Teen Dating Violence: Predicting Dating Violence and Mental Health Symptoms Among Adolescent Males

Background and Purpose:

Research indicates that aggressive behaviors in childhood are considered a risk factor for future violence and criminal behavior in adulthood, highlighting the need to explore aggressive behaviors among youth. Literature on teens who are dating has revealed that adolescents experience physical and psychological violence (O’Keefe, 2005; NIJ, 2008).  Researchers found that depression and poor self-esteem were associated with dating violence for boys and girls (Ackard & Neumark-Sztainer, 2003; Ackard, Eisenberg, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2007). These studies suggest that dating violence victimization increases risk of mental health problems. However, we have limited understanding of the impact of different types dating violence on the mental health of adolescent males. The current study investigates these issues further by examining how different types of dating violence are associated with mental health symptoms among adolescent male victims.

Methods:

The present study investigates the prevalence and mental health consequences of dating violence among adolescent males.  The sample consists of 589 heterosexual male adolescent high school students from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds (65% minority). The sample has a mean age of 15.72 years (SD = .85). Researcher(s) administered surveys to the students in high school health classrooms. The questionnaires asked participants if they had experienced dating violence victimization, mental health symptoms, and acceptance of violence towards boys and girls.  Multivariate analysis was employed to analyze the data. Five multiple regressions were conducted, which identified predictors from each of the models on mental health and future perpetration of dating violence.

Results:

Participants revealed high rates of IPV victimization (physical 39%, psychological 36%, and sexual 15%). Significant predictors of negative mental health consequences for male adolescents were experiencing psychological violence, experiencing physical violence, and having attitudes that accept violence. Further analysis exposed the complex nature of violence and victimization, revealing that participants who experience three types of dating violence (physical, sexual, and psychological) were significantly more likely to perpetrate physical and sexual violence on their partner.  These findings suggest that violent attitudes and experiencing dating violence are significantly predictive of future negative mental health and perpetration among adolescent boys.

Implications:

The current study indicates the predictive power of dating violence victimization on mental health and dating violence perpetration for male youth. These findings uncover the effects of experiencing dating violence (psychological and physical) on mental health (depression, PTSD, and conduct disorder). These findings underscore the importance of providing mental health services for adolescent males who have experienced violence. Policy makers should consider the current study’s findings to better understand and inform dating violence preventative measures. Future studies could explore the lived experiences of these youth to better understand the context and cultural influences. Predictive models allow designable measures to set a future research agenda to prevent and address teen dating violence. Therefore, it is important to identify predictors of dating violence victimization.