TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of the Dating Matters® Comprehensive Prevention Model on Health- and Delinquency-Related Risk Behaviors in Middle School Youth
T2 - a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Estefan, Lianne Fuino
AU - Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M.
AU - Niolon, Phyllis Holditch
AU - Le, Vi D.
AU - Tracy, Allison J.
AU - Little, Todd D.
AU - DeGue, Sarah
AU - Latzman, Natasha E.
AU - Tharp, Andra
AU - Lang, Kyle M.
AU - McIntosh, Wendy Li Kam Wa
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for the entire initiative was provided by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC. Acknowledgments
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the participation of students and schools in the Dating Matters Initiative. We also would like to acknowledge the contribution of each funded public health department; specifically staff working with or housed at the Alameda County Public Health Department (Cooperative Agreement No. CE002052), including Caroline Miller, Melissa Espinoza, and Mauro Sifuentes; the Baltimore City Health Department (Cooperative Agreement No. CE002050), including Byron Pugh, Aisha Burgess, and Katrina Brooks; the Broward County Health Department (Cooperative Agreement No. CE002048), including Lenny Mujica, Aimee Wood, Heidi Vaniman, Stacey Lazos, and Renee Padolsky; and the Chicago Department of Public Health (Cooperative Agreement No. CE002054), including Erica Davis, Marlita White, and Delrice Adams. Lastly, we acknowledge the contracting organizations who contributed substantially to program implementation and data collection efforts; NORC at the University of Chicago (Contract No. 200-2011-40998), Research Triangle Institute (Contract No. 200-2012-51959), and Ogilvy Public Relations (Contract No. 200-2007-20014/0015).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/2
Y1 - 2021/2
N2 - Teen dating violence (TDV) is associated with a variety of delinquent behaviors, such as theft, and health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors, including alcohol use, substance abuse, and weapon carrying. These behaviors may co-occur due to shared risk factors. Thus, comprehensive TDV-focused prevention programs may also impact these other risk behaviors. This study examined the effectiveness of CDC’s Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships (Dating Matters) comprehensive TDV prevention model compared to a standard-of-care condition on health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors among middle school students. Students (N = 3301; 53% female; 50% black, non-Hispanic; and 31% Hispanic) in 46 middle schools in four sites across the USA were surveyed twice yearly in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. A structural equation modeling framework with multiple imputation to account for missing data was utilized. On average over time, students receiving Dating Matters scored 9% lower on a measure of weapon carrying, 9% lower on a measure of alcohol and substance abuse, and 8% lower on a measure of delinquency by the end of middle school than students receiving an evidence-based standard-of-care TDV prevention program. Dating Matters demonstrated protective effects for most groups of students through the end of middle school. These results suggest that this comprehensive model is successful at preventing risk behaviors associated with TDV. clinicaltrials.gov
AB - Teen dating violence (TDV) is associated with a variety of delinquent behaviors, such as theft, and health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors, including alcohol use, substance abuse, and weapon carrying. These behaviors may co-occur due to shared risk factors. Thus, comprehensive TDV-focused prevention programs may also impact these other risk behaviors. This study examined the effectiveness of CDC’s Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships (Dating Matters) comprehensive TDV prevention model compared to a standard-of-care condition on health- and delinquency-related risk behaviors among middle school students. Students (N = 3301; 53% female; 50% black, non-Hispanic; and 31% Hispanic) in 46 middle schools in four sites across the USA were surveyed twice yearly in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. A structural equation modeling framework with multiple imputation to account for missing data was utilized. On average over time, students receiving Dating Matters scored 9% lower on a measure of weapon carrying, 9% lower on a measure of alcohol and substance abuse, and 8% lower on a measure of delinquency by the end of middle school than students receiving an evidence-based standard-of-care TDV prevention program. Dating Matters demonstrated protective effects for most groups of students through the end of middle school. These results suggest that this comprehensive model is successful at preventing risk behaviors associated with TDV. clinicaltrials.gov
KW - Dating matters
KW - Delinquency
KW - Prevention
KW - Substance use
KW - Teen dating violence
KW - Weapon
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084637505&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11121-020-01114-6
DO - 10.1007/s11121-020-01114-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 32242288
AN - SCOPUS:85084637505
VL - 22
SP - 163
EP - 174
JO - Prevention Science
JF - Prevention Science
SN - 1389-4986
IS - 2
ER -