Jim McDonell , Ph.D., Principal Investigator David Wolfe, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator

Multilevel, cohort-sequential study of rural adolescent dating violence victimization and perpetration Jim McDonell, Ph.D., Principal Investigator David Wolfe, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator Jasmine Hedge, Ph.D. Cand., Project Director Natasha Sianko, Ph.D., Project Consultant Pat Gerard, Ph.D., Statistician Amanda McDougald-Scott, GA Lyudmyla Tsykalova, GA

Funding This project is funded by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health

Overview A 4 year repeated measures study of 580 teens in grades 6-9 (wave 1) rising to grades 9-12 over the course of the study. Survey data are collected from teens and a parent or caregiver, with 475 unique caregivers, accounting for sibling participants. Survey data also are collected from teachers and youth service providers. Teacher and provider data are linked to specific teens. Data also are collected through systematic observations on 1 to 2 neighborhoods in each of 33 census block groups. Additional data include block group level crime, child maltreatment, and child injury data.

Goal To define an ecological, multilevel model of dating violence victimization and perpetration among adolescents in the rural south as a prelude to developing a comprehensive, community-based prevention and intervention initiative and generating specific policy and program recommendations for the prevention of adolescent dating violence.

Specific Aims Specific aim 1: Describe the developmental trajectory of dating violence victimization and perpetration among adolescent females and males in a rural southern setting; Specific aim 2: Identify multilevel risk factors for dating violence victimization and perpetration in the population; Specific aim 3: Define predictive models for dating violence victimization and perpetration, taking individual, dyadic, familial, organizational, and neighborhood and community factors into account; Specific aim 4: Describe the dyadic context of adolescent dating relationships relative to victimization and perpetration;

Specific Aims Specific aim 5: Design a multi-level ecological intervention approach to preventing and ameliorating adolescent dating violence victimization and perpetration based on predictive risk models; Specific aim 6: Develop specific policy and program recommendations for responding to rural adolescent dating violence victimization and perpetration; and Specific aim 7: Disseminate research findings and policy and program recommendations.

Research questions 1. What is the course (developmental trajectory) of dating violence over time and across cohorts? 2. What individual, family, neighborhood, and organizational factors influence the course of dating violence over time and across cohorts? 3. What intra-individual differences are evident in the course of dating violence over time and across cohorts? 4. What individual, family, neighborhood, and organizational factors account for these intra-individual differences?

Hypotheses H1: The growth curve for dating violence victimization and perpetration will show a linear increase across grade level cohorts. H2: Significant increases in emotional/psychological and sexual victimization will occur in 9th grade continuing through 12th grade [(H2)] H3: Significant increases in physical victimization will occur in 8th grade continuing through 12th grade. H4: Significant increases in all forms of perpetration will occur in 10th grade and continue through 12th grade. H5: The growth curves for all forms of victimization and perpetration will vary by individual, family, neighborhood, and organizational risk factors.

Study variables

Approach to analysis A hierarchical curve-of-factors latent growth model will determine the developmental trajectory of teen dating violence from grades 6 through 12. Agrowth curve will be fitted to individual, family, organizational, and neighborhood, factors, with separate growth curves for physical, emotional/psychological, and sexual dating violence victimization and perpetration and for composite victimization and perpetration.

e12 e10 e13 e8 e11 e9 Adol. factors Caregiver factors Provider factors Neigh. factors Org. factors Couple factors sd_icept sd_slope 1 6 1 12 1 7 Intercept Dev Slope Slope 1 8 11 Dev Icept 1 10 1 1 9 cov_icept_slope 0, var 0, var 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 e1 e7 DV 6th DV 10th DV 12th DV 7th DV 11th DV 8th DV 9th 0, var 0, var 0, var 0, var 0, var e2 e5 e6 e3 e4 Cohort 1 7th 8th 6th 9th 7th 8th 9th 10th Cohort 2 11th 8th 9th 10th Cohort 3 12th 11th 9th 10th Cohort 4 Physical Victimization Emo/Psych Victimization Sexual Victimization Physical Perpetration Emo/Psych Perpetration Sexual Perpetration Composite Victimization Composite Perpetration

Sample characteristics

Dating violence victimization 1McNemar’s continuity adjustment for paired categorical data

Dating violence perpetration 1McNemar’s continuity adjustment for paired categorical data

Jim McDonell , Ph.D., Principal Investigator David Wolfe, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator