A Pilot Study of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program With Karen Refugees

Abstract

While teen dating violence (TDV) prevention programs generally report changes in participants' attitudes and mixed findings about changes in behavior, little is known about the impact of TDV programs on ethnic minority youth. This study examined the effectiveness of Safe Dates, an evidence-based TDV prevention program, in educating 21 resettled Karen refugee youth from Burma. Findings indicated changes in attitudes toward violence occurred from pretest to follow-up. Years living in the United States was significantly related to pretest and posttest attitudes. More research about TDV is needed among Karen youth with attention given to the role of acculturation on TDV attitudes.

Keywords: program evaluation; refugees; teen dating violence.