This study investigated the development, change, and stability of teen dating violence (TDV) victimization over time.
Specifically, this study identified distinct subgroups of adolescents based on past-year TDV victimization, whether adolescents change victimization statuses over time (e.g., from psychological victimization to physical victimization), and how exposure to inter-parental violence and gender influenced the prevalence and stability of TDV statuses. Adolescents (N=1,042) from seven public high schools in Texas participated in this longitudinal study. The Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI) (Wolfe et al., Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 277-293, 2001) was used to identify victimization statuses. Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) with measurement invariance was used to examine transition probability of an individual's latent status at Wave 3 or Wave 4 given his or her latent status at Wave 2 or Wave 3. Gender and exposure to inter-parental violence were included as moderators in the LTA. Three statuses of TDV victimization were identified: (1) non-victims; (2) emotional/verbal victims; and (3) physical/psychological victims. LTA showed that the majority of adolescents stayed in the same status over time; however, female youth exposed to inter-parental violence were more likely to move from a less to more severe status over time compared to non-exposed youth. Female youth exposed to inter-parental violence were more likely to remain in or move into a violent relationship compared to unexposed youth. This is the first study to identify subgroups of TDV victimization and to examine the stability of group membership over time. (Publisher abstract modified)