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What is the context of this research?

Teen dating violence leads to domestic violence. Dating violence prevention programs attack this problem when relationships are first formed and often demonstrate short term effects. Long term effects are rarely studied, making it difficult to determine whether the programs truly prevent dating violence. We need to continue to collect data from students who have had our program as they progress through each grade level and from comparison groups at all grade levels. By doing so we can determine what program effects persist over time. This is the essential portion of our project: to determine the efficacy of our program in truly preventing dating violence. We will then use that data to understand the best way to develop and tailor programs to prevent dating violence.



What is the significance of this project?

This project is critical in determining the long-term effect of our program in reducing victimization of adolescents in dating relationships, increasing healthy dating behaviors, and saving adolescents from the horrors of dating violence and domestic violence. If this program establishes true ability to prevent dating violence in high school students' dating relationships, we will be better positioned to gain funding to spread the program to other schools and communities, making dating relationships safe for generations to come.



What are the goals of the project?

Our immediate goal is to reduce violence in the target population, including sexual, physical and emotional violence, and help adolescents understand how to build healthy relationships. Our target is a 20% long term reduction in dating violence. The data we collect over the next few years will help us understand the long-term impact of anti-violence education and how to improve such educational efforts in order to hit that target. Finally, the survey data we collect will help us better understand how relationships develop, and how individuals develop a sense of community and shared responsibility.