The Effects Of Early Adolescent Involvement On Adolescents

IntroductionIn recent history, dating violence has become a paramount issue in American society. With the rates of domestic violence on the rise, much research has been conducted that provides evidence that violence during dating relationships in the teen years is a strong contributing factor to later domestic violence. Current research is revealing that a far larger percentage of teens are suffering from some amount of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse in their dating relationships. Studies have shown that both those who engage in the violent behaviors, as well as those who are the victims of these acts are more likely to be involved in violent relationships in the future. The significant number of individuals involved in these

with Research conducted on the characteristics of female sexual abusers uses three specific case examples of young girls, ages: ten, twelve, and sixteen. In two of three case examples, the girls had reported being sexually abused at a young age. The third girl, age sixteen, did not explicitly state she had been sexually abused, but has close ties with her father who is a known sex-offender,; therefore it is believed that she has been sexually abused during childhood. A review of adolescent offenders of sexual abuse, under the age of 21, shows: “Chi-square analyses showed significant associations between those who targeted children and being sexually abused or having a family member subject to sexual abuse” The study also reports that those that have experienced sexual assault at a young age, and have been reported to sexually assault other children typically have poor relationships with peers and family members in addition to experiencing two or more instances of

In today’s society, teens are becoming more and more involved in domestic violence. No one would have thought that we would have a problem with domestic violence in our generation, that we left that back in the ancient times. We have overlooked domestic violence, we thought that it wasn’t an important matter but now in the past decade it has increased rapidly. In this paper, I will discuss whether or not teens are being physically and emotionally hurt in relationships are because when they were younger they were abused , whether this could be a reason why they are more drawn to becoming introduced to domestic violence.

I chose this topic because I feel it meets a true community need; too many young people, girls in particular, are falling prey to abusive relationships. The effects are far-reaching, and the loss of self-esteen that so often occurs leaves invisible scars. I also feel that emotional abuse among young girls in dating realtionships is far too often ignored, and when it is recognized, many people do not know how to help the young girls deal with it in an effective manner.

The statistical evidence of young female juveniles describes by journalist Linda Lowen. Lowen says young girls who were subjected to many different mental health issues and some form of abuse have often led to delinquent conduct. Abuse, such as, physical, mental, sexual, and emotional abuse is the most commonplace behind a juvenile’s girl’s negative behavior. In the United States, seventy-three percent of young girls have been abused. Just over forty percent of young girls have been victims of sexual assault or rape. Girls who have been abused or neglected are twice as likely to be arrested as other girls (Lowen, 2014).

Over the past two decades, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has received increased attention due to the undeniable ripple effects it has on families. Particularly, children who witness dynamics often seen in abusive relationships may be harmful and can have destructive effects on the development of a child(s). Protecting these silent victims from the long-term effects is important as it may lead to abusive relationships in the future. In this paper, I plan to address the direct and indirect abuse that Jordan and Jessica were subjected to while providing insight on an appropriate theory, assessment, and intervention that speaks to the dynamics of IPV that the children were exposed to.

Within current culture, it is easy to assume that young relationships are innocent and do not enable any issues in the adolescents cognitive or physical development. The main concern of Ming Cui et al. is that dating in early adolescence can impede developmental adjustment (Serafini & Rye & Drysdale, 2013, pg. 253). The reason for this concern is that there is more research showing that there is an association between romantic relationships and delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood (Serafini & Rye & Drysdale, 2013, pg. 254). Based on personal opinion, there are free factors that support this core reason.

“Nearly 1.5 million high school students across the country experience physical violence at the hands of a dating partner each year” (Duret). Teenage dating violence is on the rise. Due to recent advances in technology, abuse issues are more prevalent; technology allows room for students to lash out over text messaging and through social media. However, teen violence can be prevented. The government has established laws and campaigns to educate and protect victims. Teenagers go through many changes during their adolescent years and peer influence can make it hard to decipher between right and wrong. However, by high school, teenagers should be able to determine and understand healthy relationships; unfortunately, teenage dating violence statistics continue to rise at alarming rates.

In regards to Carlson (1991), the degree of age and maturity appears to be more stable and within a comprehensive age span for a determination than it did in Fantuzzo (Edleson, 1999, p.847). The study group consisted of all teenagers. Although the age was appropriate for a comparative study, out of the 50 samples only 12 had witnessed and 25 who had never experienced abuse or domestic violence for this study.

The CDC reports that nearly half of all men and women in the United States have been psychologically abused by a romantic partner, while around a quarter of women and 1 in 7 men have been physically abused [2]. This is a dramatic difference from areas like the United Kingdom, where 8.2% of women and 4% of men have been abused [3] One in three people experience abuse by a romantic partner by the age of eighteen [4]. In 2015, 87% of hospitalized abuse victims in New York state were women, and were admitted more often than male victims [5]. This can likely be partially attributed to traditional gender roles, which assume that men are “stronger” than women and are “weak” if they are hurt by a woman.

Young boys in the family who grow up watching their father mistreat their mother are more likely to abuse their spouse as they grow older. Past family history of domestic violence gives young boys the idea that women are weak and are not to be respected during their relationship. Young girls who eyewitness their family going through domestic violence are likely to be victimized by their spouse (Goldsmith 1).

Research has greatly indicated and proven that media exposure has an impact on the normative perceptions of substance use and relationship behaviors among adolescents. Studies have shown that media content and patterns of usage are considerably related to adolescent perception of gender roles, romantic relationships, and sexual behavior. Repeated contact or subjection to sexualize subject matter on television or different forms of media has been related to individuals perceived normative gender roles (Herrett- Skjellum & Allen, 1996). Negative and socially impaired beliefs about relationships, for example such as ‘‘fate brings soul-mates together, disagreement is destructive to a relationship, partners should be able to sense each other’s thoughts and feelings’’ (Holmes, 2007). Also with persistent disclosure to sexually explicit content related with more positive attitudes or norms toward “uncommitted sexual exploration” as well (Brown and Bobkowski, 2011).

Domestic violence has grown to become a prevalent issue within households in the United States. Being such a great issue, we come to question the percentage of children affected and the impact it has on their social development and interaction with others. It is crucial for us to understand and recognize the long term effects that domestic violence can have on adolescents.

The nature of girls’ relationships involves intimate conversations between friends and, as a result, girls are more invested in their social status and friendships compared to boys (Berndt, 1982). Their choice to use relational aggression to impose social norms more often than physical aggression can be credited to the desire for adolescents to “damage what the same-gender peer group most values” (Paquette & Underwood, 1999, p. 244). Girls view relational aggression as wounding because it harms the intimate relationships they value. Because of the high levels of intimacy in their relationships, relational aggression enables them to gain control over their friends (Grotpeter & Crick, 1996). As a reaction, individuals who have been victims of relational aggression reported experiencing feelings of unhappiness as well as lowered self-perceptions of athletic capability, physical appearance, romantic appeal, close friendships, and general self-worth.