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February 14, 2008

Survey of 11 to 14 year olds finds date violence

A national survey released today says larger numbers of children as young as 11 are sexually active -- and experience abusive relationships of some kind.

The survey found one in five children between ages 11 and 14 say friends have been dating violence victims.

"Alarmingly, 40 percent of the youngest tweens, those between the ages of 11 and 12, report that their friends are victims of verbal abuse in relationships and nearly 1 in 10 say their friends have had sex," says a news release summarizing the survey results.

The survey was done by Teenage Research Unlimited and commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc. -- which issued today's news release -- and the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. The poll is described as exploring how young adolescents' relationships are "fueling high levels of dating violence and abuse."

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch pointed to the findings today to highlight the need for schools around the country to teach about the signs of dating violence.

Lynch, the incoming National Association of Attorneys General president, is expected to introduce a resolution at the association's June meeting in Providence urging other states to follow Rhode Island's lead and require schools to teach about dating violence and abuse every year from grades 7 through 12.

“We are committed to addressing this issue through education. Abuse and violence in intimate partner relationships not only cause great individual pain, but this destructive behavior breaks down families, communities and our larger society,” Lynch said in a statement.

Among American teenagers who had sex by age 14, 1 out of 3 teens said they have been physically abused -- hit, kicked or choked -- by an angry partner compared to 20 percent of other teens. Sixty-nine percent of teens who had sex before 14 said they had experienced all aspects of dating abuse including verbal, emotional, physical and mental abuse, according to the release.

“We know that education for tweens and teens helps and is critically important if we are going to break the cycle of abuse and strengthen healthy relationships,” said Sheryl Cates, chief executive of National Domestic Violence Hotline, which runs a teen dating abuse helpline called loveisrespect.org, said in the statement.
-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Other survey results outlined in the news release are:

* Nearly three in four tweens say boyfriend/girlfriend relationships usually begin at age 14 or younger.

* More than one in three 11-12 year olds say they have been in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship .

* Sixty-two percent of tweens who have been in a relationship say they know friends who have been verbally abused (called stupid, worthless, ugly, etc) by a boyfriend/girlfriend

* Two in five tweens, who have been in a relationship know friends who have been called names, put down, or insulted via cellphone, IM, social networking sites (such as MySpace and Facebook), etc.

* One in five 13-14 year olds in relationships say they know friends and peers who have been struck in anger (kicked, hit, slapped, or punched) by a boyfriend or girlfriend

* Only half of all tweens claim to know the warning signs of a bad/hurtful relationship

* Nearly half of teen girls who have been in a relationship say they have been victims of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by their boyfriends.

* More than one in three teens report that their partners wanted to know where they were and who they were with all the time. Among teens who had sex by age 14, it’s 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively).

* Twenty-nine percent of teens say their boyfriends/girlfriends call them names and put them down, compared to 58 percent of teens who had sex by age 14.

* Twenty-two percent of teens say they were pressured to do things they did not want to do, compared to 45 percent of teens who had sex by age 14.

* Twenty-four percent of teens in a relationship said their boyfriends/girlfriends called them stupid, worthless, and ugly compared to 45 percent of teens who had sex by age 14.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:40 PM | Permalink

February 14, 2008

Survey of 11 to 14 year olds finds date violence

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