Long-term view can be effective in reducing dating and relationship violence in schools

Schools need to take a long-term approach to reducing the global issue of dating and relationship violence in young people, according to the most comprehensive and far-reaching research analysis ever conducted in the area.

Schools across the world can be hotbeds of dating and relationship violence, which is violence between young people in dating or ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ relationships. Conservative estimates suggest that up to a third of school-age children experience dating and relationship violence, such as physical, sexual and psychological abuse, including online abuse and coercive control. Young people who experience or perpetrate dating and relationship violence are at greater risk for domestic violence as adults.

As a result, schools across the world are under increasing pressure to teach healthy relationships. Large number of programmes have sought to address these issues and reduce violence, yet so far, no evidence has been available on what approached work. Now, researchers at the University of Exeter have reviewed 68 trials across the world, to try to gain a clearer picture of what patterns are effective in reducing dating, relationship and gender-based violence including sexual harassment, homophobic and transphobic bullying.

Published in the American Journal of Public Health and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the findings indicate that school-based programmes are more effective at preventing dating and relationship violence than preventing gender-based violence. The research also shows that a long-term view over more than one school year is needed to be effective, as impact is not always immediate. The research also found that a simple approach works best. To be effective long-term, programmes needed to be straightforward and easy to implement, straightforward and highly relevant to both teacher and students.

Lead author Professor G.J. Melendez-Torres, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “There’s an urgent need to reduce dating and relationship violence, for the safety of students and to foster healthier relationships beyond the school gates. This review is the most comprehensive research of programmes carried out in school to reduce dating and relationship violence. Importantly, it shows that efforts to reduce dating and relationship violence can be effective, but schools need to take a long-term view.”

The research found more evidence on the effectiveness of programmes for dating and relationship violence than it did for gender-based violence, indicating that new strategies and more research are needed.

Ann Hagell, Research Lead at the Association for Young People’s Health, said: "Young people tell us that dating, relationship and gender based violence are all much more common among school-aged children than we might think or hope.  It makes huge sense to target solutions to this global problem around schools.  Our research has shown is that this is not easy to achieve.  However, this review is a critical first step in helping to identify how we improve outcomes for our young people, to improve their safety and ability to foster healthier relationships in school grounds, and well beyond."  

The study is entitled “School-based interventions to prevent dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence: systematic review and network meta-analysis”, published in the American Journal of Public Health.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The URL for the article will be https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307153, but this link will not be live until February 15 at 4:00 pm ET.

About the University of Exeter    

The University of Exeter is a Russell Group university that combines world-class research with high levels of student satisfaction. Exeter has over 30,000 students and sits within the Top 15 universities in The Guardian University Guide 2023, and in the top 150 globally in both the QS World Rankings 2022 and THE World University Rankings 2023. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), more than 99% of our research were rated as being of international quality, and our world-leading research impact has grown by 72% since 2014, more than any other Russell Group university.  

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/ 

For further information:  

Louise Vennells

University of Exeter  

Press Office  

07768 511866

l.vennells@exeter.ac.uk   

About NIHR

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:

• Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
• Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
• Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
• Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
• Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
• Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.

NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.