Effects of Dating Matters® on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Outcomes among Middle School Youth: a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Sexual violence (SV), including sexual harassment (SH), is a significant public health problem affecting adolescent health and well-being. This study extends prior research by evaluating the effectiveness of a comprehensive teen dating violence prevention model, Dating Matters, on SV and SH perpetration and victimization, inclusive of any victim-perpetrator relationship, among middle school students. Dating Matters includes classroom-delivered programs for youth in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades; community-based programs for parents; a youth communications program; training for educators; and community-level activities. Middle schools in four urban areas in the USA were randomly assigned to receive Dating Matters (DM, N = 22) or a standard-of-care intervention (SC, N = 24) over four consecutive school years (2012-2016). The analytic sample included two cohorts who entered the study in 6th grade and completed 8th grade by the end of the study allowing for full exposure to Dating Matters (DM: N = 1662; SC: N = 1639; 53% female; 50% black, non-Hispanic; 6 waves of data collection for each cohort). Structural equation modeling was employed with multiple imputation to account for missing data. Dating Matters was associated with significant reductions in SV and SH perpetration and victimization scores in most-but not all-sex/cohort groups by the end of 8th grade relative to an evidence-based TDV prevention program. On average, students receiving Dating Matters scored 6% lower on SV perpetration, 3% lower on SV victimization, 4% lower on SH perpetration, and 8% lower on SH victimization by the end of middle school than students receiving an evidence-based violence prevention program. Overall, Dating Matters shows promise for reducing SV and SH, occurring both within and outside dating relationships, through middle school. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01672541.

Keywords: Dating Matters; Prevention; Sexual harassment; Sexual violence; Teen dating violence.

Fig. 1

Sexual violence perpetration and victimization across time by sex and cohort. Note. SC = Standard-of-care condition. DM = Dating Matters condition. Percent of Maximum Score (POMS) refers to the maximum possible score given the number of items and response categories in a scale, rather than the maximum observed score. Mean POMS scores have been constrained to appear equal when not significantly different; non-overlapping lines at any time point represent a statistically significant group difference

Fig. 2

Sexual harassment perpetration and victimization across time by sex and cohort. Note. SC = Standard-of-care condition. DM = Dating Matters condition. Percent of Maximum Score (POMS) refers to the maximum possible score given the number of items and response categories in a scale, rather than the maximum observed score. Mean POMS scores have been constrained to appear equal when not significantly different; non-overlapping lines at any time point represent a statistically significant group difference

Fig. 3

Percent relative risk reduction by outcome across cohorts/time periods (M, range) for Dating Matters vs. standard-of-care. Note. Relative risk reduction represents the percent reduction in scores on measures of victimization and perpetration of sexual violence and sexual harassment for the condition relative to the standard-of-care condition. The numbers within the circles represent the average risk reduction for that outcome across the 4 groups (sex by cohort), and the space between the diamonds represent the range of relative risk reduction on that outcome across the four groups