Relationship Power, Control, and Dating Violence Among Latina Girls

We drew on the theory of gender and power and grounded theory methodology to explore how 18 Latina girls conceptualized power and control within their heterosexual dating relationships. Our findings indicate that boys/men used a number of strategies to control girls, including: regulating appearances and behaviors; cheating and threatening to cheat; and physical and sexual violence. Girls used a variety of strategies to resist these attempts to control them, including: lying, flirting, and cheating; reactive violence; breaking up; and maintaining emotional distance. Girls attempted to subvert boys ’ attempts to control them; however, these attempts were not always successful given the constraints of gender that adolescent females must negotiate. Keywords adolescent relationships, dating violence, Latinas, relationship power Approximately 9 % to 10 % of adolescents report dating violence victimization in national surveys (Grunbaum et al., 2002). Higher estimates (8%-57%) are found in single studies (Hickman, Jaycox, & Aronoff, 2004). The impact of dating violence is gendered. While both boys and girls initiate and engage in physical and emotional forms of dating violence (Hickman et al., 2004), girls are more likely to be seriously hurt and are at increased risk for substance use and STI/HIV risk behaviors (Foshee, 1996). Girls negotiating adolescence experience pressure to be “popular, ” which often trans-lates into attracting male approval. They are encouraged to construct themselves as th