Is dating violence associated with substance use and sexual risk behaviors among urban, minority, middle school youth

Background. One in 4 adolescents reports some form of dating violence each year. Dating violence among high school adolescents has been linked with several morbidity issues. However, the association between dating violence and sexual risk and/or substance use among young adolescents has rarely been studied. Methods. Research hypotheses were tested using a secondary data analysis from a HIV, STI, pregnancy prevention intervention study for urban middle school students. Results. At baseline, 21% of youth reported experiencing physical ADV victimization, 48.2% reported non-physical victimization, and 52.6% report any victimization. After adjusting for race/ethnicity, gender, and age ever having sex, alcohol use, and illicit drug use were significantly associated with several forms of ADV. Conclusions. Dating violence appears to be associated with early initiation of sexual behavior, as well as alcohol and drug use. Few interventions address ADV among middle school youth. Early interventions that prevent dating violence are needed