TY - JOUR
T1 - An RCT of Dating Matters
T2 - Effects on Teen Dating Violence and Relationship Behaviors
AU - Niolon, Phyllis Holditch
AU - Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M.
AU - Tracy, Allison J.
AU - Latzman, Natasha E.
AU - Little, Todd D.
AU - DeGue, Sarah
AU - Lang, Kyle M.
AU - Estefan, Lianne Fuino
AU - Ghazarian, Sharon R.
AU - McIntosh, Wendy Li Kam Wa
AU - Taylor, Bruce
AU - Johnson, Linda L.
AU - Kuoh, Henrietta
AU - Burton, Tessa
AU - Fortson, Beverly
AU - Mumford, Elizabeth A.
AU - Nelson, Shannon C.
AU - Joseph, Hannah
AU - Valle, Linda Anne
AU - Tharp, Andra Teten
N1 - Funding Information:
None of the authors have conflicts of interest. Funding for the entire initiative was provided by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC. PHN, AMVK, NEL, ATT, SD, LFE, WLKM, HK, TB, BF, and LAV worked for the funding organization during most of their participation on the project. BT, EAM, SN, and HJ were funded by CDC through a contract to assist with research design and collect all data (contract number 200-2011-40998). AJT, TDL, KML, and SRG were funded by 2M Research Services (contract number 200-2015-62568). Karna, LLC, is a contractor employing the data manager, who was an onsite contractor at CDC (Johnson).
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the participation of students and schools in the Dating Matters Initiative. The authors also would like to acknowledge the contribution of each funded public health department and their partners; specifically staff working with or housed at the Alameda County Public Health Department (cooperative agreement number CE002052), including Caroline Miller, Melissa Espinoza, Mauro Sifuentes, Molly Baldridge, and Chen Kong-Wick; the Baltimore City Health Department (cooperative agreement number CE002050), including Byron Pugh, Aisha Burgess, and Katrina Brooks; the Broward County Health Department (cooperative agreement number CE002048), including Lenny Mujica, Aimee Wood, Heidi Vaniman, Stacey Lazos, and Renee Podolsky; and the Chicago Department of Public Health (cooperative agreement number CE002054), including Erica Davis, Marlita White, and Delrice Adams. Lastly, the authors acknowledge the contracting organizations that contributed substantially to program implementation and data collection efforts: NORC at the University of Chicago (contract number 200-2011-40998), Research Triangle Institute (contract number 200-2012-51959), and Ogilvy Public Relations (contract number 200-2007-20014/0015); and those who assisted with data imputation and statistical analysis: 2M Research services (contract number 200-2015-62568) and their subcontractors at Texas Tech University, Institute for Measurement, Methodology, Analysis and Policy. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Author contributions: PHN, ATT, NEL, AMVK, BGT, EAM designed and conducted the trial; all authors were involved in one or more aspects of intervention development and implementation, data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation; clearance officials from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control approved the manuscript for preparation; all authors were involved in the preparation, review, or approval and submission of the manuscript. None of the authors have conflicts of interest. Funding for the entire initiative was provided by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC. PHN, AMVK, NEL, ATT, SD, LFE, WLKM, HK, TB, BF, and LAV worked for the funding organization during most of their participation on the project. BT, EAM, SN, and HJ were funded by CDC through a contract to assist with research design and collect all data (contract number 200-2011-40998). AJT, TDL, KML, and SRG were funded by 2M Research Services (contract number 200-2015-62568). Karna, LLC, is a contractor employing the data manager, who was an onsite contractor at CDC (Johnson). Dr. Alana Vivolo-Kantor and Henrietta Kuoh are now in the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention at the CDC. Dr. Natasha Latzman is now at RTI International. Dr. Todd Little is also affiliated with North West University, South Africa. Dr. Kyle Lang is now at Tilburg University. Dr. Sharon R. Ghazarian is now at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. Tessa Burton is now in the Office of the Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC. Dr. Beverly Fortson is now at the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. Hannah Joseph is now at Georgia State University. Dr. Linda Anne Valle is retired. Dr. Andra Tharp is now at the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Introduction: Teen dating violence is a serious public health problem with few effective prevention strategies. This study examines whether the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model, compared with a standard of care intervention, prevented negative relationship behaviors and promoted positive relationship behaviors. Study design: This longitudinal, cluster-RCT compared the effectiveness of Dating Matters with standard of care across middle school. Standard of care was an evidence-based teen dating violence prevention curriculum (Safe Dates) implemented in eighth grade. Setting/participants: Forty-six middle schools in high-risk urban neighborhoods in four U.S. cities were randomized. Schools lost to follow-up were replaced with new schools, which were independently randomized (71% school retention). Students were surveyed in fall and spring of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades (2012–2016). The analysis sample includes students from schools implementing Dating Matters or standard of care for >2 years who started sixth grade in the fall of 2012 or 2013 and had dated (N=2,349 students, mean age 12 years, 49% female, and 55% black, non-Hispanic, 28% Hispanic, 17% other). Intervention: Dating Matters is a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention model including classroom-delivered programs for sixth to eighth graders, training for parents of sixth to eighth graders, educator training, a youth communications program, and local health department activities to assess capacity and track teen dating violence–related policy and data. Main outcome measures: Self-reported teen dating violence perpetration and victimization, use of negative conflict resolution strategies, and positive relationship skills were examined as outcomes. Imputation and analyses were conducted in 2017. Results: Latent panel models demonstrated significant program effects for three of four outcomes; Dating Matters students reported 8.43% lower teen dating violence perpetration, 9.78% lower teen dating violence victimization, and 5.52% lower use of negative conflict resolution strategies, on average across time points and cohorts, than standard of care students. There were no significant effects on positive relationship behaviors. Conclusions: Dating Matters demonstrates comparative effectiveness, through middle school, for reducing unhealthy relationship behaviors, such as teen dating violence and use of negative conflict resolution strategies, relative to the standard of care intervention. Trial registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01672541.
AB - Introduction: Teen dating violence is a serious public health problem with few effective prevention strategies. This study examines whether the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model, compared with a standard of care intervention, prevented negative relationship behaviors and promoted positive relationship behaviors. Study design: This longitudinal, cluster-RCT compared the effectiveness of Dating Matters with standard of care across middle school. Standard of care was an evidence-based teen dating violence prevention curriculum (Safe Dates) implemented in eighth grade. Setting/participants: Forty-six middle schools in high-risk urban neighborhoods in four U.S. cities were randomized. Schools lost to follow-up were replaced with new schools, which were independently randomized (71% school retention). Students were surveyed in fall and spring of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades (2012–2016). The analysis sample includes students from schools implementing Dating Matters or standard of care for >2 years who started sixth grade in the fall of 2012 or 2013 and had dated (N=2,349 students, mean age 12 years, 49% female, and 55% black, non-Hispanic, 28% Hispanic, 17% other). Intervention: Dating Matters is a comprehensive, multicomponent prevention model including classroom-delivered programs for sixth to eighth graders, training for parents of sixth to eighth graders, educator training, a youth communications program, and local health department activities to assess capacity and track teen dating violence–related policy and data. Main outcome measures: Self-reported teen dating violence perpetration and victimization, use of negative conflict resolution strategies, and positive relationship skills were examined as outcomes. Imputation and analyses were conducted in 2017. Results: Latent panel models demonstrated significant program effects for three of four outcomes; Dating Matters students reported 8.43% lower teen dating violence perpetration, 9.78% lower teen dating violence victimization, and 5.52% lower use of negative conflict resolution strategies, on average across time points and cohorts, than standard of care students. There were no significant effects on positive relationship behaviors. Conclusions: Dating Matters demonstrates comparative effectiveness, through middle school, for reducing unhealthy relationship behaviors, such as teen dating violence and use of negative conflict resolution strategies, relative to the standard of care intervention. Trial registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01672541.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067197740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.02.022
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.02.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 31128957
AN - SCOPUS:85067197740
VL - 57
SP - 13
EP - 23
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
SN - 0749-3797
IS - 1
ER -