Dating violence during adolescence is a significant public health concern that is linked to a range of maladaptive outcomes. Although studies have identified a number of general risk and protective factors associated with dating violence, we know little about the specific problems situations associated with dating in adolescence. Our project focuses on learning more about situations faced by adolescents in the context of dating experiences, including both problem situations that may lead to exposure to violence as well as positive situations. The project also focuses on learning about protective and risk factors that may help or hinder adolescents in addressing the specific problem situations. The specific goals of the research project include the following:

(1) Conduct interviews with 50 adolescents (with a roughly equal number of boys and girls) and hold focus groups with parents, teachers, and community service providers who work directly with adolescents to identify commonly faced problem and positive situations associated with dating.
(2) Conduct follow-up interviews with the adolescents to talk about protective and risk factors that may help or hinder adolescents in addressing specific problem situations and also to talk about what would be most helpful for dating violence prevention efforts.
(3) Conduct follow-up focus groups with adults to talk about the themes of problem and positive situations that emerged from the first set of interviews and to talk about directions for prevention programs.
(4) Use the information gathered from the above activities to inform prevention efforts in our community and to develop future prevention efforts.