Psychological abuse in adolescent dating relationships: A racial and gender analysis of risk factors

There is overwhelming evidence that suggest the existing risk factor models used to predict psychological abuse among dating adolescents are strong and reliable for white females (Makepeace 1986; Foshee 1996; Hickman, Jaycox and Aronoff 2004; O'Keefe 2005). However, the utility of these models to explain this same form of victimization for black adolescent females and males (O'Keefe and Treister 1998; West and Rose 2000; O'Keefe 2005), as well as white adolescent males (Makepeace 1986; O'Keefe 2005) is unclear. In fact, much of what is known about risk factors for psychological abuse among dating adolescents have been extrapolated from physical abuse studies, with very few studies focusing on psychological abuse (O'Leary and Maiuro 2001.). Utilizing a multivariate approach and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines existing risk factors to assess racial and gender differences in their ability to predict psychological abuse among dating adolescents. The study's sample (n=5, 749) consists of African-American and White boys and girls, ages 11 through 19 in heterosexual dating relationships only. Analyses focused on comparing the multiple regression results of the males to females and African-Americans to Whites' experiences of psychological abuse victimization with the following 10 variables: physical abuse victimization; relationship seriousness; length of dating relationship; alcohol use; depression; delinquency; student achievement; relationship with parents; family structure; and geographic location of residency. Consistent with prior studies, major findings suggest that psychological abuse victimization among dating adolescents is common with at least 25% of the sample indicating some victimization. Other major findings suggest that extrapolating risk factor findings across subgroups may not prove to be valid or reliable. The African-Americans in the sample were the only subgroups (i.e., both female and male) in which none of the risk factors---with the exception of physical abuse for the females---proved to serve as predictors of psychological abuse victimization.