Prevalence of teen dating victimization among a representative sample of high school students in Quebec

Background/Objective: The present study aimed to (1) examine prevalence rates and frequency of dating violence victimization among a representative sample of Quebec high school adolescents and (2) explore possible gender differences in these rates as well as in perceived impact of victimization. Method: A sample of 8,194 students completed questionnaires evaluating dating victimization in the past 12 months as well as perceived impacts. Results: Results show that psychological violence is the most frequent form of dating victimization reported. Girls are more likely to report experiences of psychological, physical, threatening behaviors as well as sexual dating victimization than boys. Analyses on different indicators of the impact of victimization (i.e. feelings of fear, distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms) reveal that teenage girls are more vulnerable to sustaining more pervasive impacts than boys. Conclusions: The findings underscore dating violence as a prevalent public health problem. A significant number of teens report dating victimization with girls more likely than boys to perceive negative impacts associated with the coercive behaviors experienced.