Skip to main content

A Three-Step Latent Class Analysis to Identify How Different Patterns of Teen Dating Violence and Psychosocial Factors Influence Mental Health

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 46, pages 854–866 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Although multiple forms (i.e., physical, threatening, psychological, sexual, and relational abuse) and patterns (i.e., perpetration and victimization) of violence can co-occur, most existing research examines these experiences individually. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate: (1) homogenous subgroups based on victimization and perpetration of multiple forms of teen dating violence; (2) predictors of membership in these subgroups; and (3) mental health consequences associated with membership in each subgroup. Nine hundred eighteen adolescents in the 9th or 10th grade at seven public high schools in Texas participated in the survey (56 % female, White: 30 %, Hispanic: 32 %, African American: 29 %, others: 9 %). A three-step latent class analysis was employed. Five latent teen dating violence classes were identified: (1) nonviolence; (2) emotional/verbal abuse; (3) forced sexual contact; (4) psychological + physical violence; and (5) psychological abuse. Females, African Americans, and youth who had higher acceptance of couple violence scores and whose parents had less education were more likely to members of dating violence classes compared with the nonviolence class. Adolescents who experienced multiple types of dating violence reported greater mental health concerns. Prevention programs may benefit by identifying the homogenous subgroups of teen dating violence and targeting adolescent teen dating violence accordingly.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Ackard, D. M., Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2007). Long-term impact of adolescent dating violence on the behavioral and tsychological health of male and female youth. Journal of Pediatrics, 151(5), 476–481.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, G., Vestergaard, K., & Lauritzen, L. (1994). Effective treatment of poststroke depression with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram. Stroke, 25(6), 1099–1104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: three-step approaches using Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(3), 329–341. doi:10.1080/10705511.2014.915181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: a social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birmaher, B., Khetarpal, S., Brent, D., Cully, M., Balach, L., Kaufman, J., & Neer, S. M. (1997). The screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED): scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(4), 545–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonomi, A. E., Anderson, M. L., Nemeth, J., Bartle-Haring, S., Buettner, C., & Schipper, D. (2012). Dating violence victimization across the teen years: abuse frequency, number of abusive partners, and age at first occurrence. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 637–647.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. L., Testa, M., & Messman-Moore, T. L. (2009). Psychological consequences of sexual victimization resulting from force, incapacitation, or verbal coercion. Violence against Women, 15, 898–919.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Buttar, A., Clements-Nolle, K., Haas, J., & Reese, F. (2013). Dating violence, psychological distress, and attempted suicide among female adolescents in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 19, 101–112.

  • Callahan, M. R., Tolman, R. M., & Saunders, D. G. (2003). Adolescent dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18, 664–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2005). A life span developmental systems perspective on aggression toward a partner. In W. M. Pinsof, J. Lebow (Eds.), Family psychology: the art of the science (pp. 141–167). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, K., Joyner, K., & Udry, J. R. (2003). National estimates of adolescent romantic relationships. In P. Florsheim (Ed.), Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 23–56). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cascardi, M. (2016). From violence in the home to physical dating violence victimization: the mediating role of psychological distress in a prospective study of female adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 777–792.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, H. J., & Temple, J. R. (2016). Do gender and exposure to interparental violence moderate the stability of teen dating violence?: latent transition analysis. Prevention Science, 17, 367–376.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, J., Friedlander, L., Pepler, D., Craig, W., & Laporte, L. (2010). The ecology of adolescent dating aggression: attitudes, relationships, media use, and socio-demographic risk factors. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19(5), 469–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. R. (1983). SCL-90-R: administration, scoring, and proce-dures manual–II. Towson, MD: Clinical Psychometric Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earnest, A. A., & Brady, S. S. (2016). Dating violence victimization among high school students in Minnesota associations with family violence, unsafe schools, and resources for support. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 383–406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • East, P. L., & Hokoda, A. (2015). Risk and protective factors for sexual and dating violence victimization: a longitudinal, prospective study of Latino and African American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1288–1300.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Exner-Cortens, D., Eckenrode, J., & Rothman, E. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics, 131(1), 71–78.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Follingstad, D. R. (2007). Rethinking current approaches to psychological abuse: conceptual and methodological issues. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12(4), 439–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Fothergill, K., & Stuart, J. (1992). Results from the teenage dating abuse study conducted in Githens Middle School and Southern High Schools. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina. Unpublished Technical Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., & Matthew, R. A. (2007). Adolescent dating abuse perpetration: a review of findings, methodological limitations, and suggestions for future research. In D. J. Flannery, A. T. Vazsonyi, & I. D. Waldman (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior and Aggression (pp. 431–449). New York:Cambridge University Press.

  • Foshee, V. A., Reyes, M. L., & Wyckoff, S. (2009). Approaches to preventing psychological, physical, and sexual partner abuse. In K. D. O’Leary & E. M. Woodin (Eds.), Psychological and physical aggression in couples: Causes and Interventions (pp. 165–189). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

  • Foster, H., Hagan, J., & Brooks‐gunn, J. (2004). Age, puberty, and exposure to intimate partner violence in adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1036(1), 151–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, P. A., & Slep, A. M. S. (2009). Stability of physical and psychological adolescent dating aggression across time and partners. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38, 303–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. W., Cumsille, P. E., & Elek-Fisk, E. (2003). Methods for handling missing data. In J. A. Schinka, W. F. Velicer (Eds.), Research methods in psychology (pp. 87–114). New York: Wiley. Volume 2 of Handbook of Psychology (I. B. Weiner, Editor-in-Chief).

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Oslak, S. G., Young, M. L., Martin, S. L., & Kupper, L. L. (2001). Partner violence among adolescents in opposite-sex romantic relationships: findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. American Journal of Public Health, 91(10), 1679–1685.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L., Farhat, T., Brooks-Russell, A., Wang, J., Barbieri, B., & Iannotti, R. J. (2013). Dating violence perpetration and victimization among US adolescents: prevalence, patterns, and associations with health complaints and substance use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(2), 194–201.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Henton, J., Cate, R., Koval, J., Lloyd, S., & Christopher, S. (1983). Romance and violence in dating relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 4, 467–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, M. K., & Espelage, D. L. (2005). Social support as a moderator between dating violence victimization and depression/anxiety among African American and Caucasian adolescents. School Psychology Review, 34(3), 309–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, D. E., & Wang, M. Q. (2003). Psychosocial factors associated with adolescent boys’ reports of dating violence. Adolescence, 38(151), 519–533.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, D. E., & Wang, M. Q. (2005). Psychosocial correlates of US adolescents who report a history of forced sexual intercourse. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 372–379.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, J. A., & White, J. W. (2000). Women’s vulnerability to sexual assault from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27(6), 419–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, W. L., Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2015). The age–IPV curve: changes in the perpetration of intimate partner violence during adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 708–726.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Josephson, W. L., & Proulx, J. B. (2008). Violence in young adolescents’ relationships a path model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(2), 189–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson, M. E., Temple, J. R., Weston, R., & Le, V. D. (2016). Witnessing interparental violence and acceptance of dating violence as predictors for teen dating violence victimization. Violence against Women, 22, 625–646.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kann, L., Kinchen, S., Shanklin, S. L., Flint, K. H., Kawkins, J., Harris, W. A., & Zaza, S. (2014). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2013. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63(supplement 4), 1–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinsfogel, K. M., & Grych, J. H. (2004). Interparental conflict and adolescent dating relationships: integrating cognitive, emotional, and peer influences. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(3), 505–515.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, J. A., Buka, S., Gortmaker, S., & Shrier, L. A. (2006). Depressive symptomatology as a predictor of exposure to intimate partner violence among US female adolescents and young adults. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160(3), 270–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, E. L., & McCloskey, L. A. (2004). The effects of childhood exposure to marital violence on adolescent gender‐role beliefs and dating violence. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28(4), 344–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linder, J. R., Crick, N. R., & Collins, W. A. (2002). Relational aggression and victimization in young adults’ romantic relationships: associations with perceptions of parent, peer, and romantic relationship quality. Social Development, 11(1), 69–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88(3), 767–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mechanic, M. B., Weaver, T. L., & Resick, P. A. (2008). Mental health consequences of intimate partner abuse a multidimensional assessment of four different forms of abuse. Violence Against Women, 14, 634–654.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Molidor, C., & Tolman, R. M. (1998). Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. Violence against Women, 4(2), 180–194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molidor, C., Tolman, R. M., & Kober, J. (2000). Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. Prevention Research, 7(1), 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide. 7th edn Los Angeles, CA: Muthén and Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novak, J., & Furman, W. (2016). Partner violence during adolescence and young adulthood: individual and relationship level risk factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 1849–1861.

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: a Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Keefe, M., & Treister, L. (1998). Victims of dating violence among high school students are the predictors different for males and females? Violence against Women, 4(2), 195–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, K. D., Slep, A. M. S., Avery-Leaf, S., & Cascardi, M. (2008). Gender differences in dating aggression among multiethnic high school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(5), 473–479.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pico-Alfonso, M. A. (2005). Psychological intimate partner violence: The major predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder in abused women. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 29, 181–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltzman, L. E., Fanslow, J. L., McMahon, P. M., & Shelley, G. A. (2002). Intimate partner violence surveillance: uniform definitions and recommended data elements: Version 1.0. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiff, M., & Zeira, A. (2005). Dating violence and sexual risk behaviors in a sample of at-risk Israeli youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29(11), 1249–1263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., Mucci, L. A., & Hathaway, J. E. (2001). Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286(5), 572–579.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stocker, C. M., & Richmond, M. K. (2007). Longitudinal associations between hostility in adolescents’ family relationships and friendships and hostility in their romantic relationships. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(3), 490–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swahn, M., Alemdar, M., & Whitaker, D. J. (2010). Nonreciprocal and reciprocal dating violence and injury occurrence among urban youth. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11, 264–268.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Temple, J. R., Shorey, R. C., Tortolero, S. R., Wolfe, D. A., & Stuart, G. L. (2013). Importance of gender and attitudes about violence in the relationship between exposure to interparental violence and the perpetration of teen dating violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(5), 343–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temple, J. R., Choi, H. J., Elmquist, J., Hecht, M., Miller-Day, M., Stuart, G. L., & Wolford-Clevenger, C. (2016). Psychological abuse, mental health, and acceptance of dating violence among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59, 197–202.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tofighi, D., & Enders, C. K. (2008). Identifying the correct number of classes in growth mixture models. In G. R. Hancock (Ed.), Mixture models in latent variable research (pp. 317–341). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vagi, K. J., Olsen, E. O. M., Basile, K. C., & Vivolo-Kantor, A. M. (2015). Teen dating violence (physical and sexual) among US high school students: findings from the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. JAMA Pediatrics, 169, 474–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vezina, J., & Hebert, M. (2007). Risk factors for victimization in romantic relationships of young women a review of empirical studies and implications for prevention. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 8(1), 33–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S. L., & Frieze, I. H. (2005). Courtship behaviors, relationship violence, and breakup persistence in college men and women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 248–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. R., Ghandour, R. M., & Kub, J. E. (2008). Female perpetration of violence in heterosexual intimate relationships adolescence through adulthood. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 9(4), 227–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. A., Scott, K., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Wekerle, C., Grasley, C., & Straatman, A. L. (2001). Development and validation of the conflict in adolescent dating relationships inventory. Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 277.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. V., Lee, V., McIntyre-Smith, A., & Jaffe, P. G. (2003). The effects of children’s exposure to domestic violence: a meta-analysis and critique. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6(3), 171–187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Horowitz, J. D., Powers, M. B., & Telch, M. J. (2008). Psychological approaches in the treatment of specific phobias: a meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 28(6), 1021–1037.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C. C. (2006). Evaluating latent class analysis models in qualitative phenotype identification. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 50(4), 1090–1104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ybarra, M. L., Espelage, D. L., Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., & Korchmaros, J. D. (2016). Lifetime prevalence rates and overlap of physical, psychological, and sexual dating abuse perpetration and victimization in a national sample of youth. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45, 1083–1099.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zweig, J. M., Dank, M., Yahner, J., & Lachman, P. (2013). The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 1063–1077.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by Award Number K23HD059916 (PI: Temple) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) and 2012-WG-BX-0005 (PI: Temple) from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NICHD or NIJ.

Authors’ Contributions

HJC conceived of the study, participated in its design and interpretation of the data, performed the statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript; RW participated in interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; JT conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, interpretation of the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University of Missouri, 501 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Hye Jeong Choi

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    Rebecca Weston

  3. Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, University of Texas at Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 77555, USA

    Jeff R. Temple

Authors
  1. Hye Jeong Choi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebecca Weston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jeff R. Temple
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hye Jeong Choi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Choi, H.J., Weston, R. & Temple, J.R. A Three-Step Latent Class Analysis to Identify How Different Patterns of Teen Dating Violence and Psychosocial Factors Influence Mental Health. J Youth Adolescence 46, 854–866 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0570-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0570-7

Keywords

  • Teen dating violence
  • 3-Step latent class analysis
  • Mental health
  • Acceptance of couple violence