Dating violence: an examination of dynamic risk factors from childhood through to early adulthood

Evidence suggests that adolescents usually have experience of dating relationships by the mid to late teens. This might include casual friendships that they may refer to as dating through to more exclusive relationships that may or may not include some sexual experiences. This period of development is arguably the point at which some of the risk factors for interpersonal violence become particularly pronounced and may be associated with prior experiences of violent interactions with others or these new contexts as some might argue become the context within which individuals rehearse positive and negative behaviours as they navigate themselves through the frustrations of intimate relationships outside the family. The prevalence of 'dating violence‘ is a major concern and there is much debate around this issue particularly as there is little available evidence about the possible risk factors that may be associated and the interventions that might be appropriate. We examine data from the third generation of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development and consider our findings in relationship to the possible interventions that might be available.