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Urban Teens and Young Adults Describe Drama, Disrespect, Dating Violence and Help-Seeking Preferences

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Abstract

Adolescent dating violence is increasingly recognized as a public health problem. Our qualitative investigation sought input from urban, African-American adolescents at risk for dating violence concerning (Tjaden and Thoennes in Full report of the prevelance, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: findings from the national violence against women survey. US Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 2000) dating violence descriptions, (WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women: Summary report of initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2005) preferences for help-seeking for dating violence, and (Intimate partner violence in the United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC, 2007) recommendations for a teen dating violence resource center. Four focus groups were conducted with urban, African American adolescents (n = 32) aged 13–24 recruited from an urban adolescent clinic’s community outreach partners. Qualitative analysis was conducted. Participants assigned a wide range of meanings for the term “relationship drama”, and used dating violence using language not typically heard among adults, e.g., “disrespect”. Participants described preferences for turning to family or friends before seeking formal services for dating violence, but reported barriers to their ability to rely on these informal sources. When asked to consider formal services, they described their preferred resource center as confidential and safe, with empathetic, non-judgmental staff. Teens also gave insight into preferred ways to outreach and publicize dating violence resources. Findings inform recommendations for youth-specific tailoring of violence screening and intervention efforts. Current evidence that slang terms, i.e., “drama”, lack specificity suggests that they should not be integrated within screening protocols. These data highlight the value of formative research in understanding terminology and help-seeking priorities so as to develop and refine dating violence prevention and intervention efforts for those most affected.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant to AMH from the American Academy of Pediatrics Community Access to Child Health Program. CEM was supported by the Johns Hopkins Predoctoral Clinical Research Training Program grant number 1TL1RR-025007 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 733 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Caitlin Eileen Martin

  2. Assistant Commissioner for Maternal and Child Health, Baltimore City Health Department, 1001 E Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202, USA

    Avril Melissa Houston

  3. Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4620, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Kristin N. Mmari

  4. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E4142, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Michele R. Decker

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Martin, C.E., Houston, A.M., Mmari, K.N. et al. Urban Teens and Young Adults Describe Drama, Disrespect, Dating Violence and Help-Seeking Preferences. Matern Child Health J 16, 957–966 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-011-0819-4

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