Dating Violence

Since the late 1960s, violence in intimate relationships has been drawing more attention as an important social problem. Recently, violence has attracted attention as a source of growing concern among married, nonmarried, dating, and cohabiting couples. Early research indicates that 25 percent of nonmarried couples have experienced violence in their relationship. More recent research suggests that as many as 74 percent of men and women in relationships fall victim to their dating partners.

Dating is a difficult concept to define. The term dating can refer to a wide range of relationships between men and women. It includes boys’ and girls’ “hanging out,” “seeing each other,” or “hooking up with one another” within the context of a large, mixed-gender group, as well as monogamous committed sexual ...