Adolescence & TDV: Monitoring Children in a Vulnerable Period - Essay Sample

Introduction

Adolescence is a critical stage of development that requires parents and guardians to monitor their children closely. This stage of development, according to the World Health Organization, occurs when one is between 10 and 19 years (Curtis, 2015). During this period, adolescents struggle with issues of identity, sexuality, autonomy, and relationships, implying that they are part of a vulnerable population group. Relationship violence or Teen Dating Violence (TDV) is one of the contemporary issues that adolescents face today. This issue poses far-reaching consequences to teenagers as it entails physical, emotional, and psychological abuse. A vast majority of teens encounter TDV, as most of them lack emotional maturity. Nurses, thus, should understand assessment strategies to screen for TDV and its related external stressors to enable them to design appropriate support interventions that promote healthy relationships.

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Teen Relationship Violence and Its External Stressors

TDV is a type of abuse that may occur between intimate partners. The issue arises in the form of sexual violence, physical violence, stalking, and psychological aggression. Other practices, such as posting sexual pictures of a partner in social media without his/her consent, also amount to relationship violence. Unhealthy relationships have both short and long-term effects, including depression, thoughts of suicide, and a tendency to engage in antisocial behaviors.

A bad neighborhood is a critical external stressor associated with TDV. The quality of the neighborhood, in itself, shape the emotional well-being of adolescents and other individuals. Factors such as instability of residence, besides poverty, cause emotional distress that increases the probability of teen relationship violence. Also, teenagers that live in a neighborhood with a high prevalence of domestic violence tend to abuse their intimate partners (Howarth et al., 2015).

Societal norms that justify or accept the use of violence in a romantic relationship contributes to TDV. Social norms that allow men to control women, for example, have a strong influence on teens, especially on how they behave in intimate relationships. Moreover, cultural norms that encourage gender inequality can promote violence since it does not foster good behaviors within a cultural and social group. This way, teens from such cultures tend to engage in acts of psychological aggression, physical and sexual violence.

Weak educational, health, and social policies also influence the prevalence of TDV. Lack of robust policies to guide social institutions in creating awareness about the adverse effects of violence in relationships leaves adolescents vulnerable to the consequences of unhealthy relationships. However, programs that teach teens about healthy dating relationships have been instituted in various learning institutions to curb the problem (Fry et al., 2014).

Assessment Strategies to Screen for TDV

Screening for relationship violence will be done for all adolescent patients. The practice would take place in a safe environment to safeguard patient privacy. One of the strategies to enhance confidentiality is to separate accompanying persons from the patient. My interaction with teen patients would start with simple words like "TDV is so common, and I always ask my patients whether they have ever experienced it." From there, I would ask the patient about TDV and whether she is a victim of the issue. Throughout the screening process, I would interact with the patient in a non-judgmental and non-threatening way as a strategy to build trust. I would pose specific, direct, and easy to understand questions like, "are you in a relationship that makes you feel unsafe?" and "do you feel safe in your current relationship?"

During the assessment, I would evaluate the external stressors related to TDV to enhance the screening of the issue. An essential external stressor to consider is exposure to domestic violence. In this regard, I would ask the patient about marital conflict fights between his/her parents besides the nature of family interactions. Also, I would inquire if one partner dominates the affair. Critical factors that would indicate that the patient is a victim of TDV are feeling unsafe and being controlled in a romantic relationship, and a tendency to hurt one another.

I would treat the patient with respect, dignity, and sensitivity to sexual orientation and age. As a nurse, I would also help the patient understand that violence is unacceptable. Being supportive of the teen patient is of great importance. I would, thus, emphasize that no one deserves to be abused while also acknowledging the essence of peer relations. I would keep patient information private, but I will engage the parent or guardian about a healthy relationship.

Support Options for Adolescents

Teens encountering external assessors of dating violence are at risk of physical and sexual abuse. The first support option is to provide educational information about TDV. Under this intervention, one would create an awareness that relationship violence is a crime. This support option is ideal for external stressors such as cultural and social norms that promote a sense of inequality between partners in a relationship. According to Howarth et al. (2015), targeted educational interventions enlighten teens about the long term damaging effects of TDV, thus the need for them to shun social and cultural norms that encourage violence.

Another support option is to give adolescents resource information to enable them to seek interventions from people like police officers, nurses, and clinical social workers regarding TDV. Through access to resource information, adolescents will be in a better position to seek guidance from nurses and professional counselors on how to withdraw from abusive relationships. Resource interventions help teens to seek help if they feel they are pressured to have sex or being abused in a relationship verbally, physically, or sexually (Howarth et al., 2015).

References

Curtis, A. C. (2015). Defining Adolescence. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 7(2). Retrieved from https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=jafh/url/

Fry, D. A., Messinger, A. M., Rickert, V. I., O'Connor, M. K., Palmetto, N., Lessel, H., & Davidson, L. L. (2014). Adolescent Relationship Violence: Help-Seeking and Help-Giving Behaviors Among Peers. Journal of Urban Health, 91(2), 320-334. doi: 10.1007/s11524-013-9826-7

Howarth, E., Moore, T. H., Shaw, A. R., Welton, N. J., Feder, G. S., Hester, M., ... & Stanley, N. (2015). The Effectiveness of Targeted Interventions for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Measuring Success in Ways that Matter to Children, Parents, and Professionals. Child abuse review, 24(4), 297-310. doi:10.1002/car.2408