A National Probability-Based Household Survey on Teen Dating Violence

Complementing other ongoing NORC projects regarding the prevention of teen dating violence (TDV), and in response to the National Institute of Justice’s request for research that addresses the “extent of the problem and characteristics of abusive teen relationships is needed”, NORC is conducting the first comprehensive national survey of TDV. 

Teen dating violence has serious health consequences for adolescents, including significantly poorer mental and physical health and other trauma symptoms. TDV is a significant risk factor for young adult intimate partner violence (IPV); as much as half of TDV may persist into adulthood. In spite of a general recognition of the seriousness of the problem, there are widely varying estimates of the nature and scope of TDV, and some contradictory findings about key risk factors.

Through a nationally representative household sample of youth (ages 10-18) and their parents/caregivers contacted by NORC’s state-of-the-art {here insert link to NORC Telephone Call Center}, this research will produce a portrait of multiple forms of dating violence that moves beyond prior work not only in scope, but in attention to multiple TDV dimensions/forms, violence across demographic subgroups, and critical issues of context, frequency, and severity. The NIJ-funded study will focus heavily on peer and romantic relationships as sources of risk as well as avenues of support/assistance. It is critically important to understand where TDV fits in the social network experiences of teens, since these arenas are logical and potentially malleable targets (unlike early family of origin influences) for future intervention efforts. The project goal is to provide the necessary data to help the field understand and prevent TDV by synthesizing survey results regarding TDV risk factors that provide opportunities for intervention efforts sensitive to gender, developmental, and other characteristics.