Acknowledgements
Contextualising Violence and
As with all books, a range of individuals make explicit and implicit
contributions to the end-product through ,their knowIedge, a passing
comment, their proofreading skills or their patience when listening
• to us trying to nail an argument, or rant about the demands of book
writing. Consequently, it is only fitting to say thank you to the fol-
lowing people who have contributed in some or all of these ways: .Dr
Christine Barter (University of Bristol), Dr David Hughes (Coventry
University), Prof. Randy Borum (University of Southern Florida),
Detective Chief Inspector Tim Keenan (Merseyside Police), Prof. Barry
Mitchell (Coventry University), Prof. Ken Pease, OBE (UCL) and Dr Gail
Steptoe-Warren (Coventry University).
I (EB) would like to thank my husband Dan and my son Morgan
who have both shown love, tolerance and patience and supported me
throughout a year that was difficult enough without the task of book
writing. I would also like to thank my co-author, Kate, who has been a
pleasure to work with since she knocked on my office door wanting a
supervisor for her undergraduate project, some seven years ago. I have
been immensely proud of your achievements since that time, and with-
out your friendship, support and contribution this book most certainly
wouldn't have been finished!
Likewise, I (KW) would like to thank my husband Bill and my three
children, Calum, Beth and William, for their continual and uncondi-
tional support. Vou are all stars! I could only have written this book with
the guidance of my co-author, Erica, who has mentored and looked
after me since I started my academic career. Iam still enjoying 'coming
along for the ride' and thank you for your professional guidance and,
more importantly, your friendship.
We both would also like to thank the Editorial team at Palgrave
Macmillan for their guidance, patience and support throughout the
development of this project.
xiv
1
Abuse in Adolescent Romantic
Relationshi ps
Introduction
Traditionally. when researchers have exarnined violence and abuse in inti-
mate or romantic relationshíps, attention has focused on adult relatíonshíps.
This is of note, considering that the study of adolescent relationship vío-
lence was initiated in the early 1980s, merely a decade or so later than the
study of violence in adult relationships. The interest in violent and abusive
adolescent relationships has grówn exponentially since then. A Google
Scholar search using the terms adolescent + 'dating violence' returned: 71
papers dated between 1980 and 1990; 751 dated between 1991 and 2000;
4,440 dated between 2001 and 2010; and 3,410 dated between 2011 and
March 2014. This intervening time period has seen changes in how young
people's relationships are understood and appraised, and also in how
policy has acknowledged and responded to such behaviours in adolescent
romantic relationships. Alongside advances in our understanding of the
nature, antecedents and consequences of violence and abuse in adolescent
romantic relationships, has been an increase in the development of primary
and secondary interventions and theír evaluation. Given the increase in
research activity in this field, and more recent policy focus on this issue it
seems prudent to consolidate what we know about violence and abuse in
adolescent relationships and how to prevent it; this is the ultimate aim of
this book.
To start with then, this chapter serves to introduce readers to the main
concepts relevant to the volume. Understanding the nature of adole-
scence and its associated developmental milestones is important for
two main reasons: (1) it will enable an understanding of how conflict,
control and abuse may occur within romantic relationships during this
period; and (2) it can inform the development of interventions aimed
1
2 Psychalagy ot' Violence in Adalescent Relatianships
at reducing and preventing these behaviours. Christie and Viner (2005)
argue that providing interventions of any kind during adolescence is
challenging, not least due to the communication difficulties that arise
during this developmental period. Consequently, it is important to
understand the characteristics of the developmental backdrop against
which relationship violence aríses, and intervention efforts are con-
ducted. The aim of this first chapter, therefore, is to provide an overview
of what is understood about adolescence and the romantic relationships
that occur within this developmental frame, as well as characterising
the nature and extent of violence and abuse that occurs within these
relationships. lssues of definition and measurement are also evaluated
critieally. A final consideration ís then given to how the phenomenon
of relationship violence during adolescence specifieally is reflected in
public and social policy and the case for why researchers, practitioners
and policy makers should be interested in this issue is made.
What is adolescence?
At its most basic and ambiguous, the term 'adolescence' is typieally
understood to refer to the period of development between childhood
and adulthood (Ciechetti & Rogosch, 2002). A more precise definitíon,
based on chronologieal age, is offered by the World Health Organization
(2014) as the period between 10 and 19 years of age with the period
between 10 and 14 identified as 'early adolescence' (WHO, 2014). Most
researchers have typieally parsed 'adolescence' into three distinct devel-
opmental phases: early adolescence (ages 10-13), middle adolescence
(ages 14-18) and late adolescence (from 18 to the early 20s; Smetana,
Campíone-Barr, & Mtzger, 2006). Whereas the transition into adoles-
cence is marked by clear and dramatic biological changes, the transition
into adulthood is more sociologieally defined by achieving milestones
such as family formation, completion of education and entrance into
the workforce (Smetana et al., 2006). ln their review of the-liteJ:ature
S~nª-.tl...aL(2006 report that most of the research conducted into
as!.olescence focuses on populations aged between 10 and 18 ye~rs.
Consequently, 'a o escence will be taken to refer to the developmental
period that coincides with the chronological age range of betweenJ.Q
and 18 years. ~eratur.f.J:~~.d.iILthis book.wíll therefore ~so
focus on this eriod.
Although early theorising regarding the nature of adolescence iden-
tified it as a period of considerable developmental turmoil, empirícal
research refutes this characterisation, with on average only between
Cantextualising Vialence and Abuse 3
] 5o/00f young
11)(1 people experiencing considerable turmoil dur-
IIIJ(udolescence (Riehter, 2006). U.l1.doubtedly, adolescence is a time of *
I
runsíderable biolog~physieal, ~~gieal and social ch~-;but
II secms that adolescents themselves are better able to negotiate and
uuvlgate these changes than society expects and, more fundamentally,
u knowledges. The main universal developmental tasks of adolescence
lnclude those relating to puberty and sexual maturation, those related M
10 lhe evolution of personal and social interests and the attainment of ®
hypothetical and deductive reasoning, and those that relate to the con-
stru tion of identity and self-concept (Christie & Viner, 2005).
TI~extent to whieh relationship_violence and abuse hav:e their origin
111 adolescence is unclear. The successful negotiation and attainment of
111 Llmate relationships is a key milestone during this period, and provides
111 interpersonal context for violence and abuse to occur. However, it tt)
I~ likely that for a proportion of young people who engage in relation-
shíp violence and abuse during this period, the developmental seeds of
Ihese behaviours are rooted in earlier behavioural problems (Moffitt,
1993). Nevertheless, there is some evidence that biological changes
duríng adolescence, particularly the early timing of puberty, may then
lncrease the likelihood of boys and girls engaging in sensation-seeking
and risk-taking behaviours. This includes for girls, inappropriate sexual
relationships, which then place them at greater risk of encounter-
Ing violence and abuse in intimate relationships (Ortega & Sánchez,
2011). Consequently, it is possible that for some, violence and abuse in
relationships exists in part due to the influence of biologieally-driven
decision-making. Potential risk factors and their developmental course
are examined in more depth in Chapter 3.
Adolescent romantic relationships
'The term-.!omantic relationships' is typieally taken to refer to mutually
acknowledged ongoing voluntary interactions and is commonly mar~d @
by expressiÕns of affection and perhaps current or antiei ated sex al
behaviour (Collins, Welsh, & Furman, 2009). The definition applies
to all relationships regardless of gender and sexuality. This term is dif-
ferentiated from 'romantic experiences', whieh refers to a greater range
of activities and cognitions which may include relationships, but also
behavioural, cognitive and emotional phenomena that do not involve
direct experiences with a romantic partner (Collins et al., 2009, p. 632).
Research examinin the formation nature and course of romantic
_relationships during adolescence has only really flo_urished since the turn
4 Psychology of Violence in Adolescent Relationships
..oLtlLetwenty...::fusLcentury (Collins et al., 2009; Smetana et al., 2006),
despite the attainment of intimate relationships being acknowledged
as a key developmental milestone much earlier (Erikson, 1968). Collins
et al, (2009) observe that the incidence of romantic relationships during
adolescence is higher than had been assumed, with research suggesting
that half of adolescents reporting having a 'specíal' romantic relationship
in the past 18 months (Carver, ]oyner, & Udry, 2003). Such estimates
increase when broader criteria, such as 'dating' or 'going out with some-
one for at least a month' are used (Furman & Hand, 2006). However, as
might be expected, these rates vary across the different developmental )
stages within adolescence. Carver et al. (2003) reported that 36% of ~
13-year-olds, 53% of 15-year-olds and 70% of 17-year-olds reported
having had 'specíal' romantic relationships ín the previous 18 months.
These data indicate, therefore, that by the end of adolescence, a clear
majority of young people have engaged in at least one such relationship.
What happens in adolescent romantic relationships?
In one of only two studies to examine the behavíours and activities
that adolescents engage in during the course of romantic relatíonshíps,
Carlson and Rose (2012) examined the association between engaging in
activities and relationship satisfaction. The mos n identified actívi-
t~relIDLte.dby more than 6. % of p.ar:ticipan.ts)jn...dati:t:l-§-f.glatio.pMUps
includ king in school, going to each other's houses listening~to
music, talkin on the teleghone, talkin about ersonal things and
t lkin aba LnQIl:.]1etSQ.naJ.-t;hiIlg~.When associations with relation-
ship satisfaction were examined it was found that a positive association
existed for 13 dating behavíours, and that in the vast rnajority of cases
there were no significant interactions with gender or grade. This illus-
trated that the pattern of associations between activities and satisfaction
were broadly similar across age and gender. Thfse findings are, impor-
tant as the inclusion of the oung-er-ag~gto.up, but laclLoLag0e1ated
findin s challenges the historical view that early ~oleg;.ent romantic
relatíonshíps are meaningless (Thorne, 1986).
Research has docuüieiíted that there is a predictable sequence of sexual
and intimate behaviours that occur over time towards adulthood. A pro-
gression is made from hugging and holding hands to kissing and touch-
ing breasts/genitals over and then under clothes, and further towards
more intimate and then coital behaviours, including oral sex and sexual
intercourse (Hansen, Paskett, & Carter, 1999; Hansen, Wolkenstein, &
Hahn, 1992; Waylen, Ness, McGovern, Wolke, & Low, 2010).
Contextualising Violence and Abuse 5
lhe nature of adolescent dating violence (ADV)
Academíc definitions
N~-mi{;-de.finitio.n..oLA')'V-exis.ts~icalLy-,.J:he...Lerm...:.dat -
Ing.zíclence: bÂSbeen used,n 'be all forms of violent behaviour
that ma"y occur in a dating relationship- (Teten, Ball, Valle, Noonan, &
Rosenbluth, 2009), including: emotionaL (including psychological/
verbal), physical and sexual. However, such behaviours are defined
using a range of terms (for example, teen dating violence; r.ela-tipnship
abuse: 'ntimate 12 rtne viQli!nce; datíng .nbuse: domestí, abuse and
domestíc víolence) that vary in their comprehensiveness (Glass et al.,
2003). Consequently, researchers and policy makers are challenged by
the lack of universal definition for ADV. Definitions of ADV are quite
broad and do attempt to encapsulate all of the characteristics of ADV
and its contemporary technological contexto For example, Mulford and
Blachman-Demner (2013) define ADV as:
a range of abusive behavíours that preteens, adolescents and young
adults experience in the context of a past or present romantic or dat-
ing relationship. The behaviours include physical and sexual violence,
~talking and psychological abuse, which includes control and coer-
cion. Abuse may be experienced in person or via technology. (p. 756)
IQat variation in terminology~ÍS-ID@ans_that..iWs-irnp_OJ:.tlutiox lear
definitions to be rovided b researchers and polic makers so that it is
ossible to meaningfull synthesise findings.
Definitions in practice
An influential definition of ~e, developed by P
~md Paymar (1993), was the Power and Control Wheel. The originating
wheel was devised from interviewing female partners of domestically
violent men about their experiences of violence and abuse. A recent
addition, the Teen Power and Control Wh~l (available from the@V
website), reflects the types of control that adolescents might experience
in dating relationships. This has been presented diagrammatically in
Figure 1.1 (reproduced with permission from DAIP).
As can be seen, many of the behaviours identified are related to
physical, psychological and sexual víolence/abuse (an overview of
these behaviours follows). This is useful for understanding the extent
of different behaviours that could be identifíed as abusive in adolescent
6 Psychology ot' Via/ence in Ada/escent Relationships
relationships. What is unclear, however, is how the behaviours were
identified - whether this was based only on a sample of females, when
evidence indicates that males may be just as likely as females to experi-
ence them. Consequently, whilst it provides a useful educational tool,
its validity is unclear.
Official definitions
On a general level, legal definitions of violence have existed for over 100
years in the UK, having been outlined first in the Offences against the
Person Act 1861. A statutory definition of 'domestic' was developed in
the rnid-1970s (Qobash fi Dobasb, 1979) with the passing of the civil jus-
tice Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act ..!2Z?, in which
'domestic' referred to either spouse or heterosexual cohabitants (Burton,
2008). Legal definitions have subsequentl been broade ed,-.1Q.lnclude
the diverse array~domestic anangemeQ.t.s-that--e--Xist..suclLas_cJJITent
or
former sQouses . ·LIl ners,-'!nd.-cohabitan.tU:heterosexual and same-
sex), t;!lose in a civil partnership, those who are parents or have parental
r~sponsibility for a child or those who were.or .arecurrently in ~_long-
terrn tionshilL(Reece, 2006). What remains unclear is how this would
relate to adolescents in a dating relationship. There is no legal definition
of 'dating relatíonshíp' outside of cohabitation. It is likely, therefore, that
young people engaging in violent acts towards an intimate would be held
to account to the relevant criminal sanctions, gíven that the age of legal
responsibility in most developed countries predates early adolescence
with an international median of 12 years, ranging from 6 to 18 (Penal
Reform International, 2013). However, currently there is no statutory
offence for 'domestic violence' in the UK (Bowen, 2011 a), and this fact
is mirrored within ADV.Therefore, no legal definition exists for either.
Internationally across Europe, and nationally in England and Wales,
the relevance of violence ín relationships to young people has been
formally acknowledged, although not clearly adopted within statute
as yet. ~anbul Convention (Council of Europe, 2011) defines
domestic violence as:
alI acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that
occur within the family or domestic unit or between former or cur-
~ rent spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has
\ shared the same resídence with the victim. (p. 8)
This definition acknowledges the potential for non-cohabiting or dat-
ing relationship contexts. In addition, it is formally acknowledged in
the Convention that ~iolence in relationships can include those aged
Cantextualising Via/ence and Abuse 7
'below 18 years' and it does not specify a lower age limit for inclusion
in the definition. The Convention seeks to unify at a European Ievel a
omprehensive and equitable response to domestic violence, support for
victims, criminal justice response, intervention and prevention efforts.
The British cross-Government definition of dorriestic abuse was
updated with effect from 31 March 2013 to explicitly include 16- and ~
17- ear-olds and coercive control. It is interesting that the government
decided to impose a lower age limit, in contrast to the Convention,
and contrary to the clear empirical evidence attesting to this issue in
younger adolescent relationships. The new definition has also been
j
adopted by the ~own Prosecution Servíce, the Home Office, and the
Association of Chief Police Office and defines domestic abuse as:
any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threat-
ening behaviour, violence ar abuse between those aged 16 or over U\C
who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regard-
less of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not lim-
ited to: psychological; physical; sexual; financial; emotional.
Further specific definitions of controlling behaviour and cQercion are
also provided. This definition is useful in capturing the breadth of dif-
ferent relationships that partner violence can happen in, and acknowl-
edging all the different types of violence that can be classified as abuse.
What is adolescent dating violence?
he National Centre for Victims of Crime 2012) identifies ADV as
including: çontrolling behaviours (for example, not letting you go
out with friends, telling you what to wear), ~rbal and emotional
abuse (name calling, jealousy), physical abuse (shoving, hair pulling,
strangling) and sexual abuse (unwanted touching or kissing). Such
behaviours are often used in combination. There are numerous
xamples of different types of behaviours associated with the different
ategories of ADV,but the list is extensive. Within the literature broadly
peaking, there are three subtypes commonly studied and generally
identified as being a feature of ADV; these subtypes are physical abuse, ?)(
psychological/emotional or verbal abuse, and sexual violence/abuse J
(Wekerle & Wolfe, 1999).
Physical abuse
Physical abuse covers a wide range of behaviours. Foshee and col-
I agues (Foshee, Linder, MacDougall, & Bangdiwala, 2001; Foshee et al.,