1 in 5 Teenage Girls Have Experienced Dating Violence According to CDC Study
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a new report that puts teens and dating violence in the spotlight.
Published in the 'Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics', the study found that one in five teenage girls who date, has experienced some form of dating violence in the past year. It also shows that girls aren't the only victims.
The study surveyed nearly 10,000 high school students who date. It found that nearly 21 percent of those teens who are female have experienced some form of violence by their partner. Eight percent of them said the violence was sexual.
But the study also surveyed teen boys. One in ten of them reported violence.
Did you know that in a recent national survey, 1 in 10 teens reported being hit or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend at least once in the 12 months before the survey? Additionally, during the 12 months before the survey, 1 in 10 teens reported they had been kissed, touched, or physically forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to at least once by someone they were dating.
Compass Center Counselor Adam Hardy says experiencing dating violence at a young age can have long lasting effects. They've found that the teens are more likely to have impulsive behavior.
Hardy said, "You see an increase in substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, gambling, fighting."
Unfortunately, Hardy says the violence often times becomes a sense of normal. Most of the teens who reported violence in the survey, said it happened more than once.
To find out what Hardy had to say about violence in teen relationships, read
Jill Johnson's complete story.
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