eMoms and Teens for Safe Dates: a Single Arm Pre-post Study of Preliminary Efficacy

Adolescents exposed to intimate partner violence between caregivers face heightened risk of adolescent dating violence (ADV), yet few family-based prevention programs have been tailored to this group or evaluated for their impact on theorized mechanisms of change.

This single-arm pilot study examined the preliminary efficacy of eMoms and Teens for Safe Dates (eMTSD), a brief, web-based program for IPV-exposed adolescents and their mothers. Participants were 101 mother-adolescent dyads recruited via community agencies and social media. All dyads completed a baseline survey and were asked to complete six modules together over 6 weeks. Follow-up data were collected from 85 mothers and 80 adolescents. Analyses assessed pre-post changes in factors targeted by the intervention and examined cross-sectional associations between these factors and baseline ADV victimization and perpetration.

Significant changes in the expected direction were found for targeted adolescent (knowledge, perceived severity, and normative beliefs) and mother (knowledge, protection motivation beliefs) cognitions. Mothers and adolescents also showed gains in conflict-resolution skills and declines in adolescent emotion dysregulation approached significance. At the family level, frequency of communication and adolescent disclosure of dating behaviors/concerns improved significantly, with trends towards improvements in cohesion and communication quality. Many of the factors that changed were also associated with baseline ADV victimization or perpetration, supporting the relevance of program targets.

eMTSD shows promise for improving modifiable ADV-related risk and protective factors among IPV-exposed families. A randomized trial is needed to assess impacts on ADV outcomes and inform future scale-up.