TY - JOUR
T1 - Dating Violence Among Rural Adolescents
T2 - Perpetration and Victimization by Gender
AU - Taylor, Sarah
AU - Xia, Yan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 SAGE Publications.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a serious concern with various negative impacts on adolescent development. Research on ADV has predominantly been conducted in urban areas and has generally focused on physical and sexual forms of violence. The purpose of this study was to assess prevalence rates of various forms of ADV by gender in the rural context. A convenience sample of rural adolescents responded to an online survey. In total, 131 responses were used for this study. Participants reported perpetration and victimization experiences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, threatening behavior, relational aggression, verbal abuse, and cyber dating abuse. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were used to determine gender differences in proportion and frequency of ADV. Results reveal that various forms of ADV are occurring in the rural context, with many of both males and females reporting perpetration and victimization. Overall, verbal and cyber ADV are the most common. Gender analysis reveals that males were significantly more likely to be victimized by physical abuse victimization, whereas females were significantly more likely to be victimized by sexual abuse. Though the proportion of adolescents reporting ADV were high in this study, most participants reported lower frequencies of ADV. Results support the urgent need in rural areas for education and prevention that target physical, sexual, and psychological components of healthy relationships. Rural dating violence prevention efforts must emphasize the importance of mutual respect across gender, rather than solely presenting this lesson to males in a traditional gendered manner. Results also suggest the need for rural areas to adopt comprehensive sex education that details sexual relationships that are consensual and healthy.
AB - Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a serious concern with various negative impacts on adolescent development. Research on ADV has predominantly been conducted in urban areas and has generally focused on physical and sexual forms of violence. The purpose of this study was to assess prevalence rates of various forms of ADV by gender in the rural context. A convenience sample of rural adolescents responded to an online survey. In total, 131 responses were used for this study. Participants reported perpetration and victimization experiences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, threatening behavior, relational aggression, verbal abuse, and cyber dating abuse. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were used to determine gender differences in proportion and frequency of ADV. Results reveal that various forms of ADV are occurring in the rural context, with many of both males and females reporting perpetration and victimization. Overall, verbal and cyber ADV are the most common. Gender analysis reveals that males were significantly more likely to be victimized by physical abuse victimization, whereas females were significantly more likely to be victimized by sexual abuse. Though the proportion of adolescents reporting ADV were high in this study, most participants reported lower frequencies of ADV. Results support the urgent need in rural areas for education and prevention that target physical, sexual, and psychological components of healthy relationships. Rural dating violence prevention efforts must emphasize the importance of mutual respect across gender, rather than solely presenting this lesson to males in a traditional gendered manner. Results also suggest the need for rural areas to adopt comprehensive sex education that details sexual relationships that are consensual and healthy.
KW - adolescent victims
KW - child abuse
KW - dating violence
KW - domestic violence
KW - physical abuse
KW - sexual abuse
KW - sexual assault
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U2 - 10.1177/0886260520971613
DO - 10.1177/0886260520971613
M3 - Article
C2 - 33140674
AN - SCOPUS:85094872407
JO - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
JF - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
SN - 0886-2605
ER -