Summary: | <p>Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent criminal justice problem. The field urgently needs more effective interventions that are relevant to the lives of diverse adolescents; developing these interventions requires understanding of how violent episodes unfold within the greater romantic context, which generally includes not only violence but also positive feelings and behaviors. This study recruited 144 urban, primarily African American adolescent females from disadvantaged communities between 16 and 19 years of age who reported being in a romantic relationship with TDV in the past month.</p> <p>The objectives of this study include examining the inter-play between emotional connectedness, pro-relationship behaviors, jealousy and TDV victimization and perpetration. Specifically, researchers will (1A) determine the same day and previous day associations between adolescent females' perceptions of emotional connectedness (love, communication, dyadic trust, intimate self-disclosure, commitment and enmeshment), jealousy and TDV victimization and perpetration, (1B) compare the frequency and patterns of emotional connectedness and jealousy across relationships that initiate, continue and/or escalate TDV victimization and perpetration; (2A) determine the same day and previous day associations between adolescent females' reports of pro-relationship behaviors and TDV victimization and perpetration, (2B) compare the frequency and patterns of pro-relationship behaviors across relationships that initiate, continue and/or escalate TDV victimization and perpetration; and (3) determine cycles of rupture (TDV incidents) and repair within adolescent relationships over time. </p> <p>Researchers leveraged the infrastructure from the prior NIJ grant to recruit participants from community venues in Baltimore that have been identified as locations where adolescent females congregate, as well as recruited in the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Emergency Department and online through social media posts. Eligible females with informed consent completed the baseline survey which includes socio-demographic questions about the participant and her partner. From baseline, participants completed four months of diaries by responding to daily web-based questions on their Smart Phone about TDV victimization and perpetration, emotional connectedness and pro-relationship behaviors.</p>
|