Many adolescents experience violence in the context of dating and romantic
relationships. Neighborhoods can influence dating violence by offering certain
resources which can provide social support and opportunities for social
participation, but knowledge about these effects is still limited. The purpose
of the current study was to (a) assess the association between neighborhood
social support, social participation, and dating violence, and (b) explore
possible gender difference in these associations. This study was conducted on a
subsample of 511 participants living in Montréal from theQuébec Health
Survey of High School Students(QHSHSS 2016–2017). QHSHSS data were
used to measure psychological and physical/sexual violence (perpetration and
victimization), neighborhood social support, and social participation, as well
as individual and family covariates. Several neighborhood-level data from
multiple sources were also used as covariates. Logistic regressions were
performed to estimate associations between neighborhood social support and
social participation, and Dating violence (DV). Analyses were conducted
separately for girls and boys to explore possible gender differences. Findings
suggest that girls who reported high neighborhood social support had a lower
risk of perpetrating psychological DV. High social participation was associated
with a lower risk of perpetrating physical/sexual DV for girls, whereas it was
associated with a higher risk of perpetrating psychological DV for boys.
Preventive strategies to foster social support in neighborhoods, such as
mentoring programs, and the development of community organizations to increase
the social participation of adolescents could help reduce DV. To address the
perpetration of DV by boys, prevention programs in community and sports
organizations targeting male peer groups should also be developed to prevent
these behaviors.