Dating Violence Victimization and Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality by Sex

Adolescents who experience dating violence victimization (DVV) have much higher rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

This research investigates the association between DVV and depressive symptoms and suicidality among high school (HS) students by sex in the United States. This research also investigates whether students who dated and did not experience physical or sexual dating violence are at greater risk of depressive symptoms and suicidality than students who never dated.

The HS Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a cross-sectional nationally representative U.S. survey conducted biennially by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For this research, data were analyzed from four waves (2013-2019) to investigate the relationship between DVV and depressive symptoms and suicidality by sex. The R survey package was used for analyses.

Results showed a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidality among students who reported DVV. Also, DVV was significantly associated with each of the variables: depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Additive interactions show that the positive association between DVV and depressive symptoms within the past year was significantly greater among female HS students; additive interactions showing a positive association between DVV and suicidal ideation or suicide attempts within the past year did not vary significantly by sex. Both male and female students who did not date were significantly less likely to have depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts than those who dated but did not experience dating violence.

Results from this study highlight the importance of dating violence prevention and screenings for female and male adolescents.