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The Family Context and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Latent Class Analysis of Family Relationships and Parenting Behaviors

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 48, pages 1418–1432 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Adolescent dating violence is a persistent public health concern, impacting many youths during their initial and formative relationships during middle school. Despite theoretical and empirical studies highlighting the essential role of family relationship dynamics and parenting practices in relation to youth violence, substantially less research has focused on associations between these factors and rates of adolescent dating violence. The current study examined aspects of the family context in relation to dating violence outcomes among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of middle school students from economically disadvantaged communities, a group of adolescents at a high risk for exposure to risk factors for dating violence. Participants included 495 adolescents (66% male; 63% African American). Data were collected at the beginning of sixth grade and three subsequent spring waves through eighth grade. The current study identified patterns of family factors using a latent class analysis and examined these classes in relation to dating violence and dating violence norms. Three classes emerged: a positive family context with mixed messages about parental support for fighting and nonviolence (42%), an average family context with consistent parental support for nonviolent responses to conflict (24%), and a poor family context with parental support for fighting (34%). The classes with average and positive family contexts showed the lowest levels of dating violence and dating violence norms. These findings support the development and integration of family context factors into adolescent dating violence prevention programs, especially within high-burden contexts where families may be more likely to endorse mixed messages about how to handle conflict and youth may be at a higher risk for dating violence outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Multisite Violence Prevention Project for permission to use the data for this study. Investigators from each site are as follows (changes in affiliations in parentheses): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA: Thomas R. Simon, Robin M. Ikeda, Emilie Smith (University of Georgia), Le’Roy E. Reese (Morehouse University); Duke University, Durham, NC: David L. Rabiner, Shari Miller (Research Triangle Institute), Donna-Marie Winn (University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill), Kenneth A. Dodge, Steven R. Asher; University of Georgia, Athens, GA: Arthur M. Horne, Pamela Orpinas, Roy Martin, William H. Quinn (Clemson University); University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL: Patrick H. Tolan (University of Virginia), Deborah Gorman-Smith, David B. Henry, Franklin N. Cosey-Gay, Michael Schoeny (University of Chicago); Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA: Albert D. Farrell, Aleta L. Meyer (Administration for Children and Families, Washington, DC), Terri N. Sullivan, Kevin W. Allison.

Authors' Contributions

R.C.G. conceived the study, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript; T.S. participated in the design of the study, helped with the interpretation of findings, and helped to draft the manuscript; D.G.S. participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1010 W. Nevada Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Rachel C. Garthe

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Terri N. Sullivan

  3. School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 969 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Deborah Gorman-Smith

Authors
  1. Rachel C. Garthe
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  2. Terri N. Sullivan
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Correspondence to Rachel C. Garthe.

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Garthe, R.C., Sullivan, T.N. & Gorman-Smith, D. The Family Context and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Latent Class Analysis of Family Relationships and Parenting Behaviors. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1418–1432 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01051-w

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Keywords

  • Family
  • Parenting
  • Dating violence
  • Latent class analysis