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Targeted programs may halt adolescent, partner sexual violence

Prevention programs within the community, at school and through parenting may be efficacious in deterring adolescent intimate partner violence and sexual violence, according to researchers.

Rebecka Lundgren, MPH, PhD, director of research at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center and Avni Amin, PhD, from the department of reproductive health research at the WHO in Geneva assessed programs aimed at the prevention of violence among teens. They conducted a review of 142 articles in the literature and found 61 interventions intended to curb intimate partner and sexual violence.

The investigators found that school-based dating violence interventions have been successful, but were only implemented in high-income countries. Community-based interventions were adequate in preventing intimate partner violence and sexual violence, the researchers wrote. Parenting interventions stopped maltreatment and abuse, which are risk factors associated with intimate partner violence and sexual violence, they added.

“The results of this research show that it is possible to prevent intimate partner violence among youth and we have the tools we need to make a difference,” Lundgren said in a press release. “Our review suggests that working in schools and supporting children and adolescents who have been exposed to violence prevents violence in high income countries such as the United States. It is imperative that we invest resources to adapt and test these successful approaches in other settings to tackle the global problem of violence.”

Further research is necessary to determine the influence of social factors on violence, the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.