Adolescent date fighting victimization and perpetration from a multi-community sample: associations with substance use and other violent victimization and perpetration.

UNLABELLED: Dating violence perpetration and victimization among adolescents in the U.S. is an important public health problem. The literature examining the relationship between dating violence, substance use, and other risk behaviors among adolescents is limited.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine associations of adolescent date fighting victimization and date fighting perpetration with substance use and other risk behaviors.

METHODS: Repeated cross-sectional phone surveys of 14-20 year olds from 70 communities across five states were conducted in the spring of2004 and 2006 (n=13,422). Multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between date fighting victimization and date fighting perpetration with substance use and other risk behaviors.

RESULTS: Older age, Black race (vs. White), single parent household, age of first drink, riding in a car with a drinking driver, having been sexually victimized, and having threatened or hurt someone with a weapon were associated with date fighting victimization (all p<.01). Older age, female gender, Black race (vs. White), Hispanic ethnicity (vs. White), single parent household, age of first drink, past 30 day drunkenness, past 30 day marijuana use, having been sexually victimized, having perpetrated sexual victimization, and having threatened or hurt someone with a weapon were associated with date fighting perpetration.

CONCLUSIONS: Similar, yet distinct, patterns of individual characteristics and health risk behaviors emerged for date fighting victimization and perpetration among adolescents.