Niolon, P. H., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Tracy, A. J., Latzman, N. E., Little, T. D., DeGue, S., Lang, K. M., Estefan, L. F., Ghazarian, S. R., McIntosh, W. L. K., Taylor, B., Johnson, L. L., Kuoh, H., Burton, T., Forston, B., Mumford, E. A., Nelson, S. C., Joseph, H., … & Tharp, A. T. (2019). An RCT of dating matters: Effects on teen dating violence and relationship behaviors. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 57(1), 13-23. Web.
The social problem addressed by the intervention described in this work is teen dating violence (TDV). It may be regarded as a serious social issue as it implies physical, psychological, and emotional violence that may occur in relationships between adolescents. The necessity of responsive measures is determined by the fact that TDV presupposes sexual, physical, and psychological abuse, stalking, and sexual harassment in a present and even past relationship. When TDV is not detected and prevented in its initial stages, it forms the basis of unhealthy relationships in the future. It substantially impacts the lifelong wellbeing, health, and opportunities of both abuser and victim. In general, TDV is measured through surveys and short interviews with young people that help to perceive its scope. This issue is frequently poorly operationalized as the existing measurement of dating violence is not always applicable to teens. In addition, not all aspects of TDV are considered, and the complex approach to all of them from the position of behavior did not exist.
As a matter of fact, the process of searching for articles dedicated to the examination of the Dating Matters model’s efficiency was challenging. Although its expediency was theoretically approved and the most appropriate ways of implementation were examined, there is a limited number of quantitative studies that test this intervention in practice. In the last five years, only one group of researchers has organized and conducted a highly comprehensive and multidimensional trial dedicated to the evaluation of Dating Matters’ efficiency in comparison with other programs. Search terms that were used for this article that described this research included “teen violence,” “teen dating violence,” “Dating Matters,” “quantitative research,” “intervention,” “trial.”
This article addresses Dating Matters, a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and multi-faceted intervention created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the prevention of TDV. Youth mentors, school personnel, and educators work with adolescents and their families, understanding factors that lead to TDV and applying practices that aim to develop teens’ appropriate relationship skills. That is why in this article, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students of U.S. middle schools were chosen to test the efficiency of the intervention (Niolon et al., 2019). In general, the study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the Dating Matters model in comparison with a standard teen program. According to its results, Dating Matters demonstrated its effectiveness in relation to the reduction and lower use of TDV perpetration (8.43% lower) and victimization (9.78% lower) and negative conflict resolution methods (5.52% lower). In the future, these improvements may contribute to people’s formation of healthy relationships where violence will be excluded.
Estefan, L. F., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Niolon, P. H., Le, V. D., Tracy, A. J., Little, T. D., DeGue, S., Latzman, N. E., Tharp, A., Lang, K. M., & McIntosh, W. L. (2021). Effects of the Dating Matters® comprehensive prevention model on health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors in middle school youth: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Prevention Science, 22, 163-174. Web.
Teen dating violence (TDV) is the problem addressed by this article as well. At the same time, it emphasizes its significance by enlarging the scope of its consequences – thus, TDV is dangerous not only by its ability to cause physical and emotional harm in a relationship but by its influence on delinquency-related risk behaviors. For instance, abusers who demonstrate aggressiveness in relationships may be involved in gun violence in the future, while victims are vulnerable to substance abuse to cope with stress caused by violence. At the same time, TDV is operationalized with the focus on victimization rather than behavior. In addition, existing interventions do not form connections between TDV and other social issue foe efficient response. In the case of this study, TDV was also measured through surveys and interviews. Search terms that were used for this article included “teen violence,” “teen dating violence,” “Dating Matters,” “quantitative research,” “intervention,” “trial.”
This article refers to the same intervention and trial described in a previous work. 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students of multiple U.S. middle schools were chosen to evaluate the efficiency of Dating Matters in comparison with standard teen programs. That is why it also addresses this intervention, a program for the prevention of violence in relationships between teens and the development of appropriate behavioral patterns. The same students of U.S. middle schools were involved in this study, however, it investigates the efficiency of this intervention from another perspective (Estefan et al., 2021). Perceiving the impact of the program on health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors, the authors discovered that Dating Matters lowed the levels of alcohol and substance abuse (9% lower), gun carrying (9% lower), and delinquency (8% lower) in school in general. In this case, the intervention may be regarded as an efficient practice of crime prevention that targets young people at school.
Articles’ Analysis
It goes without saying that articles that addressed the same experiment both proved the efficiency of the intervention, however, this efficiency was examined from different perspectives. Niolon et al. (2019) described the impact of the program on teens’ behavior in relationships, including TDV victimization and perpetration, and conflict management. According to it, Dating Matters is efficient for the prevention of teen dating violence through middle school. The research emphasizes the ability of the intervention to improve interaction between adolescents and reduce unhealthy relationship behaviors. All in all, this article demonstrates the effectiveness of Dating Matters in the correction of young people’s behavior and the avoidance of violence within the framework of dating.
In turn, Estefan et al. (2021) evaluated how the implementation of Dating Matters may decrease violence in adolescents and prevent delinquency and the negative effects related to the exposition to violence in the future. This article addresses the connection of TDV with a wide range of delinquent behaviors not directly connected with relationships, such as gun violence, alcohol and substance abuse, and delinquency. In other words, TDV may ruin not only relationships and affect a person’s private life – it may lead to more severe consequences. However, during the examination of the intervention, the authors discovered that Dating Matters reduced delinquent behaviors that may lead to crime commitment in the future. At the same time, both articles confirm that the intervention is efficient for the prevention of violence and aggression among teens. Consequently, Dating Matters contributes to the formation of healthy couples and the minimization of crime commitment.
From a personal perspective, this intervention should consider diversity and address adolescents from various backgrounds to be as efficient as possible. In general, diversity includes people’s personalities, backgrounds, values, beliefs, experiences, and other aspects that make them unique. It may be regarded as the combination of differences that shape individuals’ perspectives and approaches. Therefore, young people may have different perceptions of violence that were formed on the basis of their communities’ beliefs. That is why before the implementation, potential differences should be assessed to adapt the program to them if possible. Nevertheless, Dating Matters that had been theoretically approved after its creation by CDC demonstrated its efficiency in practice as well. I believe that it should be implemented fully or partially in middle schools for the prevention of TDV and the provision of general information concerning the appropriate behavior in relationships. Thus, implemented in schools for 6th-8th grade students, it may reduce violence, prevent delinquency, and help develop healthy relationship patterns in them.