Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Sep;55(3):439-44.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.03.004. Epub 2014 Apr 24.

Bullying as a longitudinal predictor of adolescent dating violence

Vangie A Foshee  1 , Heath Luz McNaughton Reyes  2 , Alana M Vivolo-Kantor  3 , Kathleen C Basile  3 , Ling-Yin Chang  2 , Robert Faris  4 , Susan T Ennett  2
Affiliations

Bullying as a longitudinal predictor of adolescent dating violence

Vangie A Foshee et al. J Adolesc Health. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: One suggested approach to preventing adolescent dating violence is to prevent behavioral precursors to dating violence, such as bullying. However, no longitudinal study has examined bullying as a behavioral precursor to dating violence. In this study, longitudinal data were used to examine (1) whether direct and indirect bullying perpetration in the sixth grade predicted the onset of physical dating violence perpetration by the eighth grade and (2) whether the associations varied by sex and race/ethnicity of the adolescent.

Methods: Data were collected in school from sixth graders in three primarily rural counties and then again when students were in the eighth grade. Analyses were conducted with 1,154 adolescents who had not perpetrated dating violence at the sixth-grade assessment. The sample was 47% male, 29% black, and 10% of another race/ethnicity than black or white.

Results: Direct bullying, defined as hitting, slapping, or picking on another kid in the sixth grade, predicted the onset of physical dating violence perpetration by the eighth grade, controlling for indirect bullying and potential confounders. Although indirect bullying, defined as spreading false rumors and excluding students from friendship groups, was associated with the onset of physical dating violence perpetration in bivariate analyses, it did not predict the onset of physical dating violence when controlling for direct bullying. None of the associations examined varied by sex or race/ethnicity of the adolescents.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that efforts targeted at preventing direct bullying may also prevent the onset of physical dating violence.

Keywords: Adolescent dating abuse; Bullying; Dating violence; Dating violence prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest or financial disclosures to report.

References

    1. Foshee VA, Reyes HLM, Gottfredson NC, et al. A longitudinal examination of psychological, behavioral, academic, and relationship consequences of dating abuse victimization among a primarily rural sample of adolescent. J Adolesc Health. 2013;53:723–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Exner-Cortens D, Eckenrode J, Rothman E. Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics. 2013;131:71–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cascardi M, Avery-Leaf S. Violence against women: Synthesis of research for secondary school officials. 2000:1–25.
    1. Connolly J, Pepler DJ, Craig WM, et al. Dating experiences of bullies in early adolescence. Child Maltreat. 2000;5:299–310. - PubMed
    1. Foshee VA, Reyes HLM, Wyckoff SC. Approaches to preventing psychological, physical, and sexual partner abuse. In: O’Leary KD, Woodin E, editors. Understanding psychological and physical aggression in couples: Existing evidence and clinical implications. Washington: American Psychological Association; 2009. pp. 165–89.

Publication types