Young Twisted Love
Young, Twisted Love
Sienna Chitwood
In every relationship there are flaws, and it those flaws are overlooked, sometimes they can make or break a relationship. As adults, 
the toxicity of those relationships can vary and it is often normalized on TV or social media. Normally when the guy in the relationship bans his girlfriend from seeing her friends or dictate how she can dress, they are then labeled a manipulator and the girl leaves. Other examples of toxic relationships are abuse both physically but it can also be mental.
Abuse doesn't always have to be physical; it can be emotional or verbal. It can even be psychological. Although those are different types of abuse, they still are abuse. There is also the classical stereotype that the men in relationships are normally the abusers, but this is not always the case. Although men and women tend to have different ways of abusing, women more statistically tend towards psychological abuse rather than physical abuse, and men are more statistically physically abusive.
Teen relationships are far more different than adult relationships. Children or teenagers normally don’t know what has, or is happening to them in a relationship until years later, or until it goes too far. According to pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have estimated that between 12% and 20% of middle and high school students experience physical or emotional abuse in dating relationships (2006).” Ever since 2006, those numbers have only risen. As of 2025, about 33% of teens in the U.S have experienced physical abuse, while up to 65% of teens report psychological abuse from their romantic partner. Another statistical pull shows the gender difference in teens experiencing abuse in a relationship. According to the site, wisconsin.pressbooks.pub, “A national survey found that ten percent of teens, 1 in 11 females and 1 in 15 males, had been the victims of physical dating violence within the past year. Approximately 29 percent of adolescents reported being verbally or psychologically abused within the previous year. About 1 in 9 female and 1 in 36 male high school students report having experienced sexual dating violence in the last year.” Although abuse is prominent in a teenage relationship there can be healthy non abusive ones.
A “healthy relationship”, by definition, is built on mutual respect, trust, and open communication. Where both people in that relationship feel supported by their partner and free to be themselves, and above all loved by their partner. In a healthy relationship with teens, over 68% have reported of their friends that are in a healthy relationship with their partner. The most commonality in social media today is why stay in the abusive relationship and let that particular relationship continue for so long. In most cases the victim of that abuse might not reconsider that it is even abuse to begin with, this is due to their partner's manipulation of that said partner.
The changes might be subtle, such as mentioning they think how a friend is odd or not quite a good fit. This causes the victim to notice these ‘flaws’ that their significant other has pointed out and as a result this might cause them to pull away from those friendships. There are also the instances where a partner might tear down their self-esteem. This can be through words or actions, sometimes the abuser might ignore their partner when they don’t get their way or even yell and pick a fight.
Being in a psychologically abusive relationship is much different than being in a physically abusive relationship, but no matter the type of abuse, it still is abuse and not okay. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship you can call or text:
National Domestic Violence Hotline: call 800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788