ABSTRACT
Recent studies reported high levels of adolescent dating violence, which led federal agencies to define this area as a public health issue. Most studies fail to include Asian American or Pacific Islander youth in ways that provide for accurate analysis. The present study examined verbal and psychological dating violence victimization prevalences among 2 Asian American (Filipino, Japanese) and 2 Pacific Islander (Native Hawaiian, Samoan) adolescent groups. The results showed 58.3% reported experiencing emotional dating violence, with 43.7% affirming that they experienced insulting/verbal abuse and 43.3% reporting that they were victims of controlling behaviors. No significant differences were found for victimization rates and severity by gender. This study highlights the need for research to examine dating violence among this population.
This manuscript was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49/CCR918619-01, Cooperative Agreement #1 U49/CE000749-01), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (UO1AA014289-01), and National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. The authors would also like to express their appreciation to the researchers and administrators of the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) and National Center on Indigenous Hawaiian Behavioral Health (NCIHBH).