Peers and mental health can influence dating violence

A new emergency department study from the University of Michigan Injury Center looks deeper at risk and protective factors among teenagers who report dating violence and alcohol use. Patients ages 14 to 20 that came to the U-M emergency department seeking care were asked to complete a survey on alcohol use, peers, mental health and dating violence.

“We wanted to understand why dating violence occurs among young adults, so we analyzed individual and social factors that might contribute,” says lead author and IHPI member Vijay Singh, an U-M Injury Center researcher and clinical lecturer in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine.