Incidence of Teen Dating Violence Among Disabled Teens of Color: A Logistic Regression Guided By Discrit

Background. In the US, 1 in 3 teens experience teen dating violence (TDV) annually, including physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional violence between teens in a romantic relationship. TDV rates are even higher for disabled teens. Worse, disabled people are more likely to experience psychological distress and mental health issues following violence or abuse. Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) posits that certain subgroups of disabled people, particularly disabled people of color, are more likely to experience adversity because ableist and racist norms guide Western notions of normalcy. However, few studies, if any, have examined TDV rates among disabled teens by race. This information could inform decisions about where resources for TDV interventions should be directed. We addressed this empirical gap by examining how the incidence of TDV varies by disability, and the extent to which the relationship between disability and TDV depends on race.

Methods. We utilized the Minnesota Student Survey (2019), a representative sample of teens in Minnesota (N = 75, 213) to examine relationships between disability, race, and ACEs with TDV. The sample includes high school students in grades nine (56%) and 11 (44%) who are White non-Hispanic (WNH; 78%), Black non-Hispanic (BNH; 7%), non-Hispanic of another race (ONH; 13%), and Hispanic of any race (9%). About 31% reported a disability. The sample was split evenly between males and females.

We hypothesized increased odds of TDV among teens who were disabled and non-White. We fit a logistic regression model to predict TDV, including interaction terms between disability and race, and controlling for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), access to mental health services, grade, and gender. The outcome, TDV, was assessed with a binary variable based on three survey questions about whether teens had ever experienced any physical, sexual, or verbal violence while in a relationship.

Results. About 14% (n=11,139) of the sample reported any TDV. Of those with TDV, 57% were disabled, and 81% were WNH. The remaining TDV cases were among BNH (4%), Hispanic (10%), and ONH (13%) teens. Teens who were female, reported at least one ACE, and received mental health services were all overrepresented among TDV cases.

In the first model, disabled teens had 45% higher odds of TDV than non-disabled teens (OR=1.45, p<.001). BNH and ONH teens had decreased odds of TDV compared to WNH teens, with no difference for Hispanic teens. In the interaction models, disabled teens who were BNH or ONH had higher odds of TDV compared to all other teens (OR=1.35, p<.001; OR=1.16, p<.05, respectively). We also found statistically significant relationships between ACEs, gender, and mental health service use with TDV.

Conclusion. This is the first known study to estimate risk of TDV at the intersection of disability and race. In our sample, teens with disabilities were more likely to experience TDV compared to non-disabled peers, which held true for disabled teens of color. Social Workers and Public Health professionals may use this information to design and advocate for interventions that prevent and mitigate the consequences of TDV for disabled teens of color.