The bottom line, according to the researchers, is that dating violence needs to be detected early - by parents, doctors or school assessment - and prevented whenever possible.

    Teaching middle school students how to handle conflicts in their relationships, for example, might help them later on to manage romantic relationships and possibly prevent violence, the researchers note.

    In addition, Wolitzky-Taylor said teenagers who have a friend in a violent dating relationship should be taught to report the situation to an adult.

    The study also found that certain factors seemed to put teens at greater risk of dating violence - such as a history of stressful or potentially traumatic events, like witnessing violence or losing a parent, sibling or friend.

    Older teenage girls were also at greater risk than boys or younger girls.

    Wolitzky-Taylor said that "we might want to be more on the lookout" for signs of dating violence in teenagers with risk factors.

    "Information, education is empowerment," Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said at a recent news conference, describing what he called "this plague that people aren't really talking enough about, which is young people being victimized by domestic violence."

    "So few of our tweens, and teens for that matter, understand what a healthy relationship looks like," said Elizabeth Miller, an assistant