As the mother of a 7th-grader I find myself not wanting to believe the results of this study on dating violence that found one in three have been the victims of psychological dating violence and nearly one in six have been the victim of physical dating violence.
Isn’t 7th grade a little young to be dating in the first place? Apparently not for a large number of kids who report they not only have a boyfriend or girlfriend, but they’ve already had an unhealthy relationship as well. (For the record, I didn’t want to believe one in five Texas 7th graders have had sex either, but that’s also been uncovered.)
The study, conducted on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson foundation and the Blue Shield of California Foundation, surveyed over 1,400 7th graders across the country. A few highlights:
- 75 percent of students surveyed report ever having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
- More than 1 in 3 (37 percent) students surveyed report being a victim of psychological dating violence in the last 6 months.
- Nearly 1 in 6 (15 percent) students surveyed report being a victim of physical dating violence in the last 6 months.
- Nearly 1 in 3 (31percent) students surveyed report being a victim of electronic dating aggression in the last 6 months.
- More than 1 in 3 (37 percent) of students surveyed report having witnessed boys or girls being physically violent to persons they were dating in the last 6 months.
- Nearly 2 out of 3 students surveyed (63 percent) strongly agree with a harmful gender stereotype, such as “girls are always trying to get boys to do what they want them to do,” or “with boyfriends and girlfriends, the boy should be smarter than the girl.”
- Nearly half of students surveyed (49 percent) report having been a victim of sexual harassment in the past 6 months, such as being “touched, grabbed, or pinched in a sexual way,” or that someone ”made sexual jokes” about them.
- Nearly three-quarters of 7th-grade students surveyed report that, in the last 6 months, they “sometimes or often” talk with their parents about dating topics such as, “how to tell if someone might like you as a boyfriend or girlfriend.”
The organization is working to combat teen dating violence by starting early with education about healthy relationships for children ages 11 to 14-years old. You can learn more about the Start Strong program here.