Violence in teen dating can predict future abuse

Teens who experience violence in their early dating years have a greater risk of suffering abuse in their future adult romantic relationships, according to a new study led by the University of Calgary.

Faculty of Social Work researcher Deinera Exner-Cortens is the first to demonstrate adolescent dating violence is uniquely implicated in a cycle of violence from adolescence to adulthood, and it is a strong predictor someone will suffer future abuse even when compared to those with similar backgrounds who did not experience dating violence.

“When I talk to adolescents, they may not recognize that what they’re experiencing is dating violence,” says Exner-Cortens. “For a lot of them, it’s their very first encounter in a romantic setting, so they may not know that it’s not healthy. So, from a primary prevention — or stopping before it starts — standpoint, we want to be communicating healthy relationships messages to adolescents.

“That you have a right to be safe in your relationship, and if a partner ever makes you feel unsafe or hurts you, that’s not OK, and you have a right to leave and seek help.”

Exner-Cortens’ study, recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, analyzed a sample of 2,161 American male and female heterosexual youth, interviewing them about dating when they were ages 12 to 18, and then again five and 12 years later.

Over a one-year period, about 19 per cent of teen respondents reported dating violence.

Five years after they were first victimized, female victims of adolescent dating violence had almost 1.5 times greater risk for experiencing physical adult intimate partner violence, and male victims had almost twice the risk for experiencing adult intimate partner violence.