Adolescent dating violence may lead to adverse health behaviors. We examined associations between sexual teen dating violence victimization (TDVV) and sexual risk behaviors among U.S. high school students using 2013 and 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (combined n = 29,346). Sex-stratified logistic regression models were used to estimate these associations among students who had dated or gone out with someone during the past 12 months (n = 20,093). Among these students, 10.5% experienced sexual TDVV. Sexual TDVV was positively associated with sexual intercourse before age 13, four or more lifetime sexual partners, current sexual activity, alcohol or drug use before last sexual intercourse, and no pregnancy prevention during last sexual intercourse. Given significant findings among both sexes, it is valuable for dating violence prevention efforts to target both female and male students.

In the worrisome context of increasing rates of intimate partner violence and a number of recent deaths reportedly occurring in domestic situations, the establishment and maintenance of effective intervention strategies is a critical public health concern. The present study aimed to evaluate the functioning of a regional intersectoral rapid intervention collaboration agreement (called A-GIR) initiated to respond preventatively to situations identified as high risk of domestic homicide, in Quebec, Canada. In order to better understand how such a collaboration may be successfully implemented, a qualitative analysis was conducted of the perceived functioning of A-GIR and the factors that favor its success as well as issues that should be addressed in this and other such initiatives to ensure efficient and effective practices that prevent the loss of life. Participants (N = 15) were active A-GIR members, who responded to semi-structured interviews which were thematically analyzed. Results are discussed in relation to established partnership action evaluation criteria. The study highlights the necessary conditions for the success of a collaborative agreement such as A-GIR.

This study examines male–female differences of juveniles arrested for a sex offense. A cross-national sample of juvenile boys (n = 177) and a population of juvenile girls (n = 177) arrested for a sex offense are utilized for this analysis. It is hypothesized that (1) boys and girls differ substantially in their offending patterns. Based on Moffitt’s social-amplification hypothesis, it is also hypothesized that (2) juveniles who act with a co-offender commit more serious offenses (i.e., more likely to be arrested for rape and have more victims) compared to those who act alone. The results show boys differ from girls: juvenile girls are slightly younger, more likely to be White, more likely to have a co-offender, less likely to commit rape, and be processed formally by law enforcement. The results yielded indicated social amplification appears to occur when girls offend with a co-offender, but not when boys acted with a co-offender.

This research examines predictors of antigay violence (physical assault, sexual assault, and property damage) using Finkelhor and Asdigian’s (1996) revised routine activities theory, which predicts that target congruence increases victimization risk. Results indicate about half of the sample experienced at least one type of victimization, while 25% experienced two or more types. Physical violence was the most common type of antigay victimization, with property damage and sexual assault occurring less often. Having a higher level of contact with gay/lesbian organizations and being out of the closet or open about sexual orientation increases the risk of both physical assault and property damage. More frequent drinking to intoxication also increases the risk of antigay-motivated physical assault. The sexual assault model was not significant. Implications for future research and prevention are discussed.

Interpersonal violence is pervasive and is related to numerous negative psychological outcomes. This study examines self-compassion and psychological flexibility as potential protective factors for the range of diverse problems associated with interpersonal trauma. A community sample of 27 women (mean age = 37.74, SD = 16.16) participated in a larger pilot intervention study for psychological distress related to interpersonal violence. In this treatment-seeking sample, self-compassion was positively associated with psychological flexibility and negatively linked to higher levels of trauma-related distress, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as problems related to the self and relations with others. The results suggest that self-compassion and psychological flexibility may function as protective factors in the development of problems in survivors of interpersonal violence.

Every day, 16 American youths between the ages of 10 and 24 years are murdered; 84% of these fatalities involve a firearm. Nearly half of traumatic youth deaths result from violence-related injuries. In 2013, 580,250 youth suffered nonfatal, assault-related injuries, necessitating emergency department treatment. The aim of this multisite pilot study was to examine the process, feasibility, and challenges of violence brief interventions (VBIs). The participants were youth between 15 and 25 years of age, at 2 major Level 1 trauma centers (TCs; TC1, TC2) in the Southeastern United States. Eligible participants (N = 38; TC1: n = 20, TC2: n = 18) received at least 1 VBI during their hospital stay, which provided information about individual screening results and elicited patients’ perspectives on violent and risky behaviors. More participants at TC2 than at TC1 completed 2 VBI sessions. Barriers to and support of implementation were identified at both sites, and factors for improving implementation were identified, including the need for staff support through clinical guidelines and coordinated prevention and outreach programs. Further research is needed to identify factors for successful implementation of VBIs in TCs.

With nearly 97% of incidents within the past 40 years committed by men, mass public shootings are a gendered social problem. Yet, empirical research on this phenomenon largely neglects gender hierarchy and cultural factors as predictors, in favor of individual- and event-level characteristics. Despite calls from scholars to place masculinity and threats to patriarchal hegemony at the center of analyses, no empirical studies to our knowledge have examined the role of gender inequality in mass public shootings. The findings indicate that gender inequality, structural and ideological, are important predictors of mass public shootings and that future research should continue to investigate such violence from a gendered lens.

This study was designed to shed light on the relationship between victimization and offending, a pattern commonly known as the victim–offender overlap, by exploring whether victimization and pessimism toward the future interact in association with self-reported delinquency. This study was performed on 1,300 (444 males, 645 females, and 211 sex not identified) members of the 2018 High School Senior Monitoring the Future cross-sectional study. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using a maximum likelihood estimator and bias-corrected bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals. The analysis revealed that victimization and the victimization × pessimism interaction correlated significantly with delinquency, after controlling for a series of demographic, family, and peer factors. These results indicate that pessimism toward the future may exacerbate the already strong relationship known to exist between victimization and delinquency.

The authors examined threatened and attempted suicide among partner-violent male respondents in a family court domestic violence intervention court based on the reports of 101 women petitioning the court for orders of protection. Suicidal behavior was prevalent; 45.5% of respondents had a history of threatened suicide and 12.9% had a history of suicide attempts. Most recent threats were clustered in the previous 6 months (70.5%) with one-fourth occurring within a week of the petition, potentially indicating a desperate response to a deteriorating relationship. Attempts were not clustered in recent months. Men with a history of threatened or attempted suicide were shown to have been more violent at the index offense and greater domestic violence severity overall, potentially indicating a subsample of more severely partner-violent men also at particularly heightened risk for suicide. The study of suicidal behavior in partner-violent men may inform the prevention of suicide and severe domestic violence.

This study examined the risks and protective factors for experiencing bullying and especially racist bullying among internationally adopted children in Finland. Factors examined were related to children's background, adoptive family, children's social problems and social skills, and their associations with bullying experiences. About 56.9% of children reported bullying victimization and 24.2% racist bullying victimization. Boys were at bigger risk of becoming bullied (B = 0.14, p < .05), as were children with disability (B = 0.11; p < .05). The continent of birth (European; B = 0.51; p < .001) and adoptive family's lower socioeconomic status (SES; B = 0.16; p < .05) were associated with increased victimization. Child's social problems increased the likelihood of victimization for both general (B = 0.59, p < .001) and racist bullying (B = 0.10, p < .001). Child's social skills appeared as a protective factor against general bullying (B = 3.87; p > .001). This study shows that interventions for tackling children's social problems and improving their social skills may reduce children's risk for bullying involvement.