Factors associated with recognition of the signs o

Authors: Miyuki Nagamatsu Yukiko Hamada Kenichi Hara

Publish Date: 2016/01

Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Pages: 9-

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Abstract

During a period of 20 months from June 2011 to January 2013 a survey was distributed to 3340 students aged 13–15 years in the second and third grades at 18 junior high schools in a Japanese prefecture The survey examined gender recognition of the signs of dating violence knowledge of dating violence selfesteem attitudes toward sexual activity attitudes toward an equal dating relationship and relationships with school teachers Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of the ability of boys and girls respondents to recognize the signs of physical and psychological dating violence Binary  multiple logistic regression analysis was also performed to identify predictors of the ability of boys and girls respondents to recognize the sign of sexual dating violence The Ethics Committee of Saga University Medical School approved the study protocolA total of 3050 913  students participated in this study 1547 boys and 1503 girls Gender differences were noted with regard to the scores for some of the variables measured The results indicated that boys who had more knowledge of dating violence who focused on an equal dating relationship and had a positive relationship with their teachers showed a greater ability to recognize the signs of dating violence In addition boys with a conservative attitude toward sexual activity showed a greater ability to recognize the signs of physical and sexual violence Furthermore girls with more knowledge of dating violence had a conservative attitude toward sexual activity and girls who focused on an equal dating relationship showed greater ability to recognize the signs of dating violenceThese findings suggest that education programs to prevent dating violence should promote understanding about dating violence with consideration of gender differences and should foster better relations between students and teachers as well as promoting the establishment of an equal dating relationship between boys and girlsDating violence has become one of today’s most serious and fastest increasing social and health concerns The prevalence of dating violence among adolescents has been reported with one in five female high school students reporting being physically and/or sexually assaulted by a date 1 Given that younger age is a consistent predictor for experiencing dating violence and that physical and sexual violence by a dating partner is prevalent among high school girls adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time for dating violence In Japan for instance 136  female and 43  male adult participants reported being victims of dating violence 2 In Matsuda’s study 3 it is reported that 178  male and 167  female Japanese college students admitted that they perpetrated violence against their dating partners Furthermore Nakata found that 14  of college females and 10  of high school females who participated in the study experienced dating violence with 30  of participants who reported of experiencing unwanted sexual activities 4 Silverman et al concluded that the experience of dating violence is significantly associated with adolescents’ health risk behaviors such as substance use unhealthy weight control and suicidality 1 Given the fact that there has been a drastic increase in early dating and thus early sexual engagement among Japanese adolescents 5 as well as the detrimental consequences of dating violence on adolescents’ wellbeing early prevention of dating violence is a major and urgent challenge for today’s Japanese societyOne of the difficulties in investigating attitudes toward dating violence is how it is defined For instance some researchers include psychological and emotional violent behavior that occur in dating relationships in their definition of dating violence 6 while others use a more restrictive definition that includes only physical violence 7 In the recent literature more contemporary definitions have begun to include physical sexual and psychological forms of violence 8 As such for the purpose of this study we included all three areas of violence given that the consequences of all three forms of violence are significant detrimental factors on adolescents’ developmentIn recent years the WHO has recommended the enhancement of measures to prevent adolescents from becoming a victim of violence/sexual violence by an intimate partner or becoming a perpetrator of such violence after their first sexual experience 9 Based on the results of a 2011 survey performed by the Japanese Association for Sex Education 10 the percentage of Japanese teenage boys and girls with sexual experience shows a marked increase from 37 to 47  respectively among junior high school students to 146 and 225  among high school students It is thought that enhancing the recognition of the signs of dating violence by junior high school students before their first sexual experience is effective education for preventing violence However sex education covering dating violence is not mandatory in Japanese junior high schools so only a small number of junior high school students receive such education and there have only been a few studies about dating violence among junior high school students 11 As Theriot 12 stated dating violence among adolescents is a serious form of school violence It is important for junior high school students to be able to easily recognize the warning signs of such violence and seek proper help from their formal and informal support systems Thus it is crucial for school social workers and educators to create and assess strategies for tackling this problem at schoolWe hoped to find predictors of the ability to recognize the signs of dating violence so that effective prevention programs could be provided to Japanese junior high school students in order to reduce dating violence In Japan there have not been any investigations of the factors predicting dating violence among junior high school students Therefore the present study was performed to identify factors associated with the ability of Japanese junior high school students to recognize the signs of dating violence

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