Cisgender Teen Dating Violence: Differential Associations with Various Substances Used

Adolescent substance use and teen dating violence (TDV) are both significant public health concerns. Yet, less research has examined the intersection of different substances used with differing TDV experiences or types. More scholarship is needed examining how these two behaviors relate A subset of data (n = 2099) from Technology, Teen Dating Violence and Abuse, and Bullying in Three States, 2011–2012 (Zweig and Dank 2016) was used to explore group differences in TDV victimization, perpetration, or mutual violence within different TDV types (physical, psychological, sexual, and online) on various drugs of use Bivariate analyses (e.g. Chi-square analysis and independent t-test analysis) were conducted comparing positive report of each substance used among the TDV groups (never, victimization only, perpetration only, and mutual) for each TDV type. Findings indicated several significant group differences between dating violence groups and different drugs of use within each type of TDV. For physical dating violence, significant group differences were found for gender, race, alcohol use, marijuana use, pain relievers, and illicit drugs. For psychological dating violence and online dating violence, the only significant group differences were gender and alcohol. For sexual coercion, there were significant group differences for all 10 substances included in the analysis and for gender The present results highlight the complex nature of how substance use and TDV are related. Recognizing the complicated intersection of these two public health issues is important for considering future prevention and intervention protocols.