What Would They Do? Parents' Responses to Hypothetical Adolescent Dating Violence Situations

Although adolescent dating violence (ADV) is recognized as a significant public health problem, little is known about how parents respond to it. This article analyzes exploratory, qualitative data from a public opinion survey of 529 Midwestern, U.S. parents' ideas about how they would respond to a daughter victimized by ADV. It examines differing responses between mothers and fathers across 3 vignettes. Most parents viewed the ADV as serious, meriting deeper discussions with the daughter, boyfriend, or his parents. Many planned to handle the incident by trying to end the adolescents' relationship, talking to the boyfriend, or informing the daughter about ADV. These findings can help prevention workers show how knowledge about parents' typical reactions can help parents modulate their responses to increase effective communication with adolescents.