Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Family Context and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Latent Class Analysis of Family Relationships and Parenting Behaviors

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adolescent dating violence is a persistent public health concern, impacting many youths during their initial and formative relationships during middle school. Despite theoretical and empirical studies highlighting the essential role of family relationship dynamics and parenting practices in relation to youth violence, substantially less research has focused on associations between these factors and rates of adolescent dating violence. The current study examined aspects of the family context in relation to dating violence outcomes among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of middle school students from economically disadvantaged communities, a group of adolescents at a high risk for exposure to risk factors for dating violence. Participants included 495 adolescents (66% male; 63% African American). Data were collected at the beginning of sixth grade and three subsequent spring waves through eighth grade. The current study identified patterns of family factors using a latent class analysis and examined these classes in relation to dating violence and dating violence norms. Three classes emerged: a positive family context with mixed messages about parental support for fighting and nonviolence (42%), an average family context with consistent parental support for nonviolent responses to conflict (24%), and a poor family context with parental support for fighting (34%). The classes with average and positive family contexts showed the lowest levels of dating violence and dating violence norms. These findings support the development and integration of family context factors into adolescent dating violence prevention programs, especially within high-burden contexts where families may be more likely to endorse mixed messages about how to handle conflict and youth may be at a higher risk for dating violence outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antunes, M. J. L., & Ahlin, E. M. (2014). Family management and youth violence: Are parents or community more salient? Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 316–337. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.

  • Arriaga, X., & Foshee, V. A. (2004). Adolescent dating violence: Do adolescents follow in their friends’, or their parents’, footsteps? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 162–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260503260247.

  • Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2013). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: A 3-step approach using Mplus. Mplus Web Notes: No. 15, (15), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2014.915181.

  • Banyard, V. L., Cross, C., & Modecki, K. L. (2006). Interpersonal violence in adolescence: Ecological correlates of self-reported perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1314–1332.

  • Borre, A., & Kliewer, W. (2014). Parental strain, mental health problems, and parenting practices: A longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 93–97.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. New York, NY: Basic Books.

  • Chen, M. S., & Foshee, V. A. (2015). Stressful life events and the perpetration of adolescent dating abuse. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 696–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0181-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, R. J., Flores, G., & Shetgiri, R. (2016). African-American and Latino Parents’ attitudes and beliefs regarding adolescent fighting and its prevention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(6), 1746–1754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0355-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, H. H., Herrera, V. M., & Stuewig, J. (2003). Abusive males and abused females in adolescent relationships: Risk factor similarity and dissimilarity and the role of relationship seriousness. Journal of Family Violence, 18(6), 325–339. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026297515314.

  • Connolly, J., & Goldberg, A. (1999). Romantic relationships in adolescence: The role of friends and peers in their emergence and development. In W. Furman, B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds), The Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence (Cambridge Studies in Social and Emotional Development, pp. 266–290). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Dishion, T., & McMahon, R. (1998). Parental monitoring and the prevention of problem behavior: A conceptual and empirical reformulation. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1, 61–75.

  • Exner-Cortens, D., Eckenrode, J., & Rothman, E. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics, 131(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1029.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fabiano, P. M., Perkins, H. W., Berkowitz, A., Linkenbach, J., & Stark, C. (2003). Engaging men as social justice allies in ending violence against women: Evidence for a social norms approach. Journal of American College Health, 52, 105–112.

  • Farrell, A. D., Bettencourt, A., Mays, S., Kramer, A., Sullivan, T., & Kliewer, W. (2012). Patterns of adolescents’ beliefs about fighting and their relation to behavior and risk factors for aggression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(5), 787–802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9609-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Linder, G. F., Bauman, K. E., Langwick, S. A., Arriaga, X. B., Heath, J. L., & Bangdiwala, S. (1996). The safe dates project: Theoretical basis, evaluation design, and selected baseline findings. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12, 39–47.

  • Foshee, V. A., Benefield, T., Chen, M. S., Reyes, L. M., Dixon, K. S., Ennett, S. T., & Bowling, J. M. (2016a). The effects of the moms and teens for safe dates program on dating abuse: A conditional process analysis. Prevention Science, 17(3), 357–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0617-0.

  • Foshee, V. A., McNaughton Reyes, H. L., Ennett, S. T., Cance, J. D., Bauman, K. E., & Bowling, J. M. (2012). Assessing the effects of families for safe dates, a family-based teen dating abuse prevention program. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51(4), 349–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.12.029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Arriaga, X. B., Helms, R. W., Koch, G. G., & Linder, G. F. (1997). An evaluation of safe dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 45–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Dixon, K. S., Ennett, S. T., Moracco, K. E., Bowling, J. M., Chang, L.-Y., & Moss, J. L. (2015). The process of adapting a universal dating abuse prevention program to adolescents exposed to domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30, 2151–2173. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514552278.

  • Foshee, V. A., Gottfredson, N. C., Reyes, H. L. M. N., Chen, M. S., David-Ferdon, C., Latzman, N. E., & Ennett, S. T. (2016b). Developmental outcomes of using physical violence against dates and peers. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(6), 665–671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Furman, W., & Collins, W. A. (2007). Adolescent romantic relationships and experiences. In K. H. Rubin, W. Bukowski & B. Laursen (Eds), Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garthe, R. C., Sullivan, T. N., & Kliewer, W. (2018c). Longitudinal associations between maternal solicitation, perceived maternal acceptance, adolescent self-disclosure, and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Youth and Society, 50(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X16671238.

  • Garthe, R. C., Sullivan, T. N., & Larsen, R. A. (2015). Bidirectional associations between perceived parental support for violent and nonviolent responses and early adolescent aggressive and effective nonviolent behaviors. Journal of Adolescence, 45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.09.009.

  • Garthe, R. C., Gorman-Smith, D., Gregory, J., & E. Schoeny, M. (2018a). Neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and dating violence among urban adolescents: The mediating role of neighborhood social processes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 61(3–4), 310–320. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12239.

  • Garthe, R. C., Sullivan, T. N., & Farrell, A. (2018b). Dating violence perpetration and perceived parental support for fighting and nonviolent responses to conflict: An autoregressive cross-lagged model. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.08.006.

  • Giordano, P. C., Johnson, W. L., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2016). Parenting in adolescence and young adult intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Issues, 37(4), 443–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13520156.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Zelli, A., & Huesmann, L. R. (1996). The relation of family functioning to violence among inner-city minority youths. Journal of Family Psychology, 10(2), 115–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., & Henry, D. B. (2000a). A developmental-ecological model of the relation of family functioning to patterns of delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 16(2), 169–198. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007564505850.

  • Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Henry, D. B., & Florsheim, P. (2000b). Patterns of family functioning and adolescent outcomes among urban African American and Mexican American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(3), 436–457. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.14.3.436.

  • Grusec, J. E. (2002). Parenting socialization and children’s acquisition of values. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Practical issues in parenting (pp. 143–167). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hébert, M., Daspe, M. È., Lapierre, A., Godbout, N., Blais, M., Fernet, M., & Lavoie, F. (2017). A meta-analysis of risk and protective factors for dating violence victimization: The role of family and peer interpersonal context. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017725336.

  • Henneberger, A. K., Varga, S. M., Moudy, A., & Tolan, P. H. (2016). Family functioning and high risk adolescents’ aggressive behavior: examining effects by ethnicity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(1), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0222-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, D. B., & Farrell, A. D., The Multisite Violence Prevention Project. (2004). The study designed by a committee: Design of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 26(1 Suppl.), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2003.09.027.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, D. B., Miller-Johnson, S., Simon, T. R., & Schoeny, M. E. (2006). Validity of teacher ratings in selecting influential aggressive adolescents for a targeted preventive intervention. Prevention Science, 7(1), 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0004-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. M., Parker, E. M., Rinehart, J., Nail, J., & Rothman, E. F. (2015). Neighborhood factors and dating violence among youth: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 49(3), 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.020.

  • Johnson, S. L., Finigan, N., Bradshaw, C., Haynie, D., & Cheng, T. (2013). Urban African American parents’ messages about violence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(5), 511–534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558412447859.

  • Kramer-Kuhn, A. M., & Farrell, A. D. (2016). The promotive and protective effects of family factors in the context of peer and community risks for aggression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(4), 793–811. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0438-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lavoie, F., Hebert, M., Tremblay, R., Vitaro, F., Vezina, L., & McDuff, P. (2002). History of family dysfunction and perpetration of dating violence by adolescent boys: A longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30, 375–383.

  • Maccoby, E. E. (2015). Historical overview of socialization research and theory. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds), Handbook of Socialization (pp. 3–32). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matjasko, J. L., & Vivolo-Kantor, A. M. (2013). The relationship between a family-focused preventive intervention, parenting practices, and exposure to violence during the transition to adolescence: Testing a mediational model. Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma, 22, 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2013.743947.

  • Multisite Violence Prevention Project. (2004). The multisite violence prevention project: Background and overview. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 26, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2003.09.017.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mumford, E. A., Liu, W., & Taylor, B. G. (2016). Parenting profiles and adolescent dating relationship abuse: Attitudes and experiences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(5), 959–972. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0448-8.

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2012). Mplus User’s Guide. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Niolon, P. H., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Latzman, N. E., Valle, L. A., Kuoh, H., Burton, T., & Tharp, A. T. (2015). Prevalence of teen dating violence and co-occurring risk factors among middle school youth in high-risk urban communities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56, S5–S13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.07.019.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A monte carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569.

  • Orpinas, P., Murray, N., & Kelder, S. (1999). Parental influences on students’ aggressive behaviors and weapon carrying. Health Education and Behavior, 26(6), 774–787. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819902600603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petras, H., & Masyn, K. (2010). General growth mixture analysis with antecedents and consequences of change. In A. R. Piquero & D. Weisburd (Eds), Handbook of Quantitative Criminology (pp. 69–100). New York: Springer.

  • Racz, S. J., & McMahon, R. J. (2011). The relationship between parental knowledge and monitoring and child and adolescent conduct problems: A 10-year update. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 14(4), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-011-0099-y.

  • Reyes, H. L. M., Foshee, V. A., Chen, M., & Ennett, S. T. (2017). Patterns of dating violence victimization and perpetration among Latino youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46, 1727–1742.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, T. N., Garthe, R. C., Goncy, E. A., Carlson, M. M., & Behrhorst, K. L. (2017). Longitudinal Relations between Beliefs Supporting Aggression,Anger Regulation, and Dating Aggression among Early Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(5), 982–994. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0569-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1999). An ecodevelopmental framework for organizing the influences on drug abuse: A developmental model of risk and protection. In: M. Glantz & C. R. Hartel, (Eds), Drug abuse: Origins & interventions (pp. 331–366). Washington: American Psychological Association Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/10341-014.

  • Tofighi, D., & Enders, C. K. (2007). Identifying the correct number of classes in growth mixture models. In G. Hancock (Ed.), Advances in Latent Variable Mixture Models (pp. 317–341). Greenwich: Information Age.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolan, P. H., Gorman-Smith, D., Huesman, L. R., & Zelli, A. (1997). Assessment of family relationship characteristics: A measure to explain risk for antisocial behavior and depression among urban youth. Psychological Assessment, 9(3), 212–223.

  • Tyler, K. A., Brownridge, D. A., & Melander, L. A. (2011). The effect of poor parenting on male and female dating violence perpetration and victimization. Violence and Victims, 26(2), 218–230. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.26.2.218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vagi, K. J., Rothman, E. F., Latzman, N. E., Tharp, A. T., Hall, D. M., & Breiding, M. J. (2013). Beyond correlates: A review of risk and protective factors for adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4), 633–649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9907-7.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Multisite Violence Prevention Project for permission to use the data for this study. Investigators from each site are as follows (changes in affiliations in parentheses): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA: Thomas R. Simon, Robin M. Ikeda, Emilie Smith (University of Georgia), Le’Roy E. Reese (Morehouse University); Duke University, Durham, NC: David L. Rabiner, Shari Miller (Research Triangle Institute), Donna-Marie Winn (University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill), Kenneth A. Dodge, Steven R. Asher; University of Georgia, Athens, GA: Arthur M. Horne, Pamela Orpinas, Roy Martin, William H. Quinn (Clemson University); University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL: Patrick H. Tolan (University of Virginia), Deborah Gorman-Smith, David B. Henry, Franklin N. Cosey-Gay, Michael Schoeny (University of Chicago); Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA: Albert D. Farrell, Aleta L. Meyer (Administration for Children and Families, Washington, DC), Terri N. Sullivan, Kevin W. Allison.

Authors' Contributions

R.C.G. conceived the study, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript; T.S. participated in the design of the study, helped with the interpretation of findings, and helped to draft the manuscript; D.G.S. participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Sharing and Declaration

The manuscript’s data will not be deposited.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1010 W. Nevada Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Rachel C. Garthe

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Terri N. Sullivan

  3. School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 969 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Deborah Gorman-Smith

Authors
  1. Rachel C. Garthe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Terri N. Sullivan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Deborah Gorman-Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel C. Garthe.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures for the current study were approved by university institutional review boards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all the individual participants in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Garthe, R.C., Sullivan, T.N. & Gorman-Smith, D. The Family Context and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Latent Class Analysis of Family Relationships and Parenting Behaviors. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1418–1432 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01051-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01051-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation