*Note* This scheduling program was not designed by folks who do a lot with APA Style and unfortunately it defaults to listing authors in alphabetical order. We cannot fix this for this online schedule, but the author orders are posted in the order submitted in the printed program available via pdf here.
Research shows that dating and sexual violence are prevalent problems that affects the lives of many adolescents, (e.g. Johnson et al., 2006 Haglund, Belknap, Garcia, 2012; Fredland, Ricardo, Campbell, Sharps, Kup, Yonas, 2008; Prospero, 2006; Reeves & Orpinas, 2012). Thus there is a need for research regarding dating and sexual violence prevention and intervention for adolescent populations. However, little research exists on adolescent reactions to participating in dating and sexual violence research. The research that does exist primarily examines survey reactions rather than reactions to participating in focus groups which are becoming more commonly used and could result in different reactions. The present study used a sample of high school youth (N=218) and a mixed methodology to examine high school students reactions to participating in focus groups and surveys that asked about dating and sexual violence style intimate partner violence research. Data analyses yielded that 1.5% (n= 3) of youth regretted participating in the study and 6% (n= 12) of students were upset by the study questions. Youth reported that reasons they upset were primarily related to personal experiences with dating and sexual violence and being disturbed by peers’ responses during the focus group. Despite a few youth being upset 49% (n=99) of youth reported feeling like they personally benefited from participating in the study for reasons such as learning ways to help friends in situations of dating and sexual violence and gaining an increased sense of community. Results offer implications for conducting future mixed methodological research on dating and sexual violence with youth.
