Dating Violence Prevention for Juvenile Justice Girls

Research is urgently needed to rigorously test a skills-based intervention for dating
violence prevention among juvenile justice girls. Court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI)
girls represent a particularly high-risk group for dating violence exposure. This is due to
the multiple risk factors they possess that have demonstrated associations with teen dating
violence outcomes in other high-risk adolescent female populations. Despite the critical need
for these young women to learn strategies that offset their heightened risk for involvement
in coercive romantic relationships, no such evidence-based interventions exist for this
population. The goal of the current study is to establish the efficacy of Date SMART
(K23MH086328), a theoretically-driven skills-based intervention, in reducing dating violence,
sexual risk behavior, and delinquency among girls in the juvenile justice system. Pilot data
reveal that girls randomized to the Date SMART intervention spend significantly fewer days in
violent relationships compared to girls randomized to the comparison condition. They also
show improvements in condom use at last sex and reductions in delinquency. Moreover, the risk
profile of adolescent girls who participated in the pilot trial is remarkably similar to the
profile of adolescent girls involved in the juvenile justice system. Thus, Date SMART is
uniquely suited for CINI girls. Despite the promise of Date SMART, the time lag from pilot
testing to efficacy testing and final dissemination activities is protracted, as researchers
fail to consider questions of effectiveness early on. Hybrid designs that retain core
components of efficacy trials (randomization, controlled conditions) and essential elements
of effectiveness research (e.g., participant diversity; standardized training procedures,
attention to cost) can reduce time to implementation in the "real world." As such,
investigators plan to test the efficacy of Date SMART on dating violence, sexual risk, and
delinquency among 250 court-involved, non-incarcerated girls. Investigators will also gather
effectiveness data from key stakeholders to determine how best to implement the program,
train staff, and predict the cost of the program within the juvenile court. CINI girls, ages
14-17 (N= 12 juveniles for Phase I Intervention Run-Through; N=250 for Phase II Randomized
Control Trial [RCT] study) will be recruited from the Rhode Island Family Court and Probation
Departments and randomized to either the Date SMART (active) intervention (n=125) or a Health
Promotion (control) condition (n=125). In Phase I (12 juveniles will be recruited to complete
the Intervention Run-Through and research assessment once to allow testing of RCT
intervention and assessment procedures prior to the RCT phase. In Phase II, 250 juveniles
will be recruited and randomized at baseline and then re-assessed at 3, 6, 9 and 12 month
post-intervention follow-ups.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Court-involved, non-incarcerated adolescent female

- Parent/ guardian consent and teen assent

Exclusion Criteria:

- Outside of 14-18 age range

- Cognitive/ developmental delays or psychosis that would interfere with study
participation