One in Five Teen Girls Victim of Date Violence July 31, 2001 -- The dating game is difficult enough for teens when all goes according to plan. But new figures show for many teenage girls, dating is more than just difficult, it's dangerous.

As many as 20% of teenage girls have been physically and/or sexually abused by someone they've dated, according to findings from a new study of several thousand female high school students published in the Aug. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"It's certainly quite disturbing to think about this large a number of young women -- one in five -- being victims of date violence while in high school," says study author Jay G. Silverman, PhD. But he says the findings are not incredibly surprising when you consider the rates of violence toward older women. "About one in four adult women report that they have been victims of violence by a male partner and the younger those women are, the more likely they are to have been victimized."

Girls most likely to report dating violence in Silverman's study were also nearly five times more likely than nonabused girls to use cocaine, three to four times more likely to use laxatives or induce vomiting to control weight, four to six times more likely to have ever been pregnant, and eight to nine times more likely to attempt suicide.

Risky sexual behavior was also significantly higher among abused girls. They were more likely to have sex before age 15, use drugs or alcohol prior to sex, and not use a condom, putting them at higher risk of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

It's difficult to know whether the unhealthy behaviors may be a result of being abused or vice versa.

Silverman, of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells WebMD the findings are important because they highlight a growing problem.

Unlike older women who can turn to battered women's shelters or other community services for help, Silverman says teenage girls have fewer places to go when dealing with abuse. Without that help, they may not be alert to warning signs and subsequent relationships may continue to result in violence.