Societal Factors in Dating Violence Need Study.
Understanding societal-level factors and other “outer-layer” influences may help public health professionals address and prevent adolescent dating violence, according to an article co-authored by a School of Public Health researcher.
Emily Rothman, associate professor of community health sciences, and colleagues from the School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) argue in an article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine for more research into the societal and neighborhood-level factors that contribute to adolescent dating violence (ADV).
“The gap in the ADV literature related to what might be considered ‘outer-layer’ social-ecological factors is unsurprising,” they write in an introduction to a journal issue focusing on ADV.
“For decades, prevention efforts across numerous public health topics have focused on promoting individual-level behavior change, so ADV etiological and intervention science have also reflected an individual focus.”
They note that researching societal factors for any health issue can be difficult and costly, compared to examining individual factors such as exposure to inter-parental violence.
“Nevertheless,” they say, “there is agreement in the field that such ‘outer-layer’ factors are essential to understand … and address, in order to reduce ADV incidence.”
The special issue of the journal includes three papers that investigate such factors, including gender inequality and neighborhood stability.
Previous studies have indicated that as many as 20 percent of high school girls and 10 percent of boys are physically or sexually assaulted by a romantic partner. National data suggest that as many as 30 percent of youths are verbally or emotionally assaulted by a partner during adolescence. Consequences can include injury, depression, substance use, and increased risk for future re-victimization and perpetration.
In addition to Rothman, authors of the article include Megan Bair-Merritt of the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine and Andra Teten Tharp of the Division of Violence Prevention at the CDC.