Dating Violence in Adolescent Relationships
Author: Wilson, Tiffany
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Violence,Dating (Social),Adolescents,Aggression,Sexual Abuse,Bullying,Power Structure,Antisocial Behavior,Social Isolation,Verbal Communication,Intervention,State Legislation,Comprehensive School Health Education,Counselor Role,Symptoms (Individual Disorders),School Counselors,Family Violence,Social Media,Computer Mediated Communication,Prevention

Dating violence is an epidemic that is growing exponentially among the adolescent age group. Dating violence is a pattern of coercive behaviors used by adolescents to control their partners. These coercive behaviors include physical assault, sexual assault, abuse, ascendancy, degradation, intimidation, possessiveness, blaming, and the minimization of feelings. These behaviors can also include emotional, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Various behaviors demonstrating dating violence include name-calling, bullying, intentional humiliation, and isolation from family and friends. Specific physical assault behaviors can include pinching, hitting, shoving, choking, or kicking. Examples of sexual abuse behaviors can include nonconsensual sex, unsolicited sexual contact, and reproductive coercion or sabotage. Behaviors of dating violence can include noncontact behaviors such as verbal abuse or verbal harassment. This article describes several programs help to curtail the number of adolescents involved in violent dating relationships. Some of the programs are intended to increase awareness of adolescent dating violence while some show support for this issue by educating teachers, counselors, and school personnel to identify risk factors and provide interventions. One type of Government support this issue is using the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women's Act to initiate the &quot;1 is 2 many&quot; campaign. This initiative specifically focuses on organizing youth to help create and identify ways to prevent violence in adolescent dating relationships. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) also released an online training known as Dating Matters, which is designed to identify risk factors and prevent dating violence among teens. In addition to the federal government participation, many state governments now require school districts to provide an educational curriculum for violence prevention. As of 2018, 22 states implemented legislation requiring education on adolescent dating violence and another three states incorporated dating violence curriculum into related education programs without having explicit laws passed. For counselors who work with adolescents involved in violent dating relationships, it is essential that counselors remain knowledgeable of what to look for when an adolescent is involved in a relationship filled with violence and abuse. Possible signs include somatic complaints, distress when the relationship is discussed, a loss of interest in activities, and making excuses for their partner's behavior. Counselors need to familiarize themselves with community resources such as shelters and employment agencies to help victims of dating violence receive the additional resources, as they need to safely remove themselves from the violent relationship.