Teenage Relationship Abuse as a Nationwide Problem

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Abuse in teenage relationships has become a nationwide problem in the United States whether it is physical or mental. Teenage relationship abuse is getting closer to home even though many believe it doesn’t occur in their community. It has been found in a nationwide survey that 9.4 percent of high school students have been in a physical relationship.(Center for Disease Control and Prevention par.3) Since many teenagers believe it is okay to hit or mistreat one another the amount of abuse in relationships is getting higher thus affecting teenagers in various forms.
Witnessing abuse first hand can lead to one causing harm to a partner or letting them cause harm to you. If a child lives in home where the father or mother’s boyfriend treats her badly whether it is verbally or physically then the child will believe that type of behavior is normal. It has been shown that boys who see their father abuse their mother at home are more likely to grow up and abuse their partner because they see it as a normal behavior.(Domestic Violence Roundtable par.10) On the other hand girls who witness their mothers being abused by their fathers are shown to allow their boyfriends and husbands mistreat them when they are older.(Domestic Violence Roundtable par.10) These tendencies in boys and girls are terrible considering they will be repeating the pattern so their children will inherit the same type of behavior keeping the trend going.
Using alcohol and drugs is also another cause of teens abusing their partners. Teens by law are not allowed to use alcohol since the legal drinking age is 21 and drugs are not legal in the U.S. as well. Considering teenagers are known to be still developing mentally and are known to not make the right decisions addin...

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...tting in with their friends sways them to make the wrong decisions.”(Parents Universal Resource Experts par.3)
In Conclusion, the start of many teenage abusive relationships are due to witnessing abuse at a young age, the consumption of drugs and alcohol, and trying to fit in with certain groups of friends.

Works Cited
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Teen Dating Violence http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teen_dating_violence.html Domestic Violence Roundtable
The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children http://www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/effect-on-children.html Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
Alcohol and Other Drugs https://webapps.ou.edu/alcohol/docs/01factsheetonalcoholanddrugs.pdf Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE)
Peer Pressure
http://www.helpyourteens.com/peer_pressure.php

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