Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships

What is Dating Matters^®?

Dating Matters^®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s teen dating violence prevention initiative. CDC developed Dating Matters^®, a comprehensive teen dating violence prevention initiative based on the current evidence about what works in prevention. Dating Matters^® focuses on 11– to 14–year–olds in high-risk, urban communities. It includes preventive strategies for individuals, peers, families, schools, and neighborhoods.

Watch a 3 minute video that describes the Dating Matters^® Initiative.

Why was Dating Matters^® created?

Recently, efforts to prevent teen dating violence have grown, particularly in schools and among policymakers and sexual violence and domestic violence prevention groups. Now many states and communities also are working to stop teen dating violence. However, these activities vary greatly in quality and effectiveness.

What is Dating Matters^® based on?

The CDC based Dating Matters^®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships is on three important facts:

1. Dating violence has important negative effects on the mental and physical health of youth, as well as on their school performance.
2. Violence in an adolescent relationship sets the stage for problems in future relationships, including intimate partner violence and sexual violence perpetration and/or victimization throughout life. Therefore, early intervention is needed to stop violence in youth relationships before it begins and keep it from continuing into adult relationships.
3. Although evidence suggests dating violence is a significant problem in economically disadvantaged urban communities, where often times due to environmental factors an accumulation of risk factors for violence exists, there have been few attempts to adapt the developing evidence base for prevention of dating violence within these communities.

Where does CDC fund implementation of Dating Matters^®?

From 2011 to 2016, Dating Matters^® will be implemented in middle schools and neighborhoods in four urban areas:

To learn more about the Dating Matters^® communities, view their grantee profile.

Want to learn more about Dating Matters^®?

• Dating Matters^®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships[PDF 2MB]
• Component Overview of Dating Matters^®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships[PDF 760KB]

In need of teen dating violence prevention training?

Dating Matters^®: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention is a free 60-minute, interactive training designed to help educators, youth-serving organizations, and others working with teens understand the risk factors and warning signs associated with teen dating violence.

Dating Matters^® takes place in a virtual school setting, complete with navigation through school hallways and classrooms. A teacher’s whiteboard presents information in a user-friendly way and provide navigation, help, and interactive resources for use throughout the course.

• Access Dating Matters^® online training
• Order a free CD-ROM online

Do you still have questions?

Please contact DatingMatters@cdc.gov