The media can have a profound effect on young people. Parents know this instinctively. Depictions of sex and violence are commonplace in the entertainment industry, whether in movies, music, or magazines. And while the risk factors for domestic violence are complex, it is certainly the case that seeing such violence subtly glorified or explained away can affect how teens think about it and act in their own relationships.

Melissa Henson, Director of Communication and Public Education for the Parents Television Council, says there is a tendency in the entertainment business to spin domestic violence in a kind of positive light by putting out a subtle message that relationships which are intermingled with a sort of passionate violence are desirable.

According to Henson, teens need to be clear about the reality of domestic violence. "We've made great strides in re in recent years in clearly communicating the message that is never okay to hit a woman. Today, the hidden message in the entertainment consumed by many impressionable teens is that if he hits you, it is out of love-which is absolutely wrong."

Experts worry that subtle messages of violence aimed at teens are becoming so mainstream they many do not even think to question those messages. The concern is that desensitization to the presence of domestic violence in entertainment could blind impressionable teens to the violence they encounter or bring to their own relationships. They say that teens who idealize romantic relationships often make excuses that a partner's violence is just their misguided way of showing their love.

Among the red flags for domestic violence noted by experts are attemptt to control what a partner does, who they see, or who they talk to, as well as jealousy of outside relationships and accusations of cheating.

Source: Fox News, "Hollywood Perpetuating Dangerous Images of Domestic Violence in Teen Romances, Experts Say," Hollie McKay, 31 May 2011.