Definition:

It's heartbreaking to watch your teen, college kid or 20something get hurt in any relationship, whether it's a break-up or the occasional spat. But dating abuse is another thing entirely. It's a pattern of intimidation and manipulation that can escalate into outright violence. Abuse runs the gamut from demeaning, belittling and contemptuous remarks, through emotional abuse, coercion, sexual harassment, terrifying rages, and threats or outright acts of physical or sexual abuse.

And it typically creeps up slowly, the red flags and jealous rages masquerading as romance.

It's also considerably more common than most parents suspect. The alarming statistics on dating abuse indicate that 43% of college-aged women in the United States have been involved in an abusive dating relationship.