In US, dating has a violent side too-USA-World-The Times of India

NEW YORK: About 3% of 12- to 17-year-old girls are physically or sexually assaulted by a boyfriend or date, a US study suggests.

In interviews with a nationally representative sample of US teens, researchers found that 2.7% of girls and 0.6% of boys said they had been the victim of serious dating violence - including physical abuse, sexual assault or being threatened with a weapon.
The findings offer some insight into the prevalence of the problem, as well as some of its consequences, according to lead researcher Kate B Wolitzky-Taylor who is now at the University of Texas at Austin.

She and her colleagues at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, found that teenagers who said they'd been the victims of dating violence were nearly four times more likely to have experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression.

The study did not look at less-severe forms of violence, such as being shoved or slapped without injury, and did not assess verbal abuse. So the percentage of teens in abusive relationships may be higher.

The bottom line, according to the researchers, is that dating violence needs to be detected early - by parents, doctors or school assessment - and prevented whenever possible. Teaching middle school students how to handle conflicts in their relationships might help them later on to manage relationships. In addition, Taylor said teens, who have a friend in a violent relationship, should be taught to report the situation to an adult.