Despite shared recognition of the importance of ensuring safety in healthy relationship programs, there is a lack of research or practice consensus regarding how healthy relationship program participation could affect intimate partner violence or teen dating violence (IPV/TDV), the ways in which those effects might occur, and how such effects might differ for adults and youth with current or prior experiences of IPV/TDV.
The purpose of this paper is to describe these observed and hypothesized associations, based on a review of empirical and theoretical work and expert input. A range of factors are proposed—from other (non-IPV) outcomes of program participation, to participants’ characteristics and current or prior IPV/TDV experiences—that should be considered when proposing approaches to identifying and addressing IPV/TDV.
