Attitudes toward dating violence among adolescents and emerging adults

Background: Adolescents and emerging adults can experience psychological, physical or sexual violence in their romantic relationships. The dating violence (DV) phenomenon encourages the study of attitudes toward DV among youths who perpetrate and/or sustain it. Method: A sample of 1014 adolescents and emerging adults (Mean age: 18.9, 69.2% females) was administered self-reported questionnaires investigating DV (a non-conflict related version of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship Inventory, Wolfe et al., 2001) and attitudes toward DV (Attitudes Toward Dating Violence Scale, Price et al., 1999). Results: Girls show higher rates of physical DV perpetration than boys, and boys show higher rates of sexual DV perpetration, relational DV perpetration as well as relational DV victimization than girls. DV and attitudes toward DV are associated. Male respondents show higher tolerance toward DV than female respondents do. We see gendered attitudes toward DV regarding the sex of the perpetrator/victim. We note patterns of multiperpetration, multivictimization and multi(in)tolerance. Conclusion: Our study underlines the need to focus on attitudes in DV prevention programs among adolescents and emerging adults and to consider gendered differences.