This study assessed the perceptions and practices of school nurses regarding adolescent dating violence. Specifically, the study assessed whether public schools have a protocol for responding to an incident of adolescent dating violence (ADV), the number of victims of ADV assisted by high school nurses in the past 2 years, high school nurses knowledge on ADV, and the barriers to assisting victims of ADV. Additionally, the study assessed the school nurse’s perceptions of the roles played by various school personnel in relation to assisting victims of ADV.
The membership list of the National Association of School Nurses was used to identify a national random cross-sectional sample of high school nurses in the United States (N = 750). A valid and reliable survey instrument was developed and a three-wave postal mailing procedure was used to maximize the return rate. The return rate was 57%.
The majority (86.4%) of school nurses reported that they do not have a protocol in their schools to respond to an incident of adolescent dating violence. Additionally, the majority of nurses reported that in the past 2 years, training to assist victims of adolescent dating violence has not been provided to personnel in their schools (88.1%), their school does not conduct periodic student surveys that include questions on teen dating abuse behaviors (71.5%), and their school does not have a committee that meets periodically to address health and safety issues which include teen dating abuse (81.4%).
The majority (55.3%) of high school nurses reported assisting a victim of adolescent dating violence in the past 2 years. The most common types of assistance provided was referral to a school counselor, primary care to the victim, referral of the victim to a school social worker, and referral of the student to legal authorities. High school nurse’s knowledge on adolescent dating violence was limited. The characteristics of high school nurses who were more likely to assist victims of adolescent dating violence included: being certified as a nurse, perceiving high extent of adolescent dating violence problems in school, and serving no more than 1 school.
Schools do not find adolescent dating violence a high priority. In addition, nurses found a number of barriers (lack of training on adolescent dating violence, lack of time, and lack of private space etc.) to assisting student victims of adolescent dating violence. Schools need to establish a means for assessing the status of ADV in their student population. In addition, schools need to provide in-service education for school personnel regarding prevention, assessment and interdiction of ADV.