Dating violence and sexual assault are topics of concern on college campuses and although they are often viewed as separate issues, they are overlapping constructs within the construct of interpersonal violence. Research suggests that people perpetrate dating violence and sexual assault for the same reasons. However, campus programming frequently…

Prevention of sexual violence is of vital importance, especially on university campuses where sexual violence occurs at particularly high rates. Universities are federally required to implement prevention programming, but little is known about retention over time. In addition, research has not analyzed the relationship between sexual violence…

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is an understudied public health crisis that affects the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional health of children today. This study assessed 130 school psychologists to determine the prevalence of ADV in their schools, their knowledge and perceptions of ADV, and their feelings of preparedness to assist victims…

Approximately 11 million women and five million men in the United States report experiencing interpersonal violence (e.g., sexual violence, physical violence, psychological harassment, or stalking) before the age of 18 (CDC, n.d. -a). Victims may face a decline in grades, depression, anxiety, unwanted pregnancy, substance abuse, sexually…

Intimate partner violence continues to be a source of concern for adolescents in dating relationships. The researcher has shown that the number of incidents of adolescent intimate partner violence (IPV) has remained consistent over the past decade. In studies conducted in 1986-1985, researchers found that between 19-38% of teenagers experienced…

The violence between intimate partners is a critical public health threat and a non-unitary complex phenomenon involving factors like the types of violence, gender, and cultural influences. Traditional feminist theorists proposed the female's risk of becoming a violent victim was higher than the male in the patriarchal context. Though, studies…

The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify the relationship between witnessing violence at home and the effects it has on teen dating violence and future experiences with violence; and 2) to assess how perceived locus of control may reduce or exacerbate the relationship between each of the risk factors and perpetration of dating…

Teen dating violence is more prevalent among African Americans than any other racial group in the United States leading to serious health consequences for victims. However, limited data exists on how African American adolescents' attitudes and perceptions regarding dating violence are formed, and whether they are influenced by family members. The…

Teen Dating Violence (TDV) has become a pervasive problem for youth in the United States, with 10% to 25% of high school students engaging in physical and sexual dating violence, and with even a greater percentage of youth experiencing some form of psychological maltreatment (Kervin & Obinna, 2010, "Youth action strategies in the primary…

The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate a bystander behavior program at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences (JCHS) in Roanoke, Virginia. Specifically, this dissertation examined the: (1) preliminary measurement properties of a newly developed bystander behavior intention scale; (2) impact of the bystander intervention at JCHS; and…

The American Psychological Association (APA) has identified the prevention of and intervention in relationship violence as a top priority (APA, n.d.). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2012 Teen Dating Violence Fact Sheet, dating violence is a serious problem in the United States. In accordance with Foshee et al. (1998):…

Physical and psychological aggression in dating relationships is prevalent among college students (e.g., Kaura & Lohman, 2007; Shook, Gerrity, Jurich, & Segrist, 2000; Straus, 2008), and students experiencing dating IPV are most likely to speak to friends (Prospero & Vohra-Gupta, 2008). The current study investigated differences in…