**5. Conclusions**

The present study made it possible to overcome some important gaps in Portuguese scientific research in terms of the reasons and barriers inherent in the victim's decision-making process to stay or leave an abusive dating relationship. This study has identified the main reasons and barriers for staying or leaving abusive relationships (e.g., personal, social and relational) from the perspectives presented by victims of DV. The findings are an important contribution to prevention and intervention efforts, aiming to address the DV problem in Portugal, improving victim's assistance by encouraging help-seeking behaviours.

The findings from this study have important implications for DV screening and intervening. According to the results found in the present study, it is important to continue to invest in the awareness of young people about the phenomenon and encourage the recognition of abusive behaviours, helping victims to establish safer dating relationships and to identify the available resources and support to help deal with DV. Likewise, it is important to invest in actions that are mainly based on a logic of empowerment—that is, that encourage training and skills development, such as identifying their own and their peers' relationships as healthy or unhealthy in order to maintain a positive dating trajectory, identifying a relationship as abusive, and being able to seek help to end it safely.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, S.C., data curation, I.P., data analysis, S.C., writing, S.C. and M.A.P.D., editing, M.A.P.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declared no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
