Dating Violence Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth

1 Dating Violence Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth Meredith Dank* Pamela Lachman Janine M. Zweig Jennifer Yahner Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center Dank, M., Lachman, P., Zweig, J.M. & Yahner, J. Dating Violence Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth. In Press: Journal of Youth and Adolescence. On-line at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-013-9975-8. *Corresponding author: e-mail: mdank@urban.org; phone: 347-350-9071 This project was supported by Award No. 2010-WG-BX-003, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions and recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice, or of the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Elements of this paper were reported to the National Institute of Justice in the form of a final technical report as per grant obligations. The authors would like to thank: (1) the administrators, faculty, and staff of schools who assisted us in collecting the data documented in this report, (2) CJ Pascoe of Colorado College and Cindy Southworth, Erica Olsen, and Sarah Tucker of the National Network to End Domestic Violence for their input on survey measures, and (3) the National Institute of Justice and Dr. Nancy La Vigne, Director of the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, for their careful review of project findings. 2 Abstract Media attention and the literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth overwhelmingly focus on violence involving hate crimes and bullying, while ignoring the fact that vulnerable youth also may be at increased risk of violence in their dating relationships. In this study, we examine physical, psychological, sexual, and cyber dating violence experiences among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth—as compared to those of heterosexual youth, and we explore variations in the likelihood of help-seeking behavior and the presence of particular risk factors among both types of dating violence victims. A total of 5,647 youth (51% female, 74% White) from 10 schools participated in a cross-sectional anonymous survey, of which 3,745 reported currently being in a dating relationship or having been in one during the prior year. Results indicated that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at higher risk for all types of dating violence victimization (and nearly all types of dating violence perpetration), compared to heterosexual youth. Further, when looking at gender identity, transgender and female youth are at highest risk of most types of victimization, and are the most likely perpetrators of all forms of dating violence but sexual coercion, which begs further exploration. The findings support the development of dating violence prevention programs that specifically target the needs and vulnerabilities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, in addition to those of female and transgender youth. Keywords: teen dating violence, victimization, sexual orientation 3 Introduction Hate crimes and bullying against youth who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) have received much attention in the media (King, 2013) and in the research literature, with studies consistently finding higher levels of interpersonal violence among LGB than heterosexual youth (Kosciw et al., 2011). Although important, such attention masks the fact that youth who are vulnerable to violence from others may be at increased vulnerability for experiencing and perpetrating violence among themselves, particularly in their dating relationships. The goal of this study is to explore the dating violence experiences of LGB youth and compare them to those of heterosexual youth, by examining variations in the prevalence of physical, psychological, sexual, and cyber dating abuse among both populations. We also compare the rates of both teen dating victimization and perpetration among females, males and transgender youth. Lastly, we examine how often LGB victims of dating violence seek help for their experiences, in comparison to heterosexual victims, and whether any particular risk factors (e.g., poor school performance, drug use, delinquency) distinguish the two groups of dating violence victims. The term “dating violence” encompasses varying levels and types of abuse that can range from physical and sexual violence to forms of psychological and emotional abuse, occurring between dating teens or those in romantic relationships with one another (Mulford & Giordano, 2008). Teen dating violence can be considered a developmental stepping stone in the pathway toward adult intimate partner violence, though interventions targeting adolescent experiences may have lasting effects into adulthood (Wolfe et al., 2003). For that reason, it is critical to identify which groups of adolescents are most likely to experience dating violence, so that pre