Teen Dating Violence: The Influence of Friendships and School Context

Abstract

Prior research has examined parental and peer influences on teen dating violence (TDV), but fewer studies have explored the role of broader social contexts. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), the present research examines the effect of variations in school context on teen dating violence perpetration, while taking into account parental, peer, and demographic factors. Drawing on interview data from 955 adolescents across 32 different schools, results indicate that net of parents’ and friends’ use of violence, the normative climate of schools, specifically school-level teen dating violence, is a significant predictor of respondents’ own violence perpetration. School-level dating norms (non-exclusivity in relationships) also contribute indirectly to the odds of experiencing TDV. However, a more general measure of school-level violence toward friends is not strongly related to variations in TDV, suggesting the need to focus on domain-specific influences. Implications for theories emphasizing social learning processes and for TDV prevention efforts are discussed.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD036223), and by the Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, which has core funding from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24HD050959). The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Notes on contributors

Peggy C. Giordano

Peggy C. Giordano is Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at Bowling Green State University. Her research centers on basic social network processes and the ways in which dynamics within relationships influence outcomes such as intimate partner violence during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Angela M. Kaufman

Angela M. Kaufman is an assistant professor of criminology at Assumption College. Her research interests include criminological theory, juvenile delinquency, and life course criminality.

Wendy D. Manning

Wendy D. Manning is Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at Bowling Green State University, Director of the Center for Family and Demographic Research, and Co-Director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research. Her research focuses on relationships that exist outside the boundaries of marriage, including cohabitation, adolescent dating, and nonresident parenting.

Monica A. Longmore

Monica A. Longmore is a professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University. Her interests include social psychological processes, including the nature and consequences of dimensions of the self-concept, especially the impact of self-conceptions on adolescent and young adults’ dating and sexual behavior.