Linkages between violence-associated attitudes and psychological, physical, and sexual dating abuse perpetration and victimization among male and female adolescents

Is there a relationship between internalized misogyny and attitudes towards dating violence in young women?

This study aims to determine the relationship between young women's attitudes towards dating violence and internalized misogyny. This study used descriptive and relational design. The target population of the study was all young women aged between 18 and 24 years who lived in Turkey. A total of 288 individuals were accessed in the study. Data were collected through the "Personal Information Form" developed by the researchers, "Attitudes towards Dating Violence Scales", and the "Internalized Misogyny Scale". Participating young women's Attitudes Towards Male Psychological Dating Violence Scale mean score and the Internalized Misogyny Scale mean score demonstrated a positive and medium level relationship (p<0.01. r:0.412), and a positive and weak correlation was detected with Devaluing of Women (p<0.01. r:0.374), Distrust of Women (p<0.01. r:0.341), and gender bias in favor of men (p<0.01. r:0.321) sub-scale mean scores. This study found that although the level was weak, there was a correlation between internalized misogyny and dating violence, and the increase in internalized misogyny increased the acceptance of dating violence in young women.

Measuring Violence Behaviours in the Context of Romantic Relationships during Adolescence: New Evidence about the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale

The main purpose of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale (M-CTS) in adolescents. The M-CTS is a questionnaire that screens for intimate partner violence. Additionally, we studied the association between the M-CTS and attitudes towards violence. The study included a sample of 1248 students in a cross-sectional survey. The M-CTS and the Attitudes Towards Violence (EAV) scale were used. The analysis of the internal structure of the M-CTS revealed that a four-factor structure was the best fitting solution. The M-CTS scores revealed evidence of structural equivalence by gender and age. The McDonald's Omega indices were adequate for both victims and perpetrators models. Moreover, attitudes towards violence were positively correlated with measures of violence manifestations. Results found in the present study confirm the psychometric adequacy of the M-CTS scores and gather new evidence about its internal structure and measurement equivalence for its use in samples of adolescent and young students. The assessment of intimate partner violence may contribute to detect adolescents at risk for different forms of violence in the future.

Understanding Sexual Harassment Through an Individual and Relational Lens: Are Risk Factors the Same for Female and Male Perpetrators?

Given widespread recognition of sexual violence as a public health concern, sexual harassment has garnered considerable attention from researchers and the public. Yet research with adolescent samples has typically focused on the experiences of victims rather than perpetrators, and males as perpetrators and females as victims. In the current article, we consider whether risk and protective factors operate similarly within and across sex assigned at birth. A national sample of youth, ages 14 and 15, were recruited via social media and surveyed online (N = 1,981). At the individual level, girls who sexually harassed others, were more likely to have a propensity to respond to stimuli with anger compared to boys who sexually harassed. At the relational level, girls who sexually harassed were more likely to be victims of sexual harassment compared to boys, and having a negative peer environment (have delinquent peers, seen someone get attacked, and know someone who has been sexually assaulted) was of particular importance in understanding why girls harass others. For boys who harass, family relations, having seen or heard about peer physical or sexual assault and bullying perpetration were important for contextualizing boys' sexual harassment. As empathy increased, the relative odds of sexually harassing decreased for girls. Future research should explore motivations for perpetrating sexual harassment, bystander interventions, and longitudinal frameworks to identify causal patterns to determine which factors inhibit or facilitate sexual harassment.

Dating violence among adolescents from a region of high social vulnerability

Objective:

to know and analyze the perceptions of adolescents with high social vulnerability regarding the establishment of dating violence.

Method:

a qualitative research study carried out with 19 adolescents from a central municipality São Paulo, Brazil. Data collection took place by means of focus groups and field diaries, with the data being analyzed thematically.

Results:

two categories emerged: “A new female posture in a context of traditional gender norms” and “Violence in intimate relationships: the (non)perception of adolescents”. Traditional gender norms still occupy a significant place in the design of dating violence among adolescents. Such behaviors are more visible in these relationships, when commitment and exclusivity are seen as the main characteristics, authorizing possession and control. Jealousy emerges as the main trigger for violence and the technologies appear as contemporary resources to reinforce it.

Conclusion:

the need for early interventions with adolescents is reiterated, with a focus on actions that promote gender equality.

The role of moral neutralization of aggression and justification of violence against women in predicting physical teen dating violence perpetration and monitoring among adolescents in Switzerland

Although dating violence poses a serious threat to adolescents' health and well-being around the globe, little evidence is available for Europe in general and Switzerland in particular. Also, evidence on the role of cognitive predictors related to a more general justification of aggressive behavior and gender-based violence is lacking. Therefore, this two-wave longitudinal study conducted with Swiss adolescents (N = 646) examined moral neutralization of aggression and justification of violence against women as predictors of physical dating violence perpetration and monitoring. As expected, higher moral neutralization of aggression predicted a higher likelihood of perpetrating physical dating violence and monitoring among both female and male adolescents. Justification of violence against women was positively associated with physical dating violence perpetration among males, but negatively among females. Also, a negative relationship was found with monitoring among females. The role of gender and implications of these findings for research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Groups of Sexual Violence Perpetration in a National Sample of Youth 13-25 Years of Age

Little is known about how specific forms of sexual violence (SV) perpetration group together and how youth transition between these groups over time. Between 2011 and 2016, four waves of data were collected online nationally from 1129 13-25-year-olds. Six forms of SV perpetration were assessed: sexual harassment, online sexual harassment, sexual assault, coercive sex, attempted rape, and rape. We used latent class analysis to examine how different types of SV perpetration behaviors clustered together in each of the four waves. Latent transition analysis was used to examine stability and instability in group membership between the first and fourth waves assessed. Three groups were identified in each of the four waves of data collection: (1) a "non-perpetrators" group, ranging from 69 to 81% (n: 775-912) across waves, (2) a "sexual harassment" group, ranging from 17 to 29% (n: 191-327), and (3) a "multiple perpetration" group that engaged in all types of SV perpetration, ranging from 1 to 3% (n: 12-28). Most youth persisted in their behavior over time, which was true for each of the three groups (ranging between 60 and 72%). Desistence was less common, ranging from 35% of those who transitioned from sexual harassment to non-perpetration to 20% for those who transitioned from multiple perpetration to sexual harassment, and from multiple perpetration to non-perpetration. Escalation was least common, ranging from 2% who transitioned from non-perpetration to multiple perpetration to 26% who transitioned from non-perpetration to sexual harassment. Youth who perpetrate SV are heterogeneous; SV perpetration is not persistent for all youth.