Professionals on travel nursing jobs see a lot of things in the emergency room. But what's going on behind-the-scenes may be just as urgent as what's happening in the ER.
According to a new study, 1 in 6 American teens seen in emergency departments has experienced dating violence.
Researchers surveyed 4,089 teens, aged 14 to 20, who came to a suburban ER. They found that 1 in 8 boys and 1 in 5 girls reported dating violence in the past year, according the study published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines teen dating violence as the physical, sexual or emotional violence within a dating relationship, as well as stalking. It can occur in person or electronically.
These violent acts committed by teens are called dating aggression, while violent acts suffered by teens are called dating victimization. Nearly 15 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys reported dating aggression, and almost 11 percent of girls and 12 percent of boys reported dating victimization.
"An enormous number of youth and adolescents have already experienced violence in their dating lives," study author Dr. Vijay Singh, of the University of Michigan Injury Center and department of emergency medicine, stated in a journal news release. "Patterns that begin in adolescence can carry over to adulthood. Screening and intervention among youth with a history of dating violence can be critical to reducing future adult intimate partner violence."
Almost 75 percent of the teens in the study were white, nearly 26 percent received public assistance and about 87 percent were in school, the researchers reported.
A huge concern, Singh explained, is that with so many youth experiencing either dating victimization or aggression, it's "dangerously easy" for the behavior to become normalized.'
Medical staffing professionals can serve as a agent of change to assess dating violence and report it. Factors associated with dating violence include alcohol, drug use, being black and depression, according to HealthDay.
Although the study found that the majority of participants were white, black teens tend to experience dating violence more than their white peers. Thus, culturally tailored interventions will be crucial.
"Simply treating the injury and not assessing for dating violence loses an opportunity for injury prevention and breaking the cycle of violence," Singh said.