Risk Factors

Certain individual and relationship factors may contribute to the likelihood that someone will become either a perpetrator or victim of violence. As an educator, the more aware you are of these risk factors, the more likely you are to recognize if one of your students may be at risk.

The following factors may contribute to teen dating violence:

• Low academic achievement. Teens who demonstrate poor performance in school or possessing inadequate skills are at risk for engaging in violent dating behaviors or entering into violent relationships.
• Social isolation. Social isolation is a tactic used by a perpetrator to increase the victim's dependence on him or her. Perpetrators often cut off their partners from the outside world. They may keep their dating partners from seeing family or friends, or even prevent them from going to work or school. Victims may have to ask permission to do anything, go anywhere or see anyone.
• Aggressive or delinquent behavior. Teens who engage in forceful actions―or who do not behave in accordance with accepted behavior or law―often engage in violent behaviors or enter into violent dating relationships.
• Low self-esteem. When teens do not feel good about themselves, they may not feel worthy of happiness or capable of meeting life's challenges. This puts the teen at risk for becoming overly dependent on their partner, and potentially a victim of violence.
• Emotional dependence or neediness. Sometimes teens feel like they “need” to have a partner. They may be willing to give up their self-respect and safety to stay in any dating relationship, even a violent one.
• Age differences between partners. Teens who date much older partners are also more likely to become victims.
• Desire for adult independence. Striving for adult independence is another risk factor for teen dating violence. Teens who start dating early are more likely to be involved in dating violence.
• Drug and alcohol use. The use of alcohol and drugs consistently has been found to be strongly associated with dating violence.

The following family- and peer-related factors may contribute to teen dating violence:

• Child maltreatment. What a teen experiences growing up sets the stage for how what they expect from relationships and how they treat people.
• Unhealthy family relationships or family instability. Teens that experience greater family instability, poor parenting, physical discipline, maltreatment, or social disadvantage tend to date at a younger age. They also experience teen dating violence at higher-than-average rates.
• Lack of parental support. Weak bonds between parents and teens and harsh parenting practices have been associated with delinquent behavior and dating violence.
• Marital conflict, separation, or divorce. Divorce of a teen's parents may be a significant risk factor for violence between teens.
• Following violent friends. When teens have friends in violent relationships, they run a greater risk for experiencing dating violence―both as a perpetrator and a victim. In fact, having violent friends can be more influential than witnessing parental violence. Girls, in particular, run a higher risk of becoming a victim of dating violence by having violent friends.
• Isolation. Having few friends and being isolated from other people can increase a teen's risk of becoming involved in a violent dating relationship because the teen may lack a healthy support group.
• Acceptance of violence. Peer culture and social influences contribute to the problem of teen dating violence. Having sexually aggressive peers increases the likelihood for teen dating violence. Many teens grow up in a culture where violence is seen as attractive.