Adolescent dating violence is a pressing international issue: yet, there have been few attempts to collate the international evidence regarding this phenomenon. This article reviews contemporary evidence from Europe and North America on prevalence, dynamic risk factors, and the efficacy of intervention programs for adolescent dating violence. Prevalence findings suggest that victimization rates are comparable across Europe and North America. Although individual studies report differing prevalences, the overall hierarchy of violence types - in which psychological/emotional violence is most and sexual violence least prevalent - is consistent across almost all investigations. Four dynamic risk factors for perpetration are identified: peer influence, substance use, psychological adjustment and competencies, and attitudes towards violence. Peer influences and attitudes towards violence appear to be the most extensively evidenced factors in the literature. Nine existing intervention programs are identified, all located within North America. Intervention results are mixed, with some evaluations reporting significant long-term benefits while others report positive intervention effects dissipate throughout follow-up. Tentative analysis suggests that programs focused on behavioral change may elicit sustainable effects more readily. However, this is difficult to ascertain with no data on program repetitions and variations across intervention pedagogy and sample. Concerns with existing research and interventions and possible future directions are discussed. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

There is a growing body of literature that recognizes young men's reluctance to seek psychological help. However, how young men perceive the role of their social networks in their decision to seek help has received limited attention in research. Using thematic analysis, this study investigated 30 young men's description of how members from three categories of their social networks: partner, family and friends have influenced them to seek psychological help and how they have experienced this influence. The results show that certain themes recur between various members of men's social networks while others were unique to roles in the social network. How this information can be used to make it easier for young men to seek psychological help is discussed.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates sexual risk-taking among young men testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI).

SAMPLING METHOD: 452 participants (aged 18-30) completed surveys concerning their backgrounds, sexual risk-taking, and experience with STI.

RESULTS: Over one-third had used alcohol during their last sexual encounter, one-fifth were reluctant to use condoms due to concerns about erection difficulties, 14.7% had experienced sexual coercion and one-fifth reported having had contracted the most common STI, chlamydia trachomatis (CT). Older participants (aged 25-30) were more reluctant to use condoms because of erection worries and to report having had CT. Immigrant men reported more unprotected sex while men who have sex with men (MSM) were more exposed to sexual coercion than others, but less likely to use alcohol when having sex.

CONCLUSIONS: There are important differences in sexual risk-taking within the group of young men testing for sexually transmitted infections which need to be taken into account in developing effective counselling and promotion strategies in sexual and reproductive health care. Further research on young men's sexual risk-taking is needed to broaden understanding of factors associated with young men's sexual health.

A focus group methodology was used to examine attitudes toward dating violence among 86 adolescents (aged 12-17) from four northern European countries (England, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium). Four superordinate themes were identified from thematic analyses: gender identities, television as the educator, perceived acceptability of dating violence, and the decision to seek help/tell someone. Although violence in relationships was generally not condoned, when violence was used by females, was unintended (despite its consequences), or was in retaliation for infidelity, violence was perceived as acceptable. Adolescents indicated that their views were stereotypical and based solely on stereotypical television portrayals of violence in relationships. Stereotypical beliefs and portrayals generate barriers for victimized males to seek help because of fear of embarrassment.