Skip to main content
Article
Patterns of Change in Adolescent Dating Victimization and Aggression During Middle School
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
  • Elizabeth A. Goncy, Cleveland State University
  • Albert D. Farrell, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Terri N. Sullivan, Virginia Commonwealth University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2018
Disciplines
Abstract

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Although mounting evidence suggests dating victimization and aggression begin in early adolescence, little work has examined the pattern of these behaviors across this age. This longitudinal study examined trajectories of dating victimization and aggression across middle school using 12 waves of data. A sample of early adolescents (N = 1369, 52.3% girls; 83% African American; 15% Hispanic or Latino) residing in an urban, economically disadvantaged area participated in this study. Youth completed measures of dating victimization and aggression quarterly across the 3 years of middle school. Although results indicated a general trend of increasing dating victimization and aggression across middle school, variation existed for boys and girls. Specifically, girls showed increasing patterns of both, whereas boys remained relatively stable across time. Dating victimization and aggression were also highly correlated across time. These findings support the implementation and refinement of prevention programming aimed at preventing and reducing dating aggression and victimization in middle school.

DOI
10.1007/s10964-017-0715-3
Citation Information
Elizabeth A. Goncy, Albert D. Farrell and Terri N. Sullivan. "Patterns of Change in Adolescent Dating Victimization and Aggression During Middle School" Journal of Youth and Adolescence Vol. 47 Iss. 3 (2018) p. 501 - 514 ISSN: 00472891
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/liz-goncy/16/