Next steps in campaign strategies to reduce teen dating violence: Examining media campaigns through the lens of “boy culture”

Abstract

Research frames applied to dating violence media campaigns traditionally have not emphasized teenaged boys' self-efficacy relative to the pressures they feel to conform to a social code of masculinity. Focus group research was conducted on at-risk African American teenaged boys to explore their reactions to existing dating violence campaigns directed to men and to boys in their age group. The constructs of self-efficacy and response efficacy were applied as frameworks to guide the investigation. The findings challenge traditional approaches to dating violence campaigns where the central message is based on reactive directives that instruct the target on what not to do. The results suggest that current campaigns miss the opportunity to provide desired skills that educate at-risk teen perpetrators about proactive steps for managing relationship stress. The results also support the need for developing specific scripts for modeling positive partner interaction and identify paths for building on the self-efficacy and response efficacy of the targeted audience.

Keywords

• boy culture
• issue promotion
• media campaigns
• dating violence