Abstract
The mental health impact of abusive adolescent dating relationships has not been well described, but fear related to abuse has been reported. We elaborate the theme of fear in women's descriptions of a history of adolescent dating abuse. A sample of community-based women, ages 19–34, who experienced an abusive dating relationship during adolescence (ages 11–20) was used. Data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Fear was a consistent and resonant theme. Three types of fear were identified: fear for self, fear for other relationships, and fearful expectation. These results offer important insights into the impact of abusive adolescent relationships on women's mental health.
Highlights
The value of relationships in adolescence cannot be overstated, and is a fundamental element in any examination of adolescent behaviors, motivations, thought processes, and experiences as they pertain to development and the transition to adulthood (Campbell, Torres, McKenna, Sheridan, & Landenburger, 2004; Hetherington & Stoppard, 2002; Wolfe, Jaffe, & Crooks, 2006)
Interested women contacted the principal investigator (PI), who screened all participants via telephone using a modified version of the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS; Soeken, McFarlane, Parker, & Lominack, 1998)
The subsample of participants interviewed (n = 10) included four who identified as Caucasian and six who identified as African-American
Summary
The value of relationships in adolescence cannot be overstated, and is a fundamental element in any examination of adolescent behaviors, motivations, thought processes, and experiences as they pertain to development and the transition to adulthood (Campbell, Torres, McKenna, Sheridan, & Landenburger, 2004; Hetherington & Stoppard, 2002; Wolfe, Jaffe, & Crooks, 2006). Relationships as a means of identifying themselves socially (Wiseman, 2002; Wolfe et al, 2006). Relationships can both indicate and convey social standing, and adolescents often incorporate the impressions of others in the formation of self-concept (Wolfe et al, 2006). Dating and other types of relationships contribute to adolescents’ social self-location, or what we have termed “sociolocation”: self-identification and recognition of social integration through relationships
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