Teen Dating Violence Essay

Teen dating violence, also known as, intimate partner violence “includes physical, psychological, or sexual abuse; harassment; or stalking of any person ages 12 to 18 in the context of a past or present romantic or consensual relationship” (National Institute of Justice). Unfortunately, relationship violence among teens is a significant problem. It has been found in a study by Vagi, O’Malley-Olson, Basile, & Vivolo-Kantor (2015) that nearly 20.9% of female high school students and 13.4% of male high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. Furthermore, research suggests that more than half of teens (57%) have indicated that they know someone who has been sexually, physically, or verbally abused in a relationship (Teen Research Unlimited, 2005). The scope of the problem expands as teen girls who have been physically or sexually abused are six times

In an article by Wolfe (1999) he found that “skills-based programs aim to prevent or reduce dating and relationship violence, and may provide participants with the skills to communicate effectively; deal constructively with stress, disappointment and rejection; resolve conflicts and promote healthier relationships.” Additionally, interventions such as these could be put forth to assist teens in “protecting themselves from the risk of relationship violence and to improve low self-esteem, which is linked to the likelihood of being a victim of relationship violence” (Gidycz, 2006). The ultimate goal of skill-based solutions is to teach a new skill that will allow an individual to become successful in a variety of scenarios. Many teens have not mastered the required skills that are necessary for a healthy and mature relationship; however, if a skill-based intervention is introduced in a school-based setting there could be positive