Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Project Date SMART: a Dating Violence (DV) and Sexual Risk Prevention Program for Adolescent Girls with Prior DV Exposure

  • Published:
Prevention Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study assessed the initial feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an intervention aimed at reducing dating violence and sexual risk behavior in a sample of adolescent girls (ages 14–17) with prior exposure to physical dating violence (DV). One hundred and nine girls were randomly assigned to Date SMART (Skills to Manage Aggression in Relationships for Teens) or a Knowledge-only (KO) comparison group. Both intervention arms consisted of six, weekly 2-h sessions and one “booster” session 6 weeks later. Based on principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, the Date SMART intervention was designed to target common underlying skills deficits linked to both DV and sexual risk behavior in adolescent females: depression, self-regulation deficits, and interpersonal skills deficits. Assessments were administered at four time points (baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months). The Date SMART group was effective as reducing sexual DV involvement across the 9-month follow-up period. Both groups evidenced clinically meaningful reductions in physical, emotional, and digital DV involvement, total time in dating relationships, as well as reductions in depression. Findings indicate that delivering a DV and sexual risk prevention intervention to DV-affected adolescent girls is feasible and well-received. Furthermore, a skills-based approach that addresses the co-occurrence of DV and sexual risk behavior may be particularly useful for promoting reductions of sexual DV among high-risk adolescent girls. A future, large-scale trial with an inactive comparison condition is needed to evaluate the efficacy of Date SMART further.

Trial Registration: Clinical Trials, NCT01326195, and http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington DC: Author.

  • Beck, A. T., Steer, R., & Brown, G. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. K., DiClemente, R. J., & Beausoleil, N. (1992). Comparison of human immunodefiency virus related knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors among sexually active and abstinent young adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 13, 140–145.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. K., Lourie, K., Zlotnick, C., & Cohn, J. (2000). Impact of sexual abuse on the HIV-risk-related behavior of adolescents in intensive psychiatric treatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1413–1415.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, M., Tolman, R., & Saunders, D. (2003). Adolescent dating violence victimization and psychological well-being. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(6), 664–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359(9314), 1331–1336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3(2), 231–280.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chase, K. A., Treboux, D., & O’Leary, K. D. (2002). Characteristics of high-risk adolescents’ dating violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(1), 33–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, G., Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P., Hops, H., & Seeley, J. (1999). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of adolescent depression: Efficacy of acute group treatment and booster sessions. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(3), 272–279.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collibee, C., & Furman, W. (2016). Chronic and acute relational risk factors for dating aggression in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(4), 763–776.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cornelius, T., & Resseguie, N. (2007). Primary and secondary prevention programs for dating violence: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 364–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De La Rue, L., Polanin, J. R., Espelage, D., & Pigott, T. D. (2017). A meta-analysis of school-based interventions aimed to prevent or reduce violence in teen dating relationships. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eby, K. K., Campbell, J. C., Sullivan, C. M., & Davidson, W. S. (1995). Health effects of experiences of sexual violence for women with abusive partners. Health Care for Women International, 16(6), 536–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckhardt, C., & Jamison, T. (2002). Articulated thoughts of male dating violence perpetrators during anger arousal. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 26(3), 289–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fals-Stewart, W., Birchler, G. R., & Kelley, M. L. (2003). The timeline followback spousal violence interview to assess physical aggression between intimate partners: Reliability and validity. Journal of Family Violence, 18(3), 131–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finkel, E. J., DeWall, C. N., Slotter, E. B., Oaten, M., & Foshee, V. A. (2009). Self-regulatory failure and intimate partner violence perpetration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 483–499.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forhan, S. E., Gottlieb, S. L., Sternberg, M. R., Xu, F., Datta, S. D., McQuillan, G. M., et al. (2009). Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among female adolescents aged 14 to 19 in the United States. Pediatrics, 124(6), 1505–1512.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. (1996). Gender differences in adolescent dating abuse prevalence, types, and injuries. Health Education Research, 11(3), 275–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foshee, V. A., Bauman, K. E., Arriaga, X. B., Helms, R. W., Koch, G. G., & Linder, G. F. (1998). An evaluation of Safe Dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0871-z.

  • Grav, S., Hellzèn, O., Romild, U., & Stordal, E. (2011). Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross-sectional survey. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 21(1–2), 111–120.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Houck, C. D., Hadley, W., Barker, D., Brown, L. K., Hancock, E., & Almy, B. (2016). An emotion regulation intervention to reduce risk behaviors among at-risk early adolescents. Prevention Science, 17(1), 71–82.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, W. L., Giordano, P. C., Longmore, M. A., & Manning, W. D. (2014). Intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms during adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 55(1), 39–55.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Leeman, L., Gibbs, J., & Fuller, D. (1993). Evaluation of a multi-component group treatment program for juvenile delinquents. Aggressive Behavior, 19, 281–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, J., Buka, S., Gortmaker, S., & Shrier, L. (2006). Depressive symptomatology as a predictor of exposure to intimate partner violence among US female adolescents and young adults. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 160, 270–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lescano, C. M., Brown, L. K., Miller, P. M., & Puster, K. L. (2007). Unsafe sex: Do feelings matter? Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 33, 1/2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maldonado, R. C., DiLillo, D., & Hoffman, L. (2015). Can college students use emotion regulation strategies to alter intimate partner aggression-risk behaviors? An examination using I3 theory. Psychology of Violence, 46, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCaffrey, D. F., Ridgeway, G., & Morral, A. R. (2004). Propensity score estimation with boosted regression for evaluating causal effects in observational studies. Psychological Methods, 9(4), 403–425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998). Mplus User’s Guide (Sixth ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, K. F. V., & Power, M. J. (2007). A new self-report measure of emotion regulation in adolescents: The regulation of emotions questionnaire. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 14(2), 145–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramrakha, S., Caspi, A., Dickson, N., Moffitt, T. E., & Paul, C. (2000). Psychiatric disorders and risky sexual behaviour in young adulthood: Cross sectional study in a birth cohort. British Medical Journal, 321, 263–266.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, U., Hammen, C., & Daley, S. (1999). Continuity of depression during the transition to adulthood: A 5-year longitudinal study of young women. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(7), 908–915.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzo, C. J., Joppa, M. C., Barker, D., Zlotnick, C., Warren, J., Saint-Eloi Cadely, H., & Brown, L. K. (2017). Individual and Relationship Characteristics of Adolescent Girls with Histories of Physical Dating Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517696859.

  • Rubin, D. B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. New York: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schnurr, M., & Lohman, B. (2008). How much does school matter? An examination of adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 37(3), 266–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., & Clements, K. (2004). Dating violence and associated sexual risk and pregnancy among adolescent girls in the United States. Pediatrics, 114, e220–e225.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sussex, B., & Corcoran, K. (2005). The impact of domestic violence on depression in teen mothers: Is the fear or threat of violence sufficient? Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 5, 109–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teitelman, A. M., Dichter, M. E., Cederbaum, J. A., & Campbell, J. C. (2007). Intimate partner violence, condom use and HIV risk for adolescent girls: Gaps in the literature and future directions for research and intervention. Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children & Youth, 8(2), 65–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoemmes, F., & Ong, A. D. (2016). A primer on inverse probability of treatment weighting and marginal structural models. Emerging Adulthood, 4(1), 40–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Prevalence and consequences of male-to-female and female-to-male intimate partner violence as measured by the national violence against women survey. Violence Against Women, 6(2), 142–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Buuren, S., & Groothuis-Oudshoorn, K. (2011). MICE: Multivariate imputation by chained equations in R. Journal of Statistical Software, 45(3), 1–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vendetti, K., Stappenbeck, C., & Fals-Stewart, W. (2004). The timeline followback spousal violence interview: A user’s guide. Addiction and Family Research Group. NY: Buffalo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, D. J., Haileyesus, T., Swahn, M., & Saltzman, L. S. (2007). Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence. American Journal of Public Health, 97(5), 941–947.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, T. S., Connolly, J., Pepler, D., Craig, W., & Laporte, L. (2008). Risk models of dating aggression across different adolescent relationships: A developmental psychopathology approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(4), 622–632.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wingood, G. M., DiClemente, R. J., Harrington, K. F., Lang, D. L., Davies, S. L., Hook, E. W., & Hardin, J. W. (2006). Efficacy of an HIV prevention program among female adolescents experiencing gender-based violence. American Journal of Public Health, 96(6), 1085–1090.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wingood, G. M., DiClimente, R. J., McCree, D. H., Harrington, K., & Davies, S. L. (2001). Dating violence and the sexual health of Black adolescent females. Pediatrics, 107, E72–E75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D., Scott, K., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Wekerle, C., Grasley, C., & Straatman, A. (2001). Development and validation of the conflict in adolescent dating relationships inventory. Psychological Assessment, 13, 277–293.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by a grant (K23MH086328) awarded to Christie J. Rizzo, Ph.D.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, 432 INV, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115-5000, USA

    Christie J. Rizzo

  2. Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

    Meredith Joppa

  3. Bradley/Hasbro Children’s Research Center/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    David Barker & Larry K. Brown

  4. Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    David Barker, Charlene Collibee, Caron Zlotnick & Larry K. Brown

  5. Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Caron Zlotnick

  6. University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Caron Zlotnick

Authors
  1. Christie J. Rizzo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Meredith Joppa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Barker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charlene Collibee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Caron Zlotnick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Larry K. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christie J. Rizzo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All data collection procedures were carried out with approval from, and in compliance with, the Lifespan IRB at Rhode Island Hospital.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual study participants.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rizzo, C.J., Joppa, M., Barker, D. et al. Project Date SMART: a Dating Violence (DV) and Sexual Risk Prevention Program for Adolescent Girls with Prior DV Exposure. Prev Sci 19, 416–426 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0871-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0871-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation