Teen dating violence (TDV) affects millions of youths in the United States and globally each year. TDV has been associated with negative physical health and mental health outcomes. Yet, the prevalence of help-seeking among youth who have experience TDV is fairly low. Youth from diverse racial and ethnic groups are particularly vulnerable to TDV victimization but are still underrepresented in TDV research.

Presenters will assess the state of the empirical literature on dating violence and help-seeking intentions and behaviors among racially and ethnically diverse youth, examine the research gaps that remain, and discuss promising actions that researchers, practitioners, and advocates can take to fill those gaps and advance science and practice in the field of TDV.

Presenters:

Diana M. Padilla-Medina, PhD, LMSW, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. She is also a 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar. Her background includes working as a Psychiatric Social Worker at the Puerto Rican Family Institute, and as Research Scientist at NYU Silver School of Social Work, as well as conducting policy work for the Brookings Institute.

Carolina Vélez-Grau, PhD, LCSW, is a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow/Assistant Professor at the NYU Silver School of Social Work. A Colombian-born pediatric psychiatric social worker researcher with more than a decade of clinical practice, her work focuses on suicide prevention and access to mental health services among ethnocultural minoritized youth, particularly Latinx and Black teens.