Effects of the Dating Matters® Comprehensive Prevention Model on Health- and Delinquency-Related Risk Behaviors in Middle School Youth: a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: Prevention science Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 163 - 174
• Main Authors: Estefan, Lianne Fuino, Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M., Niolon, Phyllis Holditch, Le, Vi D., Tracy, Allison J., Little, Todd D., DeGue, Sarah, Latzman, Natasha E., Tharp, Andra, Lang, Kyle M., McIntosh, Wendy LiKamWa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-02-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescents; Alcohol abuse; Alcohol use; Behavior; Behavior problems; Child and School Psychology; Clinical trials; Dating; Drug abuse; Health; Health behavior; Health care; Health Psychology; Health services; Intimate partner violence; Juvenile delinquency; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle school students; Middle schools; Missing data; Multiple imputation; Prevention; Prevention programs; Public Health; Risk behavior; Risk factors; Structural equation modeling; Students; Substance abuse; Theft; Weapons; Prevention; Substance use; Teen dating violence; Dating matters; Weapon; Delinquency
• ISSN: 1389-4986; 1573-6695
• DOI: 10.1007/s11121-020-01114-6

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
Identifier:
NCT01672541