The conflictive and unhealthy relationships They can start soon, that is, in courtship. Teenagers often think that some violent behaviors are normal relationship habits. However, these behaviors can become abusive and turn into more serious forms of violence. Dating violence is defined as physical, sexual, psychological or emotional aggressionl within the courtship. It can occur in person or electronically and could happen before dating begins, so it has various short- and long-term effects. Many teenagers don’t tell friends or family because they are afraid. In this Psychology-Online article we tell you how to prevent dating violence.
Why dating violence occurs
The They receive messages about how they should behave in their relationships. Sometimes violence is perceived as normal within relationships, but it should not be acceptable.
Violence is related to some risk factors. In the case of dating among teenagers, some factors that increase violence are:
- Believing that violence in relationships is acceptable in certain circumstances
- Having depressive, anxious or traumatic symptoms
- Show aggressive behavior among peers
- Consume drugs or illegal substances
- Having a friend involved in dating violence
- Having conflicts with your partner
- Witnessing or experiencing violence in the home
Communicating with your partner, managing uncomfortable emotions such as anger and envy, and treating others with respect are some ways to maintain healthy and non-violent relationships. Dating violence can be prevented if adolescents, families, organizations, and society in general work together to implement effective prevention strategies.
In this other article we discover the .
Consequences of dating violence
Adolescents are in full development and that is why they are strongly influenced in their relationships. Healthy relationships have positive effects on the emotional development of adolescents, while unhealthy, abusive or violent relationships can have negative short- and long-term effects on their development. Young people who experience dating violence are more likely to:
- Experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Start engaging in unhealthy behaviors: consumption of tobacco, drugs and alcohol
- Perform behaviors antisocial
- Thoughts suicides
In this other article we discover some basic aspects of the.
5 tips to prevent dating violence
In a healthy relationship, both members respect each other, trust each other and accept differences. There is effective communication of their needs, they listen to each other and work to resolve conflicts in a rational and non-violent way. But it requires that adolescents have certain skills that often have not been taught to them. The lack of these skills combined with the increasing exposure to violence in our society can lead to unhealthy and even violent relationships between young people.
Dating violence includes psychological or emotional violence, as well as controlling or jealous behaviors, physical and sexual violence. Dating violence can lead to a series of negative consequences on the adolescent’s health.
Society has a responsibility to provide adolescents with the resources, skills, and space necessary for their physical and emotional well-being in their relationships. Educators, social workers, and parents can help teens access services to report dating violence. Additionally, research has shown the effectiveness of some programs in preventing dating violence.
Some aspects of prevention to consider:
- All teenagers should be educated about what healthy relationships are. With the aim that most of them can understand and identify the healthy and unhealthy relationships they have in their lives, as well as forms of communication, conflict resolution techniques and strategies to avoid or end unhealthy relationships.
- Interventions can also be carried out on certain people who are in an environment or who appear to be at risk of developing these types of relationships.
- Since physical violence often occurs during conflict, interventions should focus on communication and conflict resolution skills within the framework of romantic relationships.
- Dating violence occurs within relationships and needs to be understood in that context. Anti-violence campaigns should focus on how intimidation by one partner can result in violence and give them tools to deal with conflict effectively and avoid violent behavior. Those campaigns that only focus on condemning the perpetrators of violence are less effective.
- We must assume that many times, even if we ask directly about the existence of violence, they will hide it from us. That is why we can give them information about this type of violence and say that we are there if they ever need our help.
Currently there computer programs to prevent violence in courtship. These programs typically include questions, individualized feedback, videos, and personal stories that are selected to educate and motivate teens to create healthy relationships and learn skills to do so. Some of these programs have different resources depending on the grade in which the person is based on a series of data collected in their history.
In conclusion, all adolescents have the right to maintain healthy relationships that ensure their well-being, whether physical or emotional. Dating violence affects young people and can have long-term negative physical and psychological effects. Provide young people with communication and conflict resolution strategiesSufficient support and resources to avoid or end violent relationships are essential to ensure their well-being. While some underlying risk factors such as poverty, violence as a social normal must be taken into account to end dating violence.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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