Reciprocal Dating Violence and Injury Occurrence high-risk youth may need to implement prevention strategies much earlier.2 It is important to note also that similar to research with adults, injury occurrence was particularly common when boys reported engaging in reciprocal dating violence against their partners. Previous research has shown that boys and men are more likely to inflict injuries on their partners than are girls.2,16 The likelihood of injury outcomes may be exacerbated because the dispute or argument escalates in severity when both partners are engaged in the act. Moreover, research shows that a woman’s perpetration of violence is the strongest predictor of also being a victim of violence,17 suggesting that the prevention of escalating violent interactions could be an important prevention target. LIMITATIONS Our findings are subject to several limitations. First, all participants were students in a high-risk urban school district, and results may not reflect the experiences of those who have dropped out of school or who live in other communities. Second, our measures of violence perpetration and victimization were self-reported and may be subject to reporting biases. Third, our study asked participants about their experiences and those of their dating partners, which may have varied across relationships. Accordingly, findings may pertain across dating relationships and as well as to multiple partners. Research shows that involvement in physical violence varies across relationships.18 Finally, this study did not include any specific information about the partner or the relationship contexts that could provide more detail about factors that exacerbate dating violence and injury occurrence. These limitations must be considered in the context of the relative novelty of the analyses presented; future studies can and should address the various limitations, for example, by asking both partners about a broader range of violence-related information and by surveying participants over time to assess experiences with potentially different partners. CONCLUSION Despite these limitations, this is one of very few studies that have sought to determine patterns of dating-violence reciprocity and injury occurrence among adolescents. Our findings show that reciprocal dating violence is common among adolescents who are engaged in violence and that it is associated with more frequent involvement in violence and that it also more often leads to injuries. Further research is clearly needed to better determine the factors that contribute to dating violence and injury occurrence among adolescents. Meanwhile, new strategies and approaches are needed to prevent and reduce the injury outcomes associated with dating violence among youth. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We thank the entire Linkages Study team from ORC Swahn et al. Macro, CDC and Battelle who contributed to the planning and implementation of the study. We also thank the school district for their enthusiasm and logistical support of this project. Finally, we thank the students for their time and willingness to participate in this study. Address for Correspondence: Monica H. Swahn, Ph.D., Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA 30302-3995. Email: MSwahn@gsu.edu. Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agree- ment, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources,and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none. REFERENCES 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). 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