Adolescence is a time when teens learn how to make decisions about relationships with their friends, family, and dating partners. What they learn now about how to treat others may affect relationships throughout their lifetime. But teens cannot do this by themselves. They need adults—parents, teachers, coaches, and others—to help them understand and choose healthy, respectful relationships.
Choose Respect is an initiative that helps teens form healthy relationships to prevent dating violence before it starts. This national effort helps parents, caregivers, older teens, educators, and other caring adults motivate teens to challenge harmful beliefs about dating violence and take steps to form healthy and respectful relationships. The following webpages offer information and resources for use at home, at school, and in the community to help teens learn about healthy relationships and making the right choices.
New: Dating Matters is a free 60-minute, online training designed to help educators, youth-serving organizations, and others working with teens understand the risk factors and warning signs associated with teen dating violence. Dating Matters was developed by the CDC in partnership with Liz Claiborne Inc.
What Are You Looking For?
Dating Violence Facts
- About one in 11 teens reports being a victim of physical dating violence each year.1
- About one in four teens reports verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual violence each year.2,3
- About one in five high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.4
Did You Know?
Relationships that occur in the teen years may affect dating relationships later in life. The lessons teens learn today about respect, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, and what is right or wrong may carry over into future relationships. Therefore it is important that teens recognize and understand what constitutes a healthy relationship.
1 Lynberg MC, Eaton D, et al. Prevalence and Associated Health Risk Behaviors of Physical Dating Violence Victimization among High School Students. United States, 2003. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2006.
2 Foshee VA, Linder GF, Bauman KE, et al. The safe dates project: theoretical basis, evaluation design, and selected baseline findings. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1996;12(2):39-47.
3 Avery-Leaf S, Cascardi M, O'Leary KD, Cano A. Efficacy of a dating violence prevention program on attitudes justifying aggression. Journal of Adolescent Health 1997; 21:11-17.
4 Silverman JG, Raj A, Mucci L, Hathaway J. Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association 2001; 286(5):572-9.
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
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