Maranda C. Ward, MPH, Office of the Director, National Health Service Corp, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Parklawn Building, Room 8A-55, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-594-4394, wmaranda@hotmail.com, Pamela McMahon, PhD, MPH, Family and Community Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1440 Canal Street 17th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70114, and Eben Ingram, PhD, Division of Violence Prevention, Program Development and Evaluation Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, K60, Atlanta, GA 30341.

Purpose: The major purposes of this research were to study the overlap of various forms of violence in the lives of young people and to assess the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and attitudes conducive to such violence. Significance: Although there is overlap among various forms of violence, (Ellickson and McGuigan, 2000), relatively little research attention has been given to the overlap of IPV and other forms of violence (i.e. witnessing violence in schools or neighborhoods). Methods: The cross sectional study from which the data were generated was a quasi-experimental intervention study on the SAFE DATES program curriculum as a prevention and intervention program for dating violence among high school students. Data were collected from 750 ninth graders at baseline, 10 weeks and at six months. For the purpose of this study, only data from baseline were analyzed. Results: A multiple regression analysis was generated to determine which variables were related to ever being a perpetrator of IPV. Although the regression analysis initially included various factors as potential predictors of IPV, the final model indicated that only gender, attitudes towards violence against women and neighborhood violence were significantly associated with being a perpetrator of IPV (F=17.373, p=.001). Implications: This study yields significant implications for researchers to consider when attempting to create, implement and evaluate dating violence prevention and intervention programs for black youth.

Learning Objectives: