A new study from Boston University published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that 74% of neurodivergent youth in the USA who have had a dating partner in the past year experience one or more forms of psychological, cyber, physical or sexual dating abuse. These youth had twice the odds of experience dating abuse victimization in the past year than youth who were not neurodivergent.
Dr. Emily Rothman, a Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences professor and chair of the occupational therapy department led a first-of-its-kind research study that used a nationally representative sample of 846 US youth ages 11-21 years old, and assessed the prevalence of dating abuse victimization and perpetration among those reporting anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), oppositional defiant or other conduct disorder, bipolar disorder (BD), attention deficit/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and learning disability.
“We know that adolescents and young adults with some mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions appear to be more likely than those without such conditions to experience interpersonal violence victimization,” says Rothman.
Approximately 15% to 20% of the world’s population is considered neurodivergent, an umbrella term covering various neurological differences, including common conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, representing natural variations in human brain functioning rather than a single diagnosis.
Shari Krauss, the director of The Autism Program at Boston Medical Center, who was not affiliated with the study commented: “To our knowledge, there is not a nationally representative study of the prevalence of adolescent dating abuse among U.S. adolescents or young adults with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions in the published literature, so having this data to help inform public health decisions is critical for ensuring that this segment of the population gets appropriate resources.”
The financial cost of partner violence in the United States has been estimated to be the equivalent of $11.2 billion annually, so the prevention of adolescent dating abuse has been prioritized as a Healthy People 2030 objective by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Youth who experienced dating abuse were most likely to report having experienced psychological or cyber dating abuse (66% and 56%, respectively), although physical and sexual dating abuse were also common (28% and 33%, respectively).
“Now that we know that neurodivergent youth are at substantially increased risk for dating abuse victimization, it’s time for schools, domestic violence programs, disability service organizations and communities to address this problem and ensure the appropriate community resources are in place,” says Rothman. “If we don’t direct resources specifically to neurodivergent people, they won’t get what they need, the problem of intimate partner violence is going to persist, and the people who are among the most vulnerable or going to continue to suffer.”
Rothman and her team emphasize that disability rights advocates have been calling attention to the fact that youth with mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions are often excluded from sexual and relationship education programming when it is offered in schools either because they may not be part of the mainstream classroom where that programming takes place (or are “pulled out” to receive special education services), or because the curriculum and materials are inaccessible to them because of their disability and the way that they process information.
“We now have evidence-based programs that educate neurodivergent young people about healthy relationships,” Rothman said. This includes one developed by her own team, called Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum ( HEARTS ), which has been tested through a NIH-funded randomized controlled trial and was mentioned in an article last year, which drove a spike in interest.
“Parents, teachers, and neurodivergent people themselves need to know that there are resources and educational options—and domestic and sexual violence programs need to know that they could be asking for and getting training on how to work with neurodivergent populations.”
Dr. Rothman’s authorship team included Dr. Julia Cusano from Rutgers University, Dr. Laura Graham Holmes from City University of New York, Carlos Cuevas from Northeastern University, and Bruce Taylor and Elizabeth Mumford, both from NORC.
Financial support for the research was by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Data/statistical analysis
People
Elevated Odds of Dating Violence Among U.S. Youth with Mental Health and Neurodevelopmental Conditions: Estimates from a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study
30-Jan-2026
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.