Nearly one in six of 1,430 students surveyed, most of whom were just 12 years old, said they had experienced physical dating violence in the past six months, while more than one in three had witnessed such violence among their peers.
The middle school survey found that violence was coupled with gendered thinking. Nearly two out of every three students agreed with at least one harmful gender stereotype, including that the boy in a relationship should be smarter than the girl, or that girls try to manipulate boys into going along with what they want. Moreover, while only 7 percent of students strongly agreed it was acceptable for a boy to hit his girlfriend under certain circumstances, half agreed that it was okay for a girl to do so.
For more see: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/us-preteens-violence-dating-idUSBRE82S18A20120329