Gaslighting in Teen Dating Violence: Links to Anxiety and Depression

Gaslighting (manipulating perceptions and thoughts) is associated with worse health outcomes in adults, yet little is known about the association between gaslighting and other established domains of dating violence (i.e., cyber, verbal, physical, and sexual) nor the unique contribution of gaslighting to worse mental health in adolescents (ages 13–18 years).

Drawing data from the Healthy Minds 2 study (high school), we examined the prevalence, correlation with other domains of dating violence, and an association between gaslighting and mental health symptoms (depression and anxiety) in 374 adolescents (36.9% male, 52.1% female, 11.0% nonbinary or another gender identity; average age = 15.68 years, 1.21 years standard deviation) who had reported dating in the prior year. Poisson multivariable regression models were used to evaluate the association between exposure to dating violence domains and anxiety and depressive symptoms.

One in four adolescent daters reported gaslighting in the past year. When accounting for established domains of dating violence (physical, sexual, verbal, and cyber), age, gender, and school of attendance, gaslighting victimization was associated with greater self-reported anxiety (incident rate ratio = 1.125, p < .01) and depressive symptoms (incident rate ratio = 1.121, p < .01).

Gaslighting is a prevalent behavior in adolescent dating relationships. It is significantly associated with worse adolescent mental health. Increased research and incorporation into surveillance, prevention, and intervention activities are critical to reducing the harm posed by gaslighting in adolescent romantic relationships.