Peer Involvement in Adolescent Dating Violence

This study investigated the ways in which peers are involved in adolescent dating violence. Eighty-eight young adults aged 18–21 were interviewed and asked to reflect on aggressive dating relationships they experienced as teens. The researchers used grounded theory to analyze the data. Findings showed that male and female peers were involved in adolescent dating violence in unique ways. Male peers were involved in dating violence by participating in the aggression, agitating the aggression, being the competition, trivializing the aggression, and keeping tabs on the recipient. Female peers were involved in dating vio-lence by deserting the recipient, cheating with the boyfriend, being the audience, needling the male dating partner, and helping the recipient. Male and female peers were involved similarly in adolescent dating violence by confronting the partner. School nurses working with adolescents are uniquely positioned to approach adolescents about dating violence. Interventions aimed at promoting discussions with adolescents are discussed. Keywords violence, romantic relationships, peers/friends, aggression Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a significant public health problem with broad social implications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). The CDC (2012) defines dating violence as physical, emotional, or sexual violence that occurs between two people who are in a close relationship. Some experts include relational aggres-sion, such as gossiping or shunning, as a type of ADV (Björkqvist, Lagerspetz, & Kaukiainen, 1992). The prevalence of ADV is unknown, largely because it has not been universally defined. While some researchers consider ADV to include multiple forms of aggression (i.e., physical, verbal, psychological) when calculating rates of ADV, others consider only physical aggression (Ali