Imagine being in a high school hallway, watching crowds of teenagers traveling to their classes. As a blond girl and her tall boyfriend walk by hand-in-hand, you might be impressed with how close they seem. But if you look a little closer, you would see that something is terribly wrong with our hypothetical couple. She is wearing long sleeves on a humid day to hide the bruises on her arms where he squeezed her when he was angry.

Risk Factors for Teen Dating Violence



Statistics on Teen Dating Violence
Teens who are in an abusive relationship may have a difficult time getting help for the following reasons:. There are many resources available for getting help for a teen who is in an abusive relationship. These resources can be found both locally and nationally. How to Help Teens Dealing with Dating Violence Dating abuse is a serious health concern for many students: One in three high school students will be involved in an abusive relationship.


A Proclamation on National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, 2021
The research has mainly focused on Caucasian youth, and there are yet no studies which focus specifically on IPV in adolescent same-sex romantic relationships. Intimate partner violence IPV in adolescents is an important realm of study as, in addition to the usual negative effects of abuse, this violence occurs at a critical period in the social and mental development of a person. The literature on IPV among adolescents indicates that the rates are similar for the number of girls and boys in heterosexual relationships who report experiencing IPV, or that girls in heterosexual relationships are more likely than their male counterparts to report perpetrating IPV. Regarding studies that indicate that girls are as likely or more likely than boys to commit IPV, the authors emphasize that substantial differences exist between the genders, including that girls are significantly more likely than boys to report having experienced severe IPV, such as being threatened with a weapon, punched, strangled, beaten, burned, or raped, and are also substantially more likely than boys to need psychological help or experience physical injuries that require medical help for the abuse, and to report sexual violence as a part of dating violence.




An estimated 25 percent to 35 percent of adolescent abusers reported that their violence served to intimidate, frighten or force the other person to give me something. It is difficult for teens to leave abusive relationships for various reasons. Fear of the abuser's threats is usually the 1 reason, but lack of social support or fear that nothing will happen to the abuser also are reasons.