TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CAMPUS STUDENTS

Friends mean a lot to the teens in your school.   In fact, peer relationships are so important they  are often referred to as the second family. And yet peer relationships can often be harmful in the life of a teen.  

Poor or dangerous relationships can lead to risky behavior, substance abuse, truancy, and worse.For teens, having the right friends can have a huge impact on where life leads.

But breaking up bad friendships isn’t easy, even when students are aware of the problems. Students feel comfortable in their relationships, unhealthy ones too. Most students admit that they would rather stick with their friends, even if they know those friends are bad for them, than go it without a social circle. Teens also admit they would do anything for their friends but often their friends would not do the same for them.

For those who are around teens every day, you have probably seen these types of friendship, both good and bad. But the story may be worse than what you see in your campus hallways.it reports that many teens think abusive relationships only include hitting and shoving. In reality, there are many abusive behaviors that lots of people, teens included, do not recognize as abuse. Even worse, many teens think some abusive behaviors are normal. And both guys and girls can find themselves in abusive relationships in their teenage years, relationships that have lasting negative effects for the rest of their lives.  Some teens suffer physical abuse at the hands of another teen. Others suffer emotional and verbal abuse as well as controlling behavior.

So what exactly do we need to teach kids to keep them safe? How do we help them recognize dangerous relationships before it is too late? Plus, we need to help young people understand that dangerous relationships aren’t just with significant others. Teens can find themselves in dangerous relationships in every area of their life.

And when someone is in a dangerous relationship, that relationship probably isn’t going to get better. More often, it goes from bad to worse. So what do we do to protect the teens at our schools and give them the tools to secure healthy relationships in their lives?

Here are some warning signs. You might be in an abusive relationship if someone:

• harms you physically in any way. This includes hitting, pushing, shaking, or kicking.
• threatens to harm you if you leave the relationship
• threatens to harm themselves if you leave the relationship
• forces you, or tries to force you, into any type of sexual act that you don’t want
• tries to control parts of your life, like how you dress, who you hang out with, and what you say
• often shames you or makes you feel unworthy
• twists the truth to make you feel you are to blame for their actions.