This report presents 2019 data on the prevalence and features of dating violence reported by high school students.
These data were collected by the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which presents a comprehensive and detailed statistical record of a range of youth behaviors reported by high school students. For this data system, “physical dating violence” is defined as “being physically hurt on purpose (such as being hit, slammed into something, or injured with an object or weapon) by someone they were dating or going out with in the 12 months prior to the survey.” “Sexual dating violence” is defined as “being forced to do sexual acts (such as kissing, touching, or being physically forced to have sexual intercourse) that they did not want to, by someone they were dating or going out with in the 12 months prior to the survey.” The data indicate that the prevalence of physical and sexual dating violence reported by high school students declined from 2013 to 2019, from 10.3 percent to 8.2 percent for physical dating violence and from 10.4 percent to 8.2 percent for sexual dating violence. High school freshmen were less likely to report physical dating violence than were sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Female high school students were more likely than male students to report physical or sexual dating violence, 9.3 percent compared to 7 percent for physical dating violence and 12.6 percent compared to 3.8 percent for sexual dating violence. Gay, lesbian, or bisexual students, as well as students unsure of their sexual identity were more likely than heterosexual students to report physical or sexual dating violence in 2019. The comparative percentages are reported. 4 figures