Date Violence and Date Rape Among Adolescents: Associations With Disordered Eating Behaviors and Psychological Health

• NCJ Number: 208772
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 26 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 455-473
• Author(s): Diann M. Ackard; Dianne Neumark-Sztainer
• Date Published: May 2002
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After assessing the prevalence of dating violence and rape in a sample of adolescents, this study examined links between dating violence and rape and disordered eating behaviors and psychopathology, as well as whether any links remained significant after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and other physical and sexual abuse by an adult.

Abstract

A school-based Minnesota sample of 81,247 boys and girls in the 9th and 12th grades completed the 1998 Minnesota Student Survey. The survey contained items that measured dating violence and date rape, disordered eating behaviors, and psychological health indicators such as self-esteem, emotional well-being, and suicide. All analyses were run separately by gender to identify associations that may be specific to either boys or girls. The results show that approximately 9 percent of girls and 6 percent of boys had experienced dating violence or rape. Significant differences across race and grade were found. Dating violence and rape were associated with higher rates of disordered eating behaviors and suicidal thoughts and attempts, as well as lower scores on measures of emotional well-being and self-esteem. Controlling for race and age, adolescents who had experienced both dating violence and rape were more likely to use laxatives, vomit, use diet pills, binge eat, and have suicidal thoughts or attempts than their peers who had not experienced both dating violence and rape. The significance of these associations was weakened but remained significant after controlling for other abuse by an adult. A greater percentage of girls and boys who reported an abusive dating experience also reported repeat victimization (physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by an adult) when compared with their peers who had no abusive dating experience. The authors conclude that abusive experiences in dating relationships may disrupt healthy development, including the development of a stable self-concept and an integrated body image during adolescence. 8 tables and 38 references