Findings and methodology are presented for the National Survey of Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV), whose objective was to build the field's understanding of adolescent dating relationships, particularly those involving adolescent relationship abuse (ARA), which the survey defined as "physical, emotional, verbal, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated by an adolescent against another adolescent with whom they are in a dating/romantic relationship."
The STRiV produced data on the prevalence of these various forms of ARA among youth ages 12-18, and it assessed ARA risk factors by demographic and dating relationship characteristics. The survey found that of the nationally representative sample of youth who reported current-year or past-year dating, 69 percent reported lifetime ARA victimization. Although psychological abuse was the most common type of ARA (just over 60 percent), there was also a substantial rate of sexual abuse (18 percent) and physical abuse victimization (18 percent); and 12 percent reported perpetrating physical abuse and/or sexual abuse. Other than differences by age and gender, ARA rates were consistent by race/ethnicity, geographic region, urban/rural location, and household characteristics. These findings highlight the need for universal prevention programs. The STRiV estimate of ARA victimization exceeded the rates found in all the other national ARA victimization studies by a wide margin. Regarding risk factors, survey results highlight the importance of parenting styles for youth's tolerance of physical abuse and the perpetration of ARA. This finding indicates the importance of improving the quality of parent-child relationships in addressing ARA. Parents must address the conflicts in their own intimate relationships as an example for a child. Based on other survey findings, suggestions are offered for what to include in efforts to prevent ARA among adolescents. Details are provided on survey methodology and data analysis. I figure, I table, and 36 references