Patterns of Change in Early Adolescent Dating Victimization and Aggression

Introduction: Dating aggression has serious public health implications for life long healthy relationships. Early adolescence is an ideal time for prevention of dating aggression and victimization, however limited longitudinal research has explored its typical pattern at this age. Therefore, the current project examined trajectories of dating aggression and victimization across early adolescence to better inform prevention programming. First, we investigated both initial levels and changes in dating aggression and victimization across middle school. Then, we compared how these trajectories may vary for boys and girls.

Method: Data came from a longitudinal violence prevention project conducted within three urban public middle schools in the Southeastern United States. Participants were assessed quarterly across all three years of middle school. Only youth (n = 1369; 52.3% girls; 15% Latino/a, 83% African American) who indicated having had a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 3 months during at least one wave were included in the current study (79% of the larger sample). Dating aggression and victimization were measured using a modified version of the Safe Dates dating aggression measure. Latent curve modeling was used to examine patterns of change in a) dating aggression and b) dating victimization.

Results: For both dating aggression and victimization, the linear slope models best fit. The initial starting levels (i.e., intercept) and change across time (i.e., slope) were negatively correlated for both aggression (r = -.60) and victimization (r = -.68). This means that those who reported higher initial levels of dating aggression reported more rapid decreases over time, whereas those who reported lower initial levels reported more rapid increases over time. The same was true for dating victimization. Follow-up probing indicated that on average, girls had higher initial levels of aggression compared to boys. Girls also reported an increase in dating aggression across middle school, whereas boys reported a decrease. For victimization, boys reported higher initial levels but a greater decline across middle school, whereas girls reported less dating victimization at the beginning of sixth grade but an increase across middle school.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that dating aggression and victimization have begun to impact youth as early as middle school. Prevention programming geared toward healthy relationships may be warranted prior to or immediately at middle school. These results also suggest some gender specific differences, indicating that prevention programming may need to be specifically tailored for boys and girls at this age.