The prevalence and overlap of technology-assisted and offline adolescent dating violence

Abstract

Research has established the nature and prevalence of offline Adolescent Dating Violence (ADV) and the role of Technology-Assisted Adolescent Dating Violence (TAADV) has been recently but slowly acknowledged, albeit primarily in the United States. Less research however, has examined such types of violence among British adolescences and the extent of overlap between the two forms of abuse. This paper examines the nature, prevalence and overlap of TAADV and offline ADV victimisation/instigation among a sample of adolescents in England. Four-hundred-and-sixty-nine adolescents (aged 12–18) completed questionnaires regarding their experience of TAADV and ADV. Findings revealed that TAADV involvement was prevalent and was generally characterised by both victimisation and instigation, except for sexual TAADV in which females were more likely to be identified as victims only. Technology appears to have provided new opportunities for victimisation and/or instigation of TAADV exclusively that may not have been possible before the development of such communication tools; however, some adolescents reported experiencing both TAADV and ADV. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations are made for future policy, practice and research.