Inclusive Queer Identities and Teen Dating Violence: Are All Youth at Equal Risk?

Research on teen dating violence (TDV) has largely relied on broad sexual and gender minority categories, limiting understanding of heterogeneity across identities. Using data from the Teen Dating Experiences Survey ( n = 837), this study examines physical, psychological, cyber, and sexual dating violence victimization and perpetration across inclusive sexual and gender identities. Heterosexual and cisgender youth reported significantly higher rates of dating violence than sexual and gender minority youth across multiple forms of violence, while pansexual, asexual, and genderqueer youth reported the lowest rates. No significant differences emerged between transgender and non-transgender youth. These findings indicate the importance of inclusive measurement and disaggregating sexual and gender identities to identify patterns in adolescent dating violence that may be obscured by broad identity categories and to inform theory, prevention, and intervention efforts.