 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Catherine A. Taylor, MSW, MPH, PhD, School of Social Work, Columbia University, 622 West 113th Street, McVickar Hall, New York, NY 10025, 212-854-7119, cat28@cornell.edu and Susan B. Sorenson, PhD, School of Public Health, Community Health Sciences Dept, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951772, Violence Prevention Research Group, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772.
Purpose: To assess adult social norms regarding teen dating violence (TDV), compare them with norms regarding adult intimate partner violence (IPV), and examine factors associated with each. Methods: 3,679 California adults from six ethnic groups (roughly equal numbers of African American, Hispanic, Korean American, Vietnamese American, Other Asian American, and white respondents) participated in a 27-minute interview. An experimental vignette design was used to test for associations between victim, assailant, and situational characteristics of TDV and IPV, respondent demographic characteristics, and injunctive social norms. The primary outcomes were whether the adults thought the behavior was wrong, illegal, should be illegal, whether police should be called and whether a restraining order should be issued. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression, controlling for all vignette variables and respondent characteristics. Interactions were examined to test for differences in adult responses to TDV and adult IPV. Results: Categories for two vignette variables, abuse type and weapon use, were consistently associated with response patterns. Adults found TDV that involved sexual assault or weapons to be most in need of societal intervention. Differences in response to TDV and adult IPV were most likely when the victim was raped. Respondent characteristics were generally not associated with responses. Conclusions: An overwhelming proportion of adults report that most forms of TDV are wrong and they often favor societal interventions in TDV, particularly when sexual assault or weapons are involved. Findings may provide the foundation for a comprehensive, population-based, social norms approach to preventing TDV.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Adolescents, Violence Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.