The Relationship Between Dating Violence and Psychosocial Problems in a Sample of Adolescent Pregnancy Termination Patients

• Published in: Violence and victims Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 577 - 590
• Main Authors: Ely, Gretchen E., Nugent, William R., Flaherty, Chris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Publishing Company 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Abortion; Abortion, Induced - psychology; Abortion, Induced - statistics & numerical data; Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Aggression - psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Counseling; Courtship - psychology; Dating (Social); Depression (Psychology); Depression - epidemiology; Domestic violence; Family Relations; Female; Females; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Marriage and Family Counselling; Multivariate Analysis; Partner Abuse; Peer Group; Policy, Social Justice, and Human Rights; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence - psychology; Pregnancy in Adolescence - statistics & numerical data; Psychology; Regression Analysis; Self Esteem; Social and Personality Psychology; Social Work; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; ABORTION PATIENTS; DATING VIOLENCE; PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS; ADOLESCENTS
• ISSN: 0886-6708; 1945-7073
• DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.24.5.577

The relationship between dating violence and 13 psychosocial problems, conceptually organized into three symptom clusters-depressive, family problem, and posttraumatic stress-was investigated in a sample of adolescent pregnancy termination patients, ages 14 to 21. Results of a multivariate multiple-regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for age, ethnicity, general aggression problems, and problems with peers, dating violence was significantly related with the symptoms clusters. At the univariate level, the results suggested that dating violence was significantly related with self-esteem problems, guilt, and suicidal thinking from the depressive symptoms cluster and with guilt and stress from the posttraumatic stress cluster. The implications of these findings are discussed.