I believe on of the key factors in teen dating violence has a lot to do with influences on main stream media and exposure to the idea of what romantic interactions look like from an exaggerated perspective. Which also touches on the lack of education when it comes to safe dating.
I think they are as high as they are because social media and main stream media has glorified some abusive behaviors. and youth have a hard time differentiating fiction and reality.
I think one of the reasons teen dating violence rates are high is because of the lack of education around dating violence. Also, school culture and certain groups tend to have a toxic environment where dating violence is masked or not taken seriously.
I think that teen dating violence rates are so high because they are not being properly educated on what a healthy relationship looks like. They might also feel peer pressure from others to try or do certain things to fit in and so they should be made aware of the consequences of not speaking out against behavior their peers are trying to normalize or teaching them that they have the power to say no if they are being pressured into doing something that they don't feel comfortable with.
