Prevalence & Impact
Why is this important?
Research on teen dating violence shows that 1 in 12 high school teens in the United States experiences physical dating violence and 1 in 10 high school teens experiences sexual dating violence (Clayton et al., 2023). Think about what 1 in 12 might look like in your school. It would be about 25 students in an auditorium of 300 students. It would be 2-3 students in every classroom. It would be dozens of students among the hundreds (if not thousands) in the hallway during change of periods. This makes it likely that you've come across several teens every school year who have experienced dating violence. Think about how many this would be across your career. These numbers aren't vague statistics. They represent real teens who are experiencing things no one should ever have to, let alone someone so young. As you read through the information below on the prevalence rates and impact of teen dating violence, think about what this might look like in your school and for the teens you work with. Think about the prevention and intervention efforts that might be needed.
Voices of School Social Workers
"We know that the adolescent brain, they're still developing their frontal lobe. They're not thinking through consequences, and their hormones are raging at this age also. Their social development at this age is understanding identity, and relationships are gonna be a lot more important than the family unit."
~ Sage*
What does the literature say?
Data From the CDC
Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has researched the prevalence and impact of teen dating violence.
Click through these slides to see the results of this research.
This data from the CDC highlights the differences in TDV prevalence rates by gender and other identity markers. It is important to note that gender differences may be due to low reporting by males. Regardless of the reason for the data, it is clear that teens with minority identities are especially vulnerable to TDV.
"1 in 4 women who experience physical and/or sexual violence are first victimized between the ages of 11 and 17"
Leemis et al., 2022 via Breakthecycle.org
15x
"Kids who witness abuse between their parents are 15 times more likely to enter an abusive relationship themselves"
Harrison, 2021 via Breakthecycle.org
"Roughly 1 in 3 teens experiences cyberbullying while nearly 1 in 4
perpetrates it"
Li et al., 2023 via Breakthecycle.org
BreakTheCycle.org highlights research that shows the widespread and longterm impacts that TDV can have into adulthood, across generations, and in different mediums. As school social workers, it is important that we prevent these impacts as best as we can by appropriately assessing for, preventing, and intervening with TDV.
For more information on the sources of this information and statistics please see the information page.
Why This Work is Important
As told by school social worker, Jessica Carey, LMSW
The perspectives in the video above from a school social worker speak to the need for TDV prevention and intervention. Our youth depend on the adults in their village -- including those in their school -- to guide them in understanding what a healthy relationship looks like. Without guidance from trusted adults, teens have very few reliable sources to understand and process the challenges that emerge in romantic relationships. Their peers, social media, books, television, and movies misleadingly frame unhealthy relationship traits as the "norm." Through the use of carefully curated resources we can help teens make healthy relationship choices.
Now that you have an understanding of the prevalence and impact of TDV, click the link below to learn about special considerations for TDV among LGBTQ+ youth.