Teen Dating Violence: The School Psychologist at the Crossroads of Prevention and Local and Interinstitutional Care Interventions

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Roberta Di Pasquale, Andrea Rivolta, Lina Vita Losacco
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/3
Language Italian Pages 11 P. 29-39 File size 128 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2025-003004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The World Health Organization (2016) has defined intimate partner violence as a public health problem, that becomes more pressing as younger the perpetrators and victims are, since adolescence is a crucial time for building personal identity (Lancini et al., 2020) and for organizing future relational models. As is well known, during adolescence, the process of identification and emancipation from the family is consolidated primarily within the peer group, the primary place where adolescents develop their relational skills and establish their first emotional relationships. And it is precisely within these relationships, both within peer groups or couples, that they can experience, directly or through their own experiences, episodes of gender-based violence (Beltramini, 2020). According to the latest Save the Children report, 17% of girls and boys in Italy between the ages of 14 and 18 years believe that a slap is possible in an intimate relationship. Moving from opinions to experiences, almost one in five adolescents (19%), who are or have been in an intimate relationship, report having been frightened by their partner with violent behavior, such as slapping, punching, pushing, or throwing objects. One of the privileged contexts for intercepting the phenomenon of gender-based violence among adolescents is school, where the school psychologist can play a central role, not only as a link between the school and other local agencies that address situations of violence, but also as a promoter of projects to prevent violence and promote well-being in peer relationships, more effective they are more integrated and adopted from the Inter-institutional Territorial Anti-Violence Network.

Keywords: school psychologist, interinstitutional anti-violence network, health promotion.

  1. Ashley, O.S. & Foshee, V.A. (2005). Adolescent help-seeking for dating violence: Prevalence, sociodemographic correlates, and sources of help. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36 (1), 25-31.
  2. Ball, B., Kerig, P.K. & Rosenbluth, B. (2009). Like a family but better because you actually trust each other: The expect respect dating violence prevention program for at-risk youth. Health Promotion Practice, 10 (1), 45-58.
  3. Barter, C., M Carry, M., Berridge, D. & Evans, K. (2009). Partner exploitation and violence in teenage intimate relationships. NSPCC National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
  4. Biancofiore, M., Grattagliano, I. & Catanesi R. (2020). Teen dating violence: aspetti criminologici. Una review di letteratura. Rassegna Italiana di Criminologia, (1), 49-63.
  5. Beltramini, L. (2020). La violenza di genere in adolescenza. Una guida per la prevenzione a scuola. Roma: Carocci.
  6. Bianchi, D., Morelli, M., Nappa, M. R., Baiocco, R. and Chirumbolo, A. (2021). A Bad Romance: Sexting Motivations and Teen Dating Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(13–14), 6029–6049.
  7. Bosson, J.K. & Vandello, J.A. (2011). Precarious manhood and its links to action and aggression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 20.
  8. Braibanti, P., Di Trani, M. & Maesano, F. (2023). Una Proposta di legge di Iniziativa Popolare per l’istituzione della Rete psicologica nazionale e del Servizio di Psicologia del Territorio. Psicologia della salute, 3, 7-40.
  9. Braibanti, P., Gagliardi, M. P., Di Trani, M. & Bertini, M. (2022). Promozione della salute a scuola: il dibattito sulle competenze cognitive e non cognitive ei compiti della psicologia della salute. Psicologia della salute, 2, 13-30.
  10. Confalonieri, E., a cura di (2020). Love skills in adolescenza. Come promuovere e sviluppare competenze nelle relazioni sentimentali. Milano: Franco Angeli.
  11. Connolly, J. & Goldberg, A. (1999). Romantic relationships in adolescence: The role of friends and peers in their emergence and development. In W. Furman, B.B. Brown & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 266- 290). New York: Cambridge University Press
  12. Council of Europe. Convenzione del Consiglio d’Europa sulla prevenzione e la lotta contro la violenza nei confronti delle donne e la violenza domestica, Istanbul, 2011.
  13. Cuccì, G. (2020). Anche i numeri parlano e raccontano d’amore. Alcune evidenze di ricerche sulle relazioni sentimentali in adolescenza: aspetti normativi. In Confalonieri E., a cura di, Love Skills in adolescenza. Come promuovere e sviluppare competenze nelle relazioni sentimentali. Milano: Franco Angeli.
  14. Di Pasquale, R. & Rivolta, A. (2021). Psicodinamica delle disparità di genere: il ruolo del gruppo omosociale maschile, in Di Pasquale R. e Rivolta A., a cura di, Disparità di genere: processi identitari, dinamiche interpersonali e cornici socioculturali, Bergamo: Lubrina Bramani Editore.
  15. Domestic violence and abuse. London: Home Office United Kingdom, 2019.
  16. Genta, M.L., Brighi, A. & Guarini, A. (2013). Cyberbullismo: Ricerche e strategie di intervento. Milano: Franco Angeli.
  17. Heidt, J., Marx, B. & Gold, S. (2005). Sexual revictimization among sexual minorities: a preliminary study. Journal of Trauma and Stress, 8 (5), 533-540.
  18. Lancini, M., Cirillo, L., Scodeggio, T. & Zanella, T. (2020). L’adolescente. Psicopatologia e psicoterapia evolutiva. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  19. Menesini, E. & Nocentini, A. (2008). Comportamenti aggressivi nelle prime esperienze sentimentali in adolescenza. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 35 (2), 407-432.
  20. Menesini, E. & Nocentini, A. (2009). Comportamenti aggressivi nel gruppo dei pari e nelle relazioni sentimentali: Quali continuità? Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo, 1, 63–80.
  21. Miller, E., Jones, K.A. & McCauley, H. L. (2018). Updates on adolescent dating and sexual violence prevention and intervention: Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 30(4), 466–471.
  22. Molidor, C., Tolman, R.M. & Kober, J. (2000). Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. The Prevention Researcher, 7 (1), 1-4.
  23. Mulford, C. & Giordano, P.C. (2008). Teen Dating Violence: A closer look at adolescent romantic relationships. National Institute of Justice Journal, 261, 34-40.
  24. Nocentini, A. (2014). Il fenomeno del Dating Aggression: Aspetti evolutivi e contestuali. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 16 (3), 13-27.
  25. O’Keefe, M. (2005). Teen dating violence: A review of risk factors and prevention efforts. Harrisburg, PA: National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.
  26. Patchin, J.W. & Hinduja, S. (2011) Traditional and Nontraditional Bullying among Youth: A Test of General Strain Theory. SAGE Journals, 43, 727-751.
  27. Piolanti, A. & Foran, H.M. (2022). Efficacy of Interventions to Prevent Physical and Sexual Dating Violence Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 176(2), 142.
  28. Pomicino, L., a cura di, (2023). Violenza online nelle coppie di adolescenti: Cos’è e cosa fare. Trento: Centro Studi Erickson.
  29. Reed, L.A., Tolman, R.M. & Ward, L. M. (2017). Gender matters: Experiences and consequences of digital dating abuse victimization in adolescent dating relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 59(1), 79–89.
  30. Riva, G. (2014). Nativi digitali: Crescere e apprendere nel mondo dei nuovi media. Bologna: Mulino
  31. Vandello, J.A. & Bosson, J.K. (2013). Hard won and easily lost: A review and synthesis of theory and research on precarious manhood, in Psychology of Men & Masculinity, vol. 14, 2013.
  32. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Trad. it. Comunità di pratica. Apprendimento, significato e identità. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2006.
  33. Xodo, A. (2011). Teen dating violence: il fenomeno della violenza nelle relazioni di coppia tra adolescenti. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 13 (2), 95-116.

Roberta Di Pasquale, Andrea Rivolta, Lina Vita Losacco, Teen Dating Violence: lo psicologo scolastico alla frontiera tra prevenzione e interventi di presa in carico territoriale ed interistituzionale in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 3/2025, pp 29-39, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2025-003004