Violence among dating teens

Strategies for change

Who has not seen a teenage or young couple yelling at each other, in a park or on the street? How many times have we heard our teenagers talk about the control that their young partners exercise over them on social networks or messaging apps? We have also heard some teenage girl say that her boyfriend loves her very much and that is why she is jealous of her, or that she agrees to do what he asks of her by blackmailing her.

Society rejects and denounces these behaviors, so why are there still behaviors that disturb teenagers or young adults, that influence their academic performance and future prospects, that cause them stress, pessimism and low self-esteem? Perhaps the most serious thing is that they normalize violence, even if they are not aware of it.

This manual has been written to try to respond to this situation. Its objective is to provide teachers, families and all people interested in the subject, the knowledge and strategies necessary to help our students or our children to live healthy relationships, based on respect, empathy, affection and dialogue.

The first part of the book develops theories and strategies to prevent and combat the violence that often occurs in teen’s romantic relationships. The second part addresses the inclusive and cross-cultural prevention of this violence from education and health services.

It is a groundbreaking book; it’s useful to teachers, families, public and private institutions and organizations, and associations that deal with teenagers.

Encarnación Soriano Ayala is Professor of Research Methods in Education at the University of Almeria. Her research is focused on cross-cultural health education and dating violence prevention, especially in teenagers and young adults from different ethnic and cultural groups.

César Armando Rey Anacona is a Psychologist from the National University of Colombia, Doctor in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Salamanca. He is currently Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia.

Josefina Lozano Martínez is a permanent teacher in the Department of Didactics and School Organization in the Faculty of Education at the University of Murcia. She has led research projects focused on intercultural education and attention to students with a specific need for educational support.

1. Theories and strategies to prevent and combat violence in teenagers and young adults’ relationships

2. Debates and biases in studies on teen couples’ violence

3. A historical-cultural view of violence in couples. Rape in the Algarve in the 19th century

4. Educational approaches to violence in teen couples

5. Cyber-violence in dating

6. Ethnicity and violence in teenagers and young adults’ couples from a cross-cultural approach

7. Violence in same-gender couples. Demonstrations and triggering factors