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ABUSE MAGAZINE
The Influence of Peers
Where Do We Go From Here?
We would be remiss to try to understand teen behavior and not consider the
profound influence of friends. Peers exert
more influence on each other during their
adolescent years than at any other time.
Research has confirmed that peer attitudes
and behaviors are critical influences on
teens’ attitudes and behaviors related to
dating violence.
Adult relationships differ substantially
from adolescent dating in their power
dynamics, social skill development and
peer influence. These factors are critical
to understanding physical violence and
psychological abuse in early romantic relationships and may help explain the similar
perpetration rates among boys and girls
suggested by current statistics.
Not only are friends more influential in
adolescence than in adulthood, but they
are also more likely to be “on the scene”
and a key element in a couple’s social
life. In fact, roughly half of adolescent
dating violence occurs when a third party
is present. Relationship dynamics often
play out in a very public way because teens
spend a large portion of their time in school
and in groups. For various reasons, a boyfriend or girlfriend may act very differently
when in the presence of peers, a behavior
viewed by adolescents as characteristic of
an unhealthy relationship. For example,
boys in one focus group study said that if a
girl hit them in front of their friends, they
would need to hit her back to “save face.”
All of this points to important implications for teen dating violence prevention
and intervention strategies. Because girls
engage in high levels of physical aggression
and psychological abuse and most abusive
relationships are characterized by mutual
aggression, prevention efforts must be
directed toward both males and females,
and interventions for victims should include
services and programming for boys and
girls. Interventions must also distinguish
between severe forms of violence that
produce injury and fear and other more
common abuse, and they must respond with
appropriate safety planning, mental health
services, and criminal or juvenile justice
involvement.
Conflict over how much time is spent
with each other versus with friends, jealousies stemming from too much time spent
with a friend of the opposite sex, and
new romantic possibilities are all part of
the social fabric of adolescence. Although
“normal” from a developmental perspective, navigating such issues can cause
conflict and, for some adolescents, lead
to aggressive responses and problematic
coping strategies, such as stalking, psychological or verbal abuse, and efforts to gain
control.
More research on traditionally gendered
relationship dynamics — and the links to
relationship violence — is also needed.
For instance, some male behavior may
stem from an attempt to emulate other
males who they believe (not always accurately, as data show) are confident and “in
charge.” Further, nearly one in five adolescent girls reports having sex with a partner
three or more years older. These girls are
at increased risk of acquiring a sexually
transmitted disease because they are less
likely to use a condom — possibly a result
of unequal power dynamics in these relationships. This power imbalance might also
increase their risk for violent victimization
by older partners.
And finally, research on the extent to
which teens involved in abusive relationships
become involved in adult abusive relationships — whether as victims or perpetrators
— is sorely needed. Many delinquent youth,
for example, have a well-documented path
of illegal behavior; this behavior peaks in
adolescence and dramatically declines in
early adulthood. A similar look at aggressive adolescent romantic relationships may
help us better understand the possible progression from teen dating violence to adult
intimate partner violence.
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abusemagazine.org | Illinois Winter 2014 |
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