Sarah DeGue, PhD, Senior Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Phyllis Holditch Niolon, PhD, Behavioral Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Athens, GA
Lianne Fuino Estefan, PhD, MPH, Behavioral Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Alana Vivolo-Kantor, PhD, Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Allison J. Tracy, PhD, Senior Statistician, 2M Research, Arlington, TX
Todd D Little, PhD, Director of IMMAP, Founder of Stats Camp, Professor, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Vi D. Le, MPH, Doctoral student, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Wendy L. McIntosh, MPH, Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Introduction: Early adolescence provides an opportune time to intervene with youth, while sexual behavior patterns are developing, to reduce their risk of sexual violence (SV) perpetration or victimization, including sexual harassment (SH), as they mature and enter intimate relationships. Teen dating violence (TDV) preventive interventions focused on healthy relationship skills and incorporating content on healthy sexuality and consent have been effective at reducing rates of adolescent sexual violence in past research, but these studies have typically focused on high school populations and demonstrated small effect sizes. CDC’s
Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships prevention model includes content addressing healthy sexual behavior, sexual violence, and sexual harassment—in dating relationships and outside of them. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of
Dating Matters (DM) compared to the standard-of-care (SC) condition on SV (unwanted sex) and SH victimization and perpetration, as well as several sexual risk-taking behaviors in middle school students. We hypothesized that students exposed to
Dating Matters would report later sexual initiation, fewer sexual partners, more condom use when sexually active, and less SV and SH perpetration and victimization compared to students in the SC condition.
Participants: This study examined the effectiveness of DM compared to SC in preventing perpetration and victimization of SV and SH using the full student sample from Cohorts 3 and 4 (N=3,301; 53% female, 50% black, non-Hispanic and 31% Hispanic). A subset of sexually-active students were examined for the examination of sexual risk behavior outcomes (number of sexual partners and condom use at last sex; n = 1,307).
Results: Most groups of students receiving Dating Matters reported fewer sexual partners and lower scores on SH and SV perpetration and victimization than students in the SC condition. In cohorts with significant effects, students receiving Dating Matters reported 23% fewer sexual partners and lower scores on SH victimization (15%) and perpetration (19%), and SV victimization (26%) and perpetration (32%). No significant effects were found for age at first intercourse or condom use.
Conclusions: The Dating Matters model was effective in reducing risk for SV and SH exposure and number of sexual partners relative to a SC comparison condition among most groups of middle school students, despite low base rates in this age group. Other evidence-based interventions to increase condom use among sexually-active middle school students could be implemented in conjunction with Dating Matters to address those sexual health outcomes.
![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)