of a teen’s environment that can support healthy development—and positive youth development. These can also be fostered by a teen’s home and community. For example, higher levels of bonding to parents and enhanced social skills can protect girls against victimization. Similarly, for boys, high levels of parental bonding have been found to be associated with less externalizing behavior, which in turn is associated with less teen dating violence victimization.2

Most of the handful of programs that have been empirically investigated are school-based and use a group format. Program length varies from less than a day to more than 20 sessions. A few programs frame the issue using a feminist perspective, while others use a more skills-based and gender-neutral approach. Teen dating violence prevention programs tend to focus on attitudes about violence, gender stereotyping, conflict management, and problem-solving skills. Activities aimed at increasing awareness and dispelling myths about violence in relationships are often included in the curriculum.3

## Examples of Teen Dating Violence Prevention Programs4

**The Safe Dates Project**The Safe Dates Project is an intervention that includes school activities (e.g., a theater production performed by peers, a curriculum of ten 45-minute sessions taught by health and physical education teachers, and a poster contest) and community activities (e.g., services for adolescents in abusive relationships and service provider training). A four-year follow-up study found reductions in the likelihood of being a victim or a perpetrator of moderate psychological and physical violence as well as sexual violence among the eighth- and ninth-grade students from North Carolina who had participated in the Safe Dates Project; however, there were no reductions in the likelihood of being a victim of *severe* physical or psychological violence.5 Further, findings showed that those students involved in the Safe Dates Project reported less acceptance of dating violence and traditional gender roles, a stronger belief in the need for help, and more awareness of services available in the community.6

**Break the Cycle’s Ending Violence Curriculum**Ending Violence is a curriculum designed for high school students that focuses on educating youth about the legal repercussions and protections for perpetrators and victims of dating violence. An evaluation of Break the Cycle’s Ending Violence curriculum with a sample of predominately Latino teens from a large urban school district found that the youth demonstrated improved knowledge of the laws related to dating violence, less acceptance of female-on-male aggression, and increased perception of the likelihood and helpfulness of seeking assistance from various sources after they had completed the program.7

**The 4th R**The 4th R, an interactive classroom curriculum for ninth-grade students, aims to reduce youth dating violence by addressing youth violence and bullying, unsafe sexual behavior, and substance use. Researchers found that the rate of physical dating violence for a random sample of Canadian students who participated in the curriculum was significantly lower than the control group (9.8 percent versus 7.4 percent). Significance wasn’t maintained for those who had been dating in the previous year. However, boys in the intervention group were significantly less likely than boys in the control group to engage in dating violence (2.7 percent, compared to 7.1 percent). Girls in both groups showed the same rates of dating violence (11.9 percent versus 12 percent). This was also true when the previously dating subsample was analyzed.8

**The Youth Relationships Project**The Youth Relationships Project is a prevention program focused on addressing the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive factors that allow youth to strengthen the expression of positive interactions with dating partners and reduce the probability of power-assertive and violent behavior. The project educates youth about gender-based violence, and helps them to develop skills and social actions such as personal responsibility, communication, and community participation. An experimental study that randomly assigned 14- to 16-year-olds from child protective services to control or to the Youth Relationship Project curriculum found that the intervention was effective in reducing incidents of physical and emotional abuse and symptoms of emotional distress over time for the youth in the intervention. Specifically, youth in the intervention showed significantly greater declines in the use of coercive tactics within the dating relationship and enhanced motivation, interest, and understanding of the content of the program.9

**Shifting Boundaries**Shifting Boundaries, a school-based dating violence prevention program for middle school students (sixth and seventh grades), had positive effects on reducing dating violence within a randomized experimental study in a large urban school district. The study looked at the effectiveness of a classroom curriculum, a school intervention at the building level, and a combination of the two. The classroom intervention included six sessions in which there was an emphasis on the consequences of perpetrating teen dating violence (including state laws and penalties), the construction of gender roles, and healthy relationships. The building‐based intervention included the use of temporary school‐based restraining orders, higher levels of faculty and security presence in areas identified through student mapping of safe/unsafe “hot spots,” and the use of posters to increase awareness and reporting of teen dating violence to school personnel. Compared to a control group, the students who participated in the building-only interventions and those who experienced both the building interventions and the classroom interventions were more knowledgeable about the consequences of perpetrating teen dating violence, more likely to avoid areas where teen dating violence is likely to occur, and more likely to intervene as a bystander six months post intervention. The combination also resulted in reduced incidences of sexual and physical dating violence by as much as 50 percent up to six months after the intervention. The classroom-only intervention did not prove effective.10

Programs and evidence to support programs will continue to evolve. To find the most up-to-date evidence-based programs related to teen dating violence, go to CrimeSolutions.gov and search “teen dating violence” or related terms.

## References

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20052 Maas, Fleming, Herrenkohl, & Catalano, 20103 O’Keefe & Aldridge, 20054 The programs displayed are not endorsed by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, but provide a snapshot of some of the programs that focus on decreasing teen dating violence.5 Foshee et al., 20056 Foshee et al., 20057 Jaycox et al., 20068 Wolfe, et al., 20099 Pittman, Wolfe, & Wekerle, 200010 Taylor, Stein, Woods, & Mumford, 2011

## Other Resources on this Topic

### Agencies 

                          - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
                          - National Institute of Justice
                          - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
                          - Office of Violence Against Women

### Announcements 

                          - 2022 National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Recipients Announced
                          - Domestic Violence Awareness Month
                          - June is Internet Safety Month
                          - Justice Department Announces $21.72 Million to Reduce Sexual and Domestic Violence on Campus, Support Children and Youth, and Engage Men and Boys as Allies
                          - National Adolescent Health Month Resources
                          - Recent Event: New Research Awards Aim to Prevent Youth Violence, Sexual Violence, and Child Abuse and Neglect
                          - Report: Dating Violence Reported by High School Students in 2017
                          - Resource: Campus Safety Special Feature
                          - Resource: Considering Family Context as an Important Element in the Prevention and Intervention of the Development of Teen Dating Violence
                          - Resource: Fact Sheet on Stalking Among College Students
                          - Resource: Healthy Native Youth Stand-Alone Lessons
                          - Resource: Intersection of Human Trafficking, Youth Homelessness, Intimate Partner Violence, and Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Website
                          - Resource: Let's Talk Podcast - The Offical National Runaway Safeline Podcast
                          - Resource: Literature Review on Teen Dating Violence
                          - Resource: NCFY
                          - Resource: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices
                          - Resource: Runaway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Violence Toolkit
                          - Resource: Talking is Power: Tools for Parents
                          - Resource: Teen Dating Violence
                          - Resource: Teen Dating Violence Literature Review
                          - Resource: Tip Sheets on Everyday Parenting Topics
                          - Resource: Tips for Parents and Caregivers of Teens
                          - Resource: Trends in Youth Arrests for Violent Crimes
                          - Resource: What Has Longitudinal Research on Teen Dating Violence Taught Us?
                          - Resource: Youth Advisory Councils
                          - Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Data Sources 

                          - 2011-2021 YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report
                          - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

### Departments 

                          - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

### Feature Articles 

                          - Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention
                          - February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month
                          - Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C
                          - Justice Department Research Shows That School-Level Interventions Reduce Dating Violence by up to 50 Percent
                          - National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month
                          - Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century
                          - Teen Dating Relationships: Opportunities for Youth to Define What's Healthy and Unhealthy
                          - Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month
                          - Teen Dating Violence Prevention
                          - The Halls Web Series

### Hotlines 

                          - National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

### Programs 

                          - Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)
                          - Preventing Teen Dating Violence and Youth Violence Program
                          - Resource: DELTA FOCUS (Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances, Focusing on Outcomes for Communities United with States) Program

### Publications 

                          - Bullying, Sexual, and Dating Violence Trajectories From Early to Late Adolescence
                          - Cultivating Evaluation Capacity: A Guide for Programs Addressing Sexual and Domestic Violence
                          - Get Smart, Get Help, Get Safe
                          - How Can Youth Workers Recognize Teen Dating Abuse?
                          - Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2010
                          - New Report on Prevalence of Teen Dating Violence
                          - Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization — National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011
                          - Q&A: The CDC Takes a Comprehensive Approach to Teen Dating Violence Prevention
                          - Special Feature: Teen Dating Violence
                          - Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and Bullying
                          - Teen Dating Violence: How Peers Can Affect Risk & Protective Factors
                          - What Works to Prevent Teen Dating Violence?

### Resources 

                          - Report: Family and Youth Services Bureau Highlights in 2014 & 2015
                          - Report: Impact of Domestic Violence Policies and Practices on Girls and Young Women
                          - Report: National Survey of Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence
                          - Report: Predicting Intimate Partner Violence for At-Risk Young Adults and Their Romantic Partners
                          - Research Roundup: What Do We Know About Hispanic Youth and Teen Dating Violence?
                          - Resource: Considering Family Context as an Important Element in the Prevention and Intervention of the Development of Teen Dating Violence
                          - Resource: Dating Matters Interactive Guide on Informing Policy
                          - Resource: Family-Based Approaches to Preventing Teen Dating Violence Research
                          - Resource: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices
                          - Share with Youth: StrongHearts Native Helpline

### Technical Assistance 

                          - Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere

### Tools & Guides 

                          - 3 Bold Steps for School Community Change
                          - Model Programs Guide
                          - Our Revolution
                          - Problem-Oriented Guides for Police
                          - Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Resources
                          - Updated Training: DATING MATTERS® — Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention

### Videos & Podcasts 

                          - 1 is 2 Many PSA
                          - 1 is 2 Many: Dating Violence PSA
                          - The Halls: Web Series

### Websites 

                          - Girls Health
                          - Teen Dating Violence
                          - Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault in Schools: Resources and a Call to Action

### Youth Topics 

                          - Dating Violence Prevention

## Youth Briefs

How Individualized Education Program (IEP) Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities
Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.

Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people

How Trained Service Professionals and Self-Advocacy Makes a Difference for Youth with Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Co-occurring Issues
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.

Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.

Coordinating Systems to Support Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Needs
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.

Civic Engagement Strategies for Transition Age Youth
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

## Main navigation

- Dating Violence Prevention
- Characteristics of Healthy & Unhealthy Relationships
- Prevalence
- Electronic Aggression
- Gender Considerations
- Risk Factors
- Prevention Programs
- Consequences
- Legal Responses
- Victim & Survivor Resources
- Public Awareness
- Additional Federal Resources
- References

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## Latest Resources

### Announcements

Resource: Youth Advisory Councils

Resource: What Has Longitudinal Research on Teen Dating Violence Taught Us?

Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Data Sources

2011-2021 YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report

2011-2021 YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report

2011-2021 YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report

### Feature Articles

Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century

Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C

Justice Department Research Shows That School-Level Interventions Reduce Dating Violence by up to 50 Percent

### Publications

What Works to Prevent Teen Dating Violence?

Teen Dating Violence: How Peers Can Affect Risk & Protective Factors

Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and Bullying

### Resources

Report: Predicting Intimate Partner Violence for At-Risk Young Adults and Their Romantic Partners

Resource: Considering Family Context as an Important Element in the Prevention and Intervention of the Development of Teen Dating Violence

Resource: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices

### Youth Topics

Dating Violence Prevention