| Teen dating violence is a public health concern facing adolescents demonstrated by alarming rates as well as associated negative physical, mental health, and educational outcomes. Technology is an emerging and common vehicle for control and abuse in adolescent dating relationships. Research is urgently needed to examine the prevalence, impact, and nature of technology and social media within adolescent dating relationships, yet extant validated tools that measure adolescent cyber/digital dating abuse do not exist. The purpose of this multi-method study was to develop and validate the Electronic Behavior of Adolescents in Relationships (EBAR) questionnaire, a comprehensive self-report instrument that can be used to measure adolescent digital dating abuse including both victimization and perpetration across multiple forms of technology. This new instrument addresses a significant gap in the literature and will be helpful to inform prevention and intervention work. |
