title: "If you don't have honesty in a relationship, then there is no relationship": African American girls' characterization of healthy dating relationships, a qualitative study.
abstract: The quality of dating relationships in adolescence can have long lasting effects on identity development, self-esteem, and interpersonal skills, and can shape values and behaviors related to future intimate relationships. The aims of this study were to: (1) investigate how African American adolescent girls characterize healthy relationships; and (2) describe the meanings of these characteristics in the context of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 12 healthy dating relationship qualities. We conducted semi-structured one-on-one in-depth interviews with 33 African American high school girls in the mid-Atlantic region. Trained staff transcribed interviews verbatim and entered the data into ATLAS.ti for coding and analysis. Participants' specified and vividly described eight healthy relationship characteristics: good communication, honesty, trust, respect, compromise, understanding, individuality, and self-confidence. Of these characteristics, three (good communication, compromise, and respect) were described in ways discordant with CDC's definitions. Findings highlight a need to better understand how girls develop values and ascribe characteristics of healthy relationships in order to reduce their risk for teen dating violence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 388, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA, kdebnam@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Katrina J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Debnam
authors.forename: Donna E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Garza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D003380:Courtship / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014754:Violence