Dating Violence Facts
Teen dating violence is not an argument every once in a while, or a bad mood after a bad day. Dating violence is a pattern of violent behavior that someone uses against their partner to cause pain.
Did You Know?
- About 72% of students in 8th and 9th grade report "dating."1 By the time they are in high school, 54% of students report dating violence among their peers.2
- About one in 11 teens reports being a victim of physical dating violence each year.3
- About one in four teens reports verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual violence each year.4,5
- About one in five teens reports being a victim of emotional abuse.6
- About one in five high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.7
Teens in Violent Relationships Are at Risk for Health Problems
Adolescents and adults often do not make the link between dating violence and poor health.
- About 70% of girls and 52% of boys who are victims of dating violence report an injury from a violent relationship.8
- Approximately 8% of boys and 9% of girls have been to an emergency room for an injury received from a dating partner.9
- Adolescents who are victims of dating violence not only are at increased risk for injury, but are also more likely to report binge drinking, suicide attempts, physical fighting, and sexual activity.10
- Rates of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use are more than twice as high in girls who report physical dating violence or sexual abuse than in girls who report no violence.11
- Dating violence is associated with unhealthy sexual behaviors that can lead to unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV infections.12
Choosing Respect: Developing Healthy Relationships to Prevent Dating Violence
Many instances of dating violence can be prevented. Adolescence has been characterized as a “window of opportunity,” a time for adolescents to prepare for future relationships by learning healthy relationship skills. That is why adults should talk to adolescents now about the importance of choosing respect and developing healthy relationships.13
- Several studies suggest that adolescents do not see the negative consequences of dating violence in their friends' lives.14 In one study, 31% of adolescents reported having at least one friend who was in a violent relationship.15
- Acceptance of dating violence among friends is one of the strongest links to being involved in future dating violence.16,17
- Qualities like respect, good communication, and honesty are requirements for a healthy relationship. Adolescents who do not recognize these qualities in relationships before they begin to date may have trouble forming healthy, nonviolent relationships with others.18,19
More information about CDC's work in dating violence prevention.
1 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.
2 Jaffe P, Sudermann M, Reitzel D, Killip S. An evaluation of a secondary school primary prevention program on violence in intimate relationships. Violence and Victims 1992; 7: 129-146.
3 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 [In Press].
4 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.
5 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.
6 ibid.
7 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):5729.
8 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.
9 ibid.
10 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical dating violence among high school students - United States, 2003. MMWR 2006; 55:532-535. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5519a3.htm
11 Plichta SB. Violence and violence: implications for women's health. In: Falik MM, Collins KS, editors. Women's health: the commonwealth survey. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins University Press; 1996.
12 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 American Medical Association 2001;286(5):572-9.
13 Wolfe DA, Wekerle C, Scott K. Alternatives to violence: empowering youth to develop health relationships. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage; 1997.
14 Hotaling GT, Sugarman DB. An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: the current state of knowledge. Violence and Victims 1986;1(2):101-24.
15 Arriaga XB, Foshee VA. Adolescent dating violence. Do adolescents follow in their friends' or their parents' footsteps? Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2004;19(2):162-84.
16 Bergman, L. Dating violence among high school students. Social Work 1992;37:21-7.
17 Arriaga XB, Foshee VA. Adolescent dating violence. Do adolescents follow in their friends' or their parents' footsteps? Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2004;19(2):162-84.
18 Wekerle C, Wolfe DA. Dating violence in mid-adolescence: theory, significance, and emerging prevention initiatives. Clinical Psychological Review 1999;19:435-56.
19 Feiring C, Furman WC. When love is just a four-letter word: victimization and romantic relationships in adolescence. Child Maltreatment 2000;5(4):293–8.
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