Skip to content Mobile Contact Library A-Z
myRMIT login Login

The 2008-2011 "Safe in Romantic Relationships" Project

Who conducted the project?

PhD candidate Kylie Murphy (B.Ed; B.App.Sci-Hon) conducted this project, supervised by Associate Professor David Smith.

Aims of the project

The aim of the Safe in Romantic Relationships Project was to explore the potential of skills-based empowerment as a strategy for preventing abusive dynamics in young people's current and future relationships. The project involved developing and piloting of a skills-based empowerment program for adolescent girls. The pilot program was called "Safe at Heart" and was based on principles of harm-minimisation and positive self-agency. The dyadic slippery slope model of chronic partner abuse grew out of an extensive literature review provided the program's theoretical foundations. Safe at Heart aimed to equip participants with the motivation and skills to maintain healthy self-determination within their relationships. Skills for recognising and responding assertively to early warning signs of four "slippery slope" dynamics (Silence, Overdependence, Anger, and Power imbalance) were a major focus. The project also involved developing an appropriate measure for assessing the effectiveness of the Safe at Heart program at increasing participants' assertive tendency.

Outcomes of the Safe at Heart trial

Ten secondary schools across Victoria participated in the Safe at Heart program trial. The program was trialled with 13 groups of girls aged 13 to 17.

The evaluation showed that the program's objectives were achieved. A skills-based empowerment approach to relationships education with girls can be considered a promising approach to partner abuse prevention. Further research is important to test whether this approach is also effective in universal (i.e., regular classroom) settings with boys and girls.

Since the Safe at Heart trial, a universal version of the program, called "Navigating Relating", has been piloted with mixed-gender Year 9 classes. This classroom program has been positively received by male and female students and teachers. Funding is being sought to further develop, evaluate, refine and disseminate this program.

Detailed project summary

Partner abuse in this project was defined as any pattern of interaction within or following a romantic or intimate relationship with the potential to result in social, emotional, or physical harm to one or both partners. In Australia, partner abuse is prevalent and costly. This project focused on youth-targeted partner abuse prevention education (PAPE) as one strategy to prevent and minimise the harms associated with partner abuse.

To date, few rigorous evaluations of PAPE programs have been reported on, and none of these are Australian. While some overseas PAPE program evaluations have returned positive findings, it remains unclear what program components contribute to PAPE program effectiveness and how these components work. A widely accepted assumption in Australia is that a focus on structural gendered power relations is required for effective PAPE. However, evidence to support this belief is lacking.

A major objective of this project was to test the efficacy of an approach to PAPE that eschews the customary focus on traditional gender stereotypes and, instead, attempts to capitalise on individuals' potential for positive self-agency. Specifically, the Safe at Heart program was developed with the aim to empower adolescent girls with skills for resisting potentially harmful relationship dynamics. Prior to developing the pilot program, a new gender- and sexuality-inclusive Dyadic Slippery-Slope model was developed that conceptualised partner abuse as a complex and dynamic two-person process resulting in harm, as opposed to discrete behaviours perpetrated by one partner against the other. This theoretical model, as well as key concepts drawn from Self-Determination theory, formed the content-base of the program.

In order to evaluate the impact of the pilot program, a number of new measures were developed, including the Tendency to Resist or End Abusive Dynamics (TREAD) scale. Principal components analysis revealed that the TREAD measure comprised three inter-related TREAD sub-constructs: Dominance-Possessiveness TREAD, Denigration TREAD, and Conflict-Retaliation TREAD. For the 152 girls (M = 14.7 years) in the scale development study, low TREAD was found to be associated with greater exposure to warning-sign behaviour by a partner.

The program was piloted in ten secondary schools across Victoria with self-nominating girls. Ultimately, 75 girls (M = 14.7 years) contributed pre- and post-program data to the program's evaluation. Following participation in the program, these girls demonstrated increased TREAD and reported decreased exposure to warning-sign behaviour. Importantly, they were also less likely to endorse victim-blaming explanations for maltreatment by a partner.

The findings of this project challenge approaches to PAPE that presume that girls lack power to influence the course of their relationship pathways. In the future, given their gender-inclusiveness, the Dyadic Slippery-Slope model, the TREAD construct, and the skills-based empowerment approach piloted in this project should be tested for their potential utility in universal, mixed-gender educational contexts.

Publications associated with the project

  • Murphy, K. and Smith, D. (2007). Adolescent girls' exposure and responses to warning signs of abuse in intimate relationships. Proceedings of the 2007 Australian Psychological Society's Psychology of Relationships Conference, 87-93. Melbourne: APS.
  • Murphy, K. (2009-a). Safe in Romantic Relationships project: Stage One survey results. Report disseminated through VicHealth's Partners in Prevention network. Melbourne: RMIT University.
  • Murphy, K. (2009-b). Safe at Heart: An Empowerment Approach to Relationship Abuse Prevention. In: Hazelwood, Z. J. (Ed.). Connecting Research and Practice in Relationships: Conference Proceedings. Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Psychological Society, 28-34.
  • Murphy, K. and Smith, D. (2010). Adolescent girls' responses to warning signs of abuse in romantic relationships: Implications for youth-targeted relationship abuse prevention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(4), 626-647.
  • Murphy, K. and Smith, D. (2010). Before they're victims: Rethinking youth-targeted relationship abuse prevention. Australian Psychologist,45(1), 38-49.
  • Murphy, K. (2011). Navigating healthy relationships: A skills-based empowerment approach to relationships education. Proceedings of the 27th ACHPER International Conference. Adelaide, South Australia: ACHPER, 282-292.
  • Murphy, K. (in press). Partner abuse prevention education: An integrated approach to program development and evaluation. Partner Abuse.
  • Murphy, K. (in press). Skilling adolescent girls to resist abusive relationship dynamics: A pilot program evaluation. Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 28(2), 116-132.
  • Murphy, K. (in press). Girls at risk of chronic partner abuse: Assertive tendency, warning signs, risk sensitivity, and self-confidence. Journal of Relationships Research, 2, 33-42.
  • Murphy, K., Smith, D., and Xenos, S. (in press). TREAD: A promising change-target for partner abuse prevention with adolescents. Journal of Family Violence, 27(5).

Conference presentations associated with the project

  • Murphy, K. and Smith, D. (2007). Adolescent girls' exposure and responses to warning signs of abuse in intimate relationships. Paper presented at the 2007 Australian Psychological Society's Psychology of Relationships Conference, ACU, Melbourne.
  • Murphy, K. (2008). Developing a Victimisation Prevention Program for Young Women in Romantic Relationships:Project Rationale and Preliminary Findings. Paper presented at the 2008 Australian Psychological Society's Psychology of Relationships Conference, ACU, Melbourne.
  • Murphy, K. (2009). Safe at Heart: An empowerment approach to relationship abuse prevention. Workshop conducted at the 2009 Australian Psychological Society's Psychology of Relationships Conference, QUT, Brisbane.
  • Murphy, K. (2009). Respectful relationships education: Advancing best practice in the prevention of violence against women. Paper presented at National Conference of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Melbourne.
  • Murphy, K. (2010). Efficacy of skills-training for increasing adolescent girls' propensity to resist abusive couple dynamics. Paper presented at International Congress of Applied Psychology, Melbourne.
  • Murphy, K. (2010). Adolescent girls' real-time responses to partner abuse prevention training: Risk-sensitivity, perceived self-agency, and victim-blaming. Paper presented at International Congress of Applied Psychology, Melbourne.
  • Murphy, K. (2010). Maximising the effectiveness of respectful relationships education with adolescents. Invited paper presented at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health Adolescent Health Conference, Shepparton.
  • Murphy, K. (2010). Objectives in partner abuse prevention education: Which really matter? Paper presented at the 2010 Australian Psychological Society's Psychology of Relationships Conference, QUT, Brisbane.
  • Murphy, K. (2011). Navigating healthy relationships: A skills-based empowerment approach to relationships education.Workshop conducted at the 27th ACHPER International Conference, Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, South Australia.
  • Murphy, K. (2011). Use of the TREAD scale with young people at risk of abuse in romantic relationships. Paper presented at the 46th Australian Psychological Society's Annual Conference, National Convention Centre, Canberra.

Further information

Email Kylie at safe-relationships@rmit.edu.au.