Maybe It is Me! Blog #10: July 18th In Class! (Since I realize I didn't "publish" this post.) :-)

Love is Not Abuse, a program of our founding sponsor Liz Claiborne, has revealed the findings of their recent study of dating abuse among college students. The results? Dating violence and abuse among college students is more prevalent on college campuses than previously believed.


According to the findings, a significant number of college women are victims of dating violence.

• 43% of dating college women report experiencing abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, tech, verbal or controlling abuse.
• Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) college women say they have been in an abusive dating relationship.
• More than half (57%) of college students who report experiencing dating violence said it occurred in college.

Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.

• One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.
• One quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.
• Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence -- almost triple the national average.
• Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18
• Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.
• Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape, attempt suicide compared to 12.5% of non-abused girls and 5.4% of non-abused boys.

While many of the controlling behaviors overlap between high school and college students, other behaviors are specific to college students. For example, 11% of respondents were prevented from going to study groups, 8% were told whether to live on or off campus and 7% were told exactly which classes to take.

While many of us know that abuse is wrong, how many of us may be doing it and not even realizing that our actions are borderline abusive? Take the "Am I a good partner?" and "Healthy Relationship" quiz and find out if you're in a healthy relationship and/or if you have abusive tendancies.

Am I A Good Partner Quiz
Healthy Relationships Quiz

Blog why you think dating violence and abuse between young adults is on the rise.