Context Matters: Factors That Influence African American Teens' Perceptions and Definitions of Dating Violence

Objective: African American (AA) teens endure the highest burden of abuse in their romantic relationships. Although teens believe physical violence constitutes abuse (Martin, Houston, Mmari, & Decker, 2012; Sears & Byers. 2010), some teens are more accepting of using controlling behaviors. This study identifies what behaviors AA teens consider to be dating violence, as well as the contextual factors that influence their classification. Method: Data were collected from interviews (a = 38) with AA teens in New Orleans. Teens' definitions were elicited through presenting a series of scenarios depicting teen dating violence (TDV) behaviors. Participants were asked to describe their rationales for scenario designation. Researchers employed thematic content analysis to identify primary themes across the interviews. Analysis involved multiple rounds of iterative coding and the clustering of similar thematic constructs. Results: Participants categorized scenarios that contained examples of male-perpetrated physical or sexually coercive acts as definitely dating violence. However, there was more variation in the labeling of other abuse scenarios. Some of the contextual factors that influenced participant designation included the gender and intent of the perpetrator, the impact on the victim, and the role the victim played in the abuse. Participants had more permissive attitudes regarding acts that were interpreted as typical behaviors in dating relationships. Conclusions: These findings underscore the prominent role contextual factors play in AA teens' understanding of TDV. The narrow distinction between perceptions of seriousness across many of the depicted acts of dating violence reveals the complex processes of defining and measuring TDV.