Adolescents and intimate partner violence: Evaluating a brief school-based education programme

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health concern that may begin in adolescent dating relationships. Little is known about the effectiveness of education in British schools to prevent dating violence. The aims of this pilot study were: (1) to examine the baseline attitudes towards, knowledge of, and self-reported IPV among 204 British adolescents, and (2) to measure whether knowledge and attitudes changed among adolescents who participated in an educational intervention, compared to a non-participating comparison group. Anonymous questionnaires were completed before and following participation in a three-session school-based programme taught by trained teachers who utilised existing teaching resources. At baseline, 36% mostly or totally agreed that violence is bound to occur in a relationship and a third of boys reported that it is acceptable to hit a female partner in certain situations. Eleven per cent of girls who had a partner reported that they had been physically victimised. Following intervention, adolescents in the intervention group had better knowledge of partner violence but little attitude change was found. The findings suggest a need to develop and implement evidence-based programmes at a younger age which target attitudes and behaviours.