High Numbers of Teens Are Victims of Dating Violence
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AbleStock.com/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — A new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that just over 20 percent of all teenage girls and one in 10 teen boys have experienced at least one instance of violence while dating over the past 12 months.
Although the CDC has been taking this survey since 1999, the criteria has been revamped to list far more serious forms of teen dating violence (TDV).
Polling 9,000 teens who’ve dated over the past year, the CDC says that 20.9 percent of teenage girls reported TDV, with 6.6 percent saying it was physical, eight percent claiming the violence was sexual and 6.4 percent acknowledging it was both physical and sexual.
Meanwhile, 10.4 percent of teen boys reported TDV, with the numbers about half of those for girls when it came to physical, sexual or both physical and sexual violence.
Nonetheless, the CDC researchers say “prevention efforts may be more effective if they include content for both sexes.”
Certain at-risk behaviors associated with TDV include smoking, drinking, using drugs, depression, eating disorders and thoughts of suicide.
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