The reported incidence of teen dating violence varies significantly across studies, yet even with variation the known prevalence rates establish it as a serious problem in the United States. The different rates of prevalence may be a result of differences in the methodology, the definitions, and/or in the targeted population used in the studies.1 Some definitions of teen dating violence include incidences of all three types of relationship violence (physical, sexual, and emotional or psychological violence), while others focus on just one or two of those types of violence. Further, youth may be afraid to disclose violence to friends and family. According to one study, only a third of teens who were in an abusive relationship ever told anyone about the abuse they experienced.2
The 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), a national survey of intimate partner violence and sexual violence, collected reports of lifetime intimate partner violence from a random sample of women and men 18 and older. Figure 1 shows the age that women first reported experiencing intimate partner violence, for those women who had reported sexual violence including rape, physical violence, psychological violence, or stalking in their lifetime. Of these women, 69.5 percent reported experiencing intimate partner violence for the first time under the age of 24.3
Figure 1. Age at First Experience of Intimate Partner Violence for Women
Note: Intimate Partner Violence includes any form of physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, psychological aggression, and control of reproductive or sexual health. Respondents represent only those who reported experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
Figure 2 provides a similar graph for men who reported experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime. The survey indicated that, of those men, more than half had their first experience prior to age 24.4
Figure 2. Age at First Experience of Intimate Partner Violence for Men
Note: Intimate partner violence includes any form of physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, psychological aggression, and control of reproductive or sexual health. Respondents represent only those who reported experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
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Figure 3. Percent of Responders Reporting Physical and Sexual Partner Violence Victimization in Three Waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Resources
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)
The CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) is an ongoing, nationally-representative telephone survey that collects detailed information on sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization of adult women and men in the United States. The survey collects data on past-year experiences of violence as well as lifetime experiences of violence. The survey is also supported by the National Institute of Justice and the Department of Defense. A full report (pdf, 124 pages), summary in English (pdf, 8 pages) and Spanish (pdf, 8 pages), fact sheet (pdf, 2 pages), toolkit (pdf, 56 pages), and state data tables are also available.
1 Offenhauer & Buchalter, 2011
2 Teenage Research Unlimited for Liz Claiborne Inc., 2005
3 Black et al., 2011
4 Black et al., 2011
5 O’Keefe, 2005
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2010
7 CDC, 2010
8 Halpern, Spriggs, Martin, & Kupper, 2009
9 Offenhauer & Buchalter, 2011
10 Arriaga & Foshee, 2004
11 Halpern et al., 2001
12 Offenhauer & Buchalter, 2011
13 Miller et al., 2011
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