Dating Violence, Stalking and Drug Abuse: Victimization Processes and Increased Risk of Violence

In terms of recognizing and fighting violence in intimate relationships among young people, commonly known as dating violence (DV), researchers and victim support professionals have been discussing this problem since the 1980s, 20th century. Literature has shown that there are some factors that may contribute to a higher risk of victimization in the dating relationships of young people, alerting to the need for early evaluation and intervention. In addition, several studies have reported the adverse consequences that violence in relations between young people has in different areas of their development and which may be connected with other forms of criminal victimization, such as stalking, also acting in the prediction of other forms of extreme violence in adulthood, either as a victim and/or as an aggressor. This chapter is intended to analyse and discuss the specificities and dynamics characterizing the violence present in youth dating relationships, and is based on a vast review of studies carried out on the subject. It also aims to discuss the close relationship between the phenomenon and other crimes, namely stalking, with clear implications in the processes of victimization and increasing risk of violence. A possible connection to drug abuse, associated with both perpetration and response to victimization within the context of violent youth relationships, is also debated. Finally, some proposals for the recognition and implementation of preventive strategies at different levels of intervention and involving distinct actions and publics, namely the youth population, are presented.