Teen Dating Violence: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

摘要

Abuse in dating relationships is common among adolescents. In the United States, according to commonly cited figures, 10 to 12 percent of teens report physical abuse, and 33 percent report some kind of abuse. Other sources cite different figures, often higher. This dating abuse has a plethora of negative associated conditions or consequences. Despite the high prevalence rates and deleterious effects, however, teen dating abuse has been slow to gain recognition as a critical public-health and policy concern. Adult intimate-partner violence and marital abuse more generally have gained such recognition, as seen, especially in the past three decades, in policy, program, and legal responses, and in an extensive research literature base devoted to the problem. Adolescents, by comparison, were long overlooked as a population that suffers from relationship abuse. The research literature on this age-group, particularly, pre-college-age teens, has been sparse, notwithstanding indications that dating violence among teens is not only serious, but also exhibits unique features as compared with its manifestation at other life periods. Only recently, especially in the decade 2000 to 2010, has this neglect shifted, with teen dating violence moving higher on the policy and research agenda.