TPC-Journal-V1-Issue3

224 The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 interventions, researchers must further understand the context of adolescent dating violence. In addition, counselors must be knowledgeable about dating violence indicators, peer influence, and adolescent opinions about healthy and abusive dating relationships in order to appropriately intervene in potentially harmful dating situations (Craigen et al., 2009). While many adolescents begin dating before age 14, no previous studies to date have explored how adolescents perceive and experience dating relationships. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to capture the essence of young adolescent female conceptualizations and experiences of intimate partner relationships and potentially identify counseling interventions. The following research questions were explored: (a) How do young adolescent females conceptualize healthy and abusive dating relationships? (b) What experiences do young adolescent females identify related to unhealthy relationships? and (c) What methods do young adolescent females identify as helpful in preventing and intervening in dating violence? Method Participants Seven adolescent females ages 11 to 14 who had witnessed intimate violence participated in the study. Participants were recruited from a community group, and the primary researcher (first author) had a rapport with the group facilitator. The primary researcher secured parental consent and child assent for each participant. The females lived in the Mid- Atlantic region of the United States and had been acquainted with each other at least 1 year prior to the research study. Participants were from varying racial backgrounds: four identified as White/European American, two as Asian/Pacific Islanders, and one as Native American. Participant living arrangements were mixed: two lived with a mother and father, two with divorced mothers, one with a divorced father, one with a single-never-married mother, and one with a guardian after being removed from the home due to severe child neglect. Regarding current dating relationships, two participants reported dating and all identified as “liking boys.” Measures and Procedures IRB approval, parental consent and child assent were obtained prior to data collection. Data were collected through four independent focus group interviews averaging 45–60 minutes. The researchers utilized semi-structured open-ended questions to focus the interviews. Sample interview questions across the focus group interviews included the following: What do you think makes a good dating relationship? What do you think makes a bad dating relationship? How do you define abuse? How would you respond to abuse in a relationship? Subsequent focus group interviews were used to elaborate or clarify on responses from previous focus groups. All participants attended all focus groups. Research team members transcribed each audio-recorded focus group interview data verbatim. Focus group interviewers developed memos for each session. Participants also completed a demographic sheet that consisted of questions regarding age, race/ ethnicity, gender, grade level, sexual orientation, dating behaviors and family status. Data Analysis Researchers bracketed their assumptions prior to beginning the study to ensure credibility of the results (Hays & Singh, 2011). Researchers assumed participants would: (a) report minimal knowledge of dating violence prevalence and characteristics; (b) describe instances when female peers were victims of dating violence; and (c) state uncertainty for intervening in dating violence. Each research team member independently analyzed the sentence transcript data using horizontalization. The research team then consensus coded to describe textures (meaning and depths) related to their experiences (textural descriptions) (Hays & Singh, 2012). A final codebook outlining four primary themes and several subthemes was developed from the recursive coding process. The research team used several practices to establish trustworthiness throughout the study. The research team members maintained prolonged engagement with participants over the course of one year. During meetings, field notes were kept to capture data and self-reflective thoughts and feelings. Simultaneous data collection and analysis occurred in order to further explore themes in each subsequent interview. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and checked by another member for accuracy. During this time, memos were created to organize thoughts and connections emerging from each