The Science Behind Dating Matters

The demonstration project

From 2011 to 2016, CDC conducted a demonstration project of Dating Matters in Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, and Ft. Lauderdale. CDC examined the feasibility, sustainability, effectiveness, and cost of this comprehensive model for preventing teen dating violence in these four communities.

Local health departments in these cities recruited middle schools in neighborhoods identified as having above average rates of crime and poverty. While research suggests that young people in these communities may be at higher risk for dating violence, previous research had not studied prevention programs in these populations. Forty-six middle schools were randomly assigned to implement either the Dating Matters comprehensive teen dating violence prevention model or a standard-of-care model.

Youth in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades were surveyed annually to assess their exposure to dating violence and related behaviors. Some students were also surveyed as they began high school to examine the long-term effects of Dating Matters. This rigorous longitudinal, randomized-controlled trial provides the strongest evidence available to understand the effectiveness of the Dating Matters prevention model. Access all currently available publications about Dating Matters including those describing results from this demonstration project.

Program development

The youth and parent programs in Dating Matters were developed from the existing evidence on what works to prevent teen dating violence. CDC also adapted and created new evidence-informed strategies to address gaps in the existing programming.

Youth programs

CDC chose Safe Dates for use as the Dating Matters eighth grade youth program model because it was one of the most widely used evidence-based programs to prevent teen dating violence in the United States at the time. Safe Dates also served as the standard-of-care comparison program in the demonstration project. The Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model also includes sixth and seventh grade youth programs developed by CDC based on existing research showing what works in teen dating violence prevention. These programs are designed to be developmentally appropriate and complement Safe Dates, with additional content that addresses:

• Healthy and unhealthy behaviors in all relationships, including peers, family members, and dating partners.
• The role of social media, cell phones, text messaging, and phone applications in relationships.
• Other risk factors for dating violence, such as substance use, risky sexual behavior, and poor coping skills.

Parenting programs

Parenting programs were also included in the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model. CDC adapted the sixth-grade parent program from an existing evidence-based program called Parents Matter! that promotes open communication and positive parenting with children about sexual health. The adapted Parents Matter! for Dating Matters includes new content that addresses healthy dating relationships and teen dating violence. The seventh-grade program, Dating Matters for Parents, was designed by CDC to help parents establish positive communication with their kids to discuss dating relationships and healthy behaviors. The eighth-grade program is Families for Safe Dates. This existing evidence-based program was selected based on evidence that it can prevent physical teen dating violence victimization. The program consists of guides for family conversations at-home about dating violence and healthy relationships.

Communications program

CDC designed i2i^®: What R U Looking 4? as a component for the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model. It was developed based on communications best practices as well as theoretical models of behavior change. Formative research was conducted to:

• Explore knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the primary audience (11- to 14-year-olds) toward dating and relationships.
• Test messages and concepts with youth.
• Survey communities on capacity to implement a youth communications program.
• Analyze the preferences of youth-focused audiences.
• Review literature on communication campaigns geared towards similar audiences on sensitive topics and key influencers of high-risk, urban youth.

The i2i content was developed through co-creation workshops with youth to ensure authenticity as a credible source. The research suggested that communication campaign materials, such as social media messages, developed by youth for youth may be perceived as more authentic and credible by young teens. Therefore, the i2i brand is designed by and for youth, to appeal directly to them in order to increase the chances that they would hear and listen to the messages.

Evidence of effectiveness

CDC compared youth who participated in Dating Matters to those who participated in another evidence-based prevention program (Safe Dates). Researchers randomly assigned schools to either implement Dating Matters or the comparison program, Safe Dates, to see if Dating Matters was more effective than what was available at the time (also known as a comparative randomized controlled trial).

CDC surveyed students at multiple time points (also known as a longitudinal research design) starting in the fall of sixth grade before they participated in any prevention activities and again each spring and fall through eighth grade. The students were also surveyed once a year in high school to see if the effects lasted beyond the implementation of Dating Matters in middle school.

CDC statistically examined differences between those who participated in the full Dating Matters model versus those who participated in the other evidence-based program. CDC also examined differences between two groups (or cohorts) of students who participated in each year of implementation during sixth through eighth grade and between boys and girls. The effects described below show the average effects across groups of students and over time throughout middle school.

Effects in middle school

CDC found that during middle school, students in schools offering Dating Matters reported lower levels of teen dating violence perpetration and victimization and lower use of negative conflict resolution strategies than students in comparison schools. Teen dating violence outcomes were examined only for those who reported dating before or during middle school.

Middle schoolers who participated in Dating Matters also reported lower levels of:

• Bullying perpetration.
• Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization (females only).
• Physical violence perpetration.
• Weapon carrying.
• Alcohol and substance use.
• Delinquency.
• Sexual violence perpetration and sexual violence victimization (females only).
• Sexual harassment within and outside of dating relationships.

Effects in high schools

CDC’s research found that many of these effects persisted into high school. Compared to students who had received the standard-of-care comparison program in middle school, Dating Matters participants reported less dating violence perpetration and victimization, less negative conflict styles, and more positive relationship skills when surveyed in 9th-11th grade. Research on additional outcomes outside of dating relationships (e.g., bullying) during high school is expected soon.