Teen Dating Violence: Predicting Physical and Sexual Violence and Mental Health Symptoms Among Heterosexual Adolescent Males

This study investigated the prevalence of female-to-male intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health symptoms among 589 male high school students. Participants completed questionnaires asking if they had experienced dating violence victimization, mental health symptoms, and violent attitudes. Correlations revealed strong positive associations between sexual, physical, and psychological IPV among male victims. Multiple regression found significant predictors of negative mental health consequences were experiencing psychological violence, experiencing physical violence, and having attitudes that accept violence. Further analysis revealed that participants who experience three types of dating violence (physical, sexual, and psychological) were significantly more likely to perpetrate physical and sexual violence. These findings suggest that violent attitudes and experiencing dating violence are significantly predictive of future negative mental health and perpetration among adolescent boys.