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National Institute of Justice (NIJ): Research, Development, Evaluation
 

Setting the Teen Dating Violence Research Agenda

On this page learn about:

Workshops on Teen Dating Violence

Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence

The creation of the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence was one outcome of the 2006 Workshop on Teen Dating Violence. The workgroup is composed of representatives from 18 agencies representing the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Education and Defense as well as the Office of the Vice President.

The workgroup has met regularly since September 2006 to share information and coordinate teen dating violence program, policy and research activities to combat teen dating violence from a public health perspective. Participating agencies have collaborated on several joint efforts, including cohosting the December 2007 workshop and sponsoring the Concept Mapping Project (see below).

Teen Dating Violence Concept Mapping Project

NIJ, along with its partners in the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence, is funding the development of concept maps on adolescent relationship abuse. In the emerging area of teen dating violence research — as with all emerging fields — definition and concept development are critical. It is equally critical that the definitions and concepts that researchers and practitioners use to define relationship abuse resonate with young persons. However, adolescents consistently have not been included in developing a research agenda to address teen dating violence, as identified at prior work group meetings. Concept mapping was selected as the most appropriate method to include adolescent perspectives because it gives equal weight to adolescent and adult viewpoints.

A broad range of adolescent participants will be included to:

  • Provide a better understanding of the features of adolescent relationships, including the range of healthy, unhealthy and abusive characteristics, from the standpoint of adolescents.
  • Ascertain whether the characteristics of those relationships vary within and across groups including gender, race, ethnicity, geographic area, sexual orientation or disability status.

Concept maps will be used to determine:

  • Whether adolescents and adults (e.g., parents, practitioners and researchers) have similar ways of thinking about relationships.
  • The value that adolescents place on various relationship characteristics.

The results of the project will:

  • Help ensure that prevention and intervention can incorporate language and concepts of relationships that youth can relate to and educate them about dangerous behaviors they may not consider negative or abusive.
  • Include recommendations on how to incorporate the findings into planning program activities and research agendas in the area of teen dating violence.

Learn more about concept mapping in general from Concept Systems Incorporated Exit Notice

Next section: Prevalence of Teen Dating Violence.

Date Modified: October 24, 2011