Teens involved in toxic and controlling dating relationships may be at risk for a variety of problems as they enter adulthood, including drug use, as well as mental and physical health problems, new research finds.
The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatricsit also showed that these adolescents are likely to repeat patterns of unhealthy, potentially dangerous, intimate relationships.
«If an adolescent moves from one relationship to another, they are more likely to find themselves in the same situation in the future,» said study author Antonio Piolanti, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria. . «We have to try to break this cycle.»
Piolanti and her colleagues reviewed 38 studies conducted between 2004 and 2022 that focused on the effects of a variety of teen dating violence, including sexual, physical, cyber, and psychological abuse. Most of the studies were conducted in the United States and followed adolescents for at least one year.
Taken together, the studies found that young people, mostly women, who had had troubled romantic relationships during their teens were more likely to repeat those dating patterns, as well as start drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and marijuana.
Teen dating violence «was also significantly associated with increased risky sexual behaviors, such as unprotected sex or sex under the influence of alcohol,» the study authors wrote.
Several of the reviewed studies linked teen dating violence with symptoms of depression in young women up to six years after the teen relationship.
The research adds to a troubling body of evidence showing that girls in particular are at risk of intimate partner violence.
A February report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2021, nearly 20% of adolescent girls said they had been the victim of violent sexual behavior. More than 1 in 10 said they had been raped.
In the new study, the overall prevalence of physical violence was 20%while psychological abuse was much more common, in up to 88%. That includes verbal and nonverbal control behavior.
Psychological manipulation can be subtle, perhaps imperceptible to the developing adolescent brain, said Dr. Anisha Abraham, chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s National in Washington, DC.
«That could be really hard for them to understand since they’re just trying to feel good about their relationship,» Abraham said. Abraham was not involved in the new research.
The new findings do not mean that all teens in violent relationships will suffer lasting negative consequences. But «adolescence is a really fundamentally important time where trajectories are set in terms of where young people are going and how they experience the rest of adulthood,» said Dr. Richard Chung, a specialist in adolescent medicine at Duke. Health in Durham, North Carolina.
«Experiences, whether positive or negative, helpful or harmful, during adolescence can have many consequences,» said Chung, who was not involved in the new research.
The research review did not include data on LGBTQ teens, though Abraham noted that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens «certainly experience higher rates of physical and sexual dating violence compared to heterosexual-identified individuals.»
What can parents do?
Talking to kids early about healthy relationships is critical, the experts agreed.
«There’s a natural default assumption that you don’t have to have those conversations until your teen starts dating,» Chung said. «It’s probably too late.»
Abraham recommended modeling appropriate and respectful behavior among family members early on.
«It starts with the relationships they see at home,» he said.
As the kids get older, Abraham, who has two teenage sons, recommends regularly checking in on their friend groups to find out if their peers have started dating.
«That’s something I do,» he said. «It’s really important to have conversations, not just with girls, but also with boys, in terms of what are normal healthy relationships.» That includes covering the issues of consent and respect.
Dr. Rina Lazebnik, chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, regularly questions her teenage patients about their dating and even their sex lives.
«It’s a process. You have to talk to them in different ways depending on their level of development,» Lazebnik said. «I don’t use a computer while talking to them because I find it very important for me to make eye contact. It lets them know they have my full attention. They are generally open.»