Study finds two thirds of teens involved in intimate partner violence

MORE than two thirds of teenagers in romantic relationships say they are both the victim and perpetrator of intimate partner violence, a groundbreaking new study has found.

MORE than two thirds of teenagers in romantic relationships are both the victim and perpetrator of intimate partner violence, a groundbreaking new study has found.

Sixty-eight per cent of girls and boys report they are both abusers and victims of abuse, according to a new Swinburne University survey of 275 Victorian high school students aged 14 to 18.

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“Often both victim and perpetrator are in the same relationship,” lead researcher Elizabeth Daff said.

“Perpetrators are often victims, and victims are often perpetrators. We have young people engaging in mutual levels of aggression, which is very different to patterns of

behaviour we see in adults,” she said.

The study, to be presented at the Australian Psychological Society annual conference later this month, is reflective of other international research.

However, it flies in the face of accepted wisdom about teenage relationships, which position males more often as perpetrators of violence and females the victims.

Ms Daff said boys were more likely to report being the perpetrators and girls the victim of sexually aggressive behaviour. But when it came to physical and psychological abuse, there was little difference between males and females.

Sixty-eight per cent of girls and boys report they are both abusers and victims of abuse, according to a new study. Generic picture

“Intimate partner violence has come from a feminist perspective where gendered exploitation of women explains the abuse, but this is not true of adolescents,” she said.

Ms Daff’s study also shows 38 per cent of teens report being the victim of severe abuse involving significant physical violence, sexual violence or very frequent psychological abuse.

In addition, 27 per cent say they were perpetrators of such behaviour.

“We have people who think this behaviour is okay, but others who don’t think it’s okay but struggle to control their behaviour when they’re emotionally aroused,” she said.

Ms Daff said the research could be used to inform evidence-based support programs because current resources left some teenagers “falling through the cracks”.

“Interventions such as simply getting adolescents to regulate their emotions or manage their behaviour may be a tall order because they are not necessarily biologically capable of this,” she said.

“They may try their best not to lash out but they may not have the capacity to manage it.”

“Looking at other things we can do to help is therefore an important area of future research.”

Ms Daff said it was comforting that “a lot of these adolescents won’t go on to be violent adults”.

Despite this, such turbulent relationships were “having a negative impact on the mental health of adolescents and affecting their sense of self and self-esteem,” she said. “They feel worried or jealous or obsessive about their relationships which is all tied in with the normalisation of these problem behaviours.”

Ms Daff’s research will be reported in an upcoming edition of the journal of Interpersonal Violence.

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