A Cross-National Comparison of Risk Factors for Teen Dating Violence in Mexico and the United States

[Patterns of dating violence victimization and alcohol consumption among adolescent students from southern Jalisco, Mexico]

Studies suggest the existence of patterns of dating violence during adolescence. In the adolescent Mexican population, little is known about the patterns of face-to-face and cyber dating abuse and to what extent they can be explained by alcohol consumption. The aim of this research was to identify patterns of dating abuse victimization and to determine whether alcohol use predicts the patterns found. It was a cross-sectional study with an explanatory scope. A total of 398 adolescent students (62.8% women) from 15 to 18 years of age (M = 16.1 years; SD = 1) participated in the study. Latent class analysis was used, and three classes were found: 1) low generalized violence (45%); 2) moderate psychological violence and high digital control (38%); and 3) high generalized violence (17%). Alcohol consumption was found to be associated with the membership in the moderate psychological violence and high digital control (β = 0.48, p = .022) and were included in the high generalized violence class (β = 0.66, p = .004). It is important to consider, in the generation of interventions, the existence of patterns of violence in dating relationships among adolescents and the influence that alcohol consumption has on them.

Prevalence and Predictors of Perpetration of Cyberviolence Against a Dating Partner: A Cross-Cultural Study with Moroccan and Spanish Youth

The rise in the levels of cyberviolence in adolescent couples has become a social, educational, and public health problem of enormous magnitude. This study analyzed the nature and dimensions of cyberviolence among adolescents and its association with other forms of offline violence by country of origin (Morocco or Spain) and gender. The objective of the study was to identify the predictors of the perpetration of cyberviolence against a dating partner. The predictor variables were five types of dating victimization (cyber, physical, sexual, emotional with a social impact, and emotional with an individual impact), history of violence, and parental monitoring knowledge. The sample consisted of Spanish (n = 802) and Moroccan students (n = 241) who had dated and attended secondary schools in southeastern Spain. Over half of the participants had perpetrated cyberviolence against their partners; the prevalence was higher among girls and Moroccan youth. Boys reported more physical victimization than girls. For all groups, the strongest predictor of cyberviolence perpetration was cyberviolence victimization. The influence of other forms of victimization, history of offline violence, and parental monitoring differed by the youth's country of origin and gender. The study reinforces the need for intersectional and cross-cultural analyses of online behaviors.

Prevalence of Dating Violence in Adolescents of Five Colombian Cities

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and frequency of perpetration and victimization of different types of dating violence (DV), among adolescents from 13 to 19 years old in five capital cities of Colombia (Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Ibagué, Tunja, and Yopal), making comparisons by sex. The Spanish version of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory was used and various statistical analyses, including the one-way MANOVA, were performed. The results show a high prevalence of DV, particularly verbal/emotional and bi-directional (almost 90 % of the participants), pointing out that sex could have a statistically significant effect on the prevalence of the different types of DV, being higher the proportion of men who perpetrated sexual violence and higher the proportion of women who perpetrated verbal/emotional and physical violence. These results indicate the need to continue investigating the phenomenon in Colombia, to carry out different prevention campaigns that are sensitive to differences by sex in prevalence.   How to cite this article: Rey-Anacona, C. A., Hernández Acosta, N. S., Moreno Méndez, J. H., Redondo Pacheco, J., & Hernández Cortés, L. M. (2021). Prevalence of dating violence in adolescents of five Colombian cities. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 31 (1), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v31n1.86780

Lifetime poly-victimization and psychopathological symptoms in Mexican adolescents

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of research on the impact of poly-victimization on mental health in Mexico.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between poly-victimization and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, in a community sample of Mexican adolescents. The starting hypothesis of this study was that poly-victimization would be a better predictor of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than individual categories of victimization (conventional crimes, caregiver victimization, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, witnessing victimization, and electronic victimization).

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS

The sample comprised 1068 adolescents from public schools in Morelia city (Western Mexico). Adolescents completed the Mexican version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and the Latin version of the Youth Self Report.

METHODS

Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the contributions of victimization and poly-victimization in predicting internalizing and externalizing symptomatology.

RESULTS

Poly-victimization accounted for more variability in scores of externalizing and internalizing symptoms than a single type of victimization. Even when poly-victimization was considered, conventional crimes contributed to predicting both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, caregiver victimization was a predictor of internalizing symptoms and witnessing victimization was a protective factor for internalizing symptoms and total problems.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study in Mexico analyzing the psychological impact of poly-victimization. Our results should be taken into consideration by clinicians and those who design public policies. Conventional crimes need to be specifically addressed when assessing Mexican adolescents.

Patterns of Surveillance, Control, and Abuse Among a Diverse Sample of Intimate Partner Abuse Survivors

Using a mixed-methods design, the present study examined intimate partner surveillance among a diverse sample of intimate partner abuse (IPA) survivors (n = 246), including women of Mexican (n = 83), Korean (n = 50), Vietnamese (n = 49), and European descent (n = 64). Most survivors (57%) described surveillance in either survey or interview; inductive thematic analysis revealed seven forms of surveillance. Finally, two-step cluster analysis identified two patterns of victimization most clearly differentiated by surveillance, but ethnic group differences in rates and patterns of abuse did not emerge. Implications for both clinicians and researchers are discussed.

Emerging partner violence among young adolescents in a low-income country: Perpetration, victimization and adversity

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent in high- as well as low-income contexts. It results in a substantial public health burden and significant negative socioeconomic and health outcomes throughout the life-course. However, limited knowledge exists about IPV during early adolescence. This period is critical during the transition to adulthood for at least two reasons: it is when the majority of adolescents in low-income countries first encounter dating, sexuality and partnerships, often with older adolescents or adults, and it is also the period when lifelong patterns of violence and norms about acceptable IPV are formed. The current study is one of the first to measure IPV prevalence among young adolescents in a low-income setting, examine the potential etiology, and investigate relationships with gender ideology, poverty, mental health and childhood adversity.

Methods

We surveyed 2,089 adolescents aged 10–16 in Malawi using standardized instruments. We estimated the prevalence of IPV, and use multivariate logistic regression to test potential correlates.

Results

More than a quarter (27%) of ever-partnered adolescents in Malawi report being victimized. A substantial proportion of both male and female adolescents (15%) report committing violence against their partner. Girls were more likely than boys to report being a victim of sexual IPV (24% versus 8%), and boys more likely to perpetrate such (9% versus 1%). Almost 10% of the sample had both committed and been a victim of IPV. Cumulative childhood adversity (e.g., physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence) was a consistent and strong correlate of IPV victimization (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.30) and of perpetration (aOR 1.35). Depression and PTSD were likewise associated with IPV victimization in the overall sample. Notably, gender ideology was not predictive of either victimization or perpetration, even among boys.

Conclusions

IPV is common for both male and female young Malawian adolescents, and includes both victimization and perpetration. IPV compounds other adversities experienced by adolescents in this low-income setting, and it is rarely alleviated through help from the health system or other formal support. These findings underscore the need to intervene early when interventions can still break destructive pathways and help foster healthier relationships. This focus on early adolescence is particularly critical in low-income countries given the early onset and rapid pace of the transition to adulthood, with sexual activity, dating and partnership thus being common already in young adolescence. Promising interventions would be those that reduce violence against or around children, as well as those that reduce the impacts of such trauma on mental health during adolescence.

Victimization and poly-victimization in a community sample of Mexican adolescents

BACKGROUND

In Mexico, there is a little information about child and youth poly-victimization.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to analyze the prevalence of victimization and poly-victimization in a community sample of Mexican adolescents aged 12-17 years.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS

The Mexican version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire was applied to 1068 adolescents (504 females and 564 males) at six public schools.

METHODS

Descriptive analyses were conducted to establish the prevalence of six types of victimizations and poly-victimization. Odds ratios were used to estimate differences between the genders and age groups.

RESULTS

Nearly 80% of the adolescents reported at least one experience of victimization during the past year, while 85.5% reported at least one experience of victimization in their lifetime. Conventional crimes (65.6%) and indirect victimization (61%) were the most frequent types of victimization reported. Of the sample, 35.9% were classified as poly-victims in the past year. Girls experienced a broader spectrum of victimization than boys. Specifically, girls experience more caregiver victimization (OR = 1.56, 95% CI=1.21-2.02), sexual victimization (OR = 2.46, 95% CI=1.73-3.50), and electronic victimization (OR = 1.81, 95% CI=1.33-2.47), in their lifetime. Older adolescents experienced more witnessing victimization (OR = 1.48, 95% CI=1.16-1.88) and caregiver victimization (OR = 1.52, 95% CI=1.15-2.00) during the past year.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to be carried out in Mexico with an instrument that enables cross-cultural comparisons. Our findings highlight the necessity to increase research in this field to improve both intervention programs and public policies to prevent child victimization.