High School Youth’s Reactions to Participating in Mixed-Methodological Dating Violence Research

Abstract

The present study used a sample of high school youth (N = 218) and a mixed-methodological research design to examine high school students' reactions to participating in focus groups and completing surveys that inquired about dating violence (DV). Results showed that showed that 1.5% (n = 3) of the youth regretted participating in the study and 6% (n = 12) were upset by the study questions; being upset was attributed to personal experiences with DV and being disturbed by peers' responses during the focus group. Furthermore, 49% (n = 99) of the youth reported feeling that they personally benefited from participating in the study for reasons such as learning ways to help friends in situations of DV. Results have implications for conducting mixed-methodological DV research with youth.

Reactions to Participating in Sexual and Dating Violence Research Among Native American Youth

“…Although we did not measure depression in the current study, research suggests that Native American youth have higher rates of depression than White youth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Higher rates of depression among this population may explain why a larger proportion of youth in the study reported being upset compared to youth in other studies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Edwards et al, 2016; McClinton Appollis et al, 2015).…”

“…Modeled after previous research (Edwards et al, 2016), upset was assessed by asking: “Did anything we asked you about today make you feel upset.” The “yes” responses were coded as 1, the “no” responses were coded as zero, and the “I don’t want to answer” responses were coded as missing. If participants responded with a yes, that something made them feel upset, they were asked to answer an open-ended question inquiring about what made them upset.…”

“…What is more, many participants reported positive experiences associated with their research participation, even if initially some of them were upset (Carlson et al, 2002; Edwards et al, 2016; Jaffe et al, 2015). For example, in a sample of predominantly White high school students that focused on dating and sexual violence, researchers found that 2% of adolescents regretted participating in the study, 6% were upset by the study questions, and 49% reported that they personally benefitted from being in the study (Edwards et al, 2016). Although similar findings have been documented in other samples of adolescents (Jaffe et al, 2015), research has not focused on the experiences of Native American adolescents who have participated in sexual and dating violence research.…”

“…Of note, very few studies have focused on reactions to answering question about perpetration experiences (Edwards et al, 2012), and none among high school youth to our knowledge. In open-ended questions about reasons for being upset by dating and sexual violence questions, adolescents and young adults have reported the following: not liking to think about sexual and dating violence in general, not liking to think about personal experiences with sexual and dating violence, feeling that the questions were too personal, and/or being upset about their peers’ reactions to the research (e.g., laughing, not taking it seriously; Edwards et al, 2016; Edwards et al, 2017).…”

Physical Spaces for Campus Sexual Violence Prevention: A Conceptual Model

“…Banyard et al (2018) found that students’ perceptions of their level of influence on their campus are related to their engagement and bystander intervention. Edwards et al (2016) suggest inviting students to help create and deliver prevention messages. Many critiques of CPTED note that community members who are the most important stakeholders are often left out of community design and planning decisions.…”