Jealousy and violence in dating relationships: gender-related differences among a Spanish sample

[Sexual violence and young people: "it is not something you are born with, but with what you learn"]

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the perceptions and experiences of young people in Spain about sexual violence (SV), its possible causes, victims and perpetrators..

METHOD

Qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 22 young people between 18 and 24 years old. A qualitative content analysis was carried out.

RESULTS

In the juvenile narratives, the lack of definition and accuracy about what SV is stands out, except for mentioning rape, lack of consent and use of force in sexual relations. The girls, self-perceived as the main victims, also break with these narratives by providing a broader vision and gender inequalities related. In general, the most prevailed idea is that VS is perpetrated by men against women in heterosexual relationships inside and outside the couple. Regarding explanations, references coexist to both contextual factors (linked to gender inequalities and the social construction of sexual relationships) and behavioural factors (which includes the viewing of pornography). Tentatively proposals for improvement related to sexual and affective education emerge.

CONCLUSIONS

In the perceptions of the young people, ambiguity seems to coexist with explicit references to the different ways in which it manifests itself and the influence of gender inequalities. Sex and life experience appear to influence these narratives. It is necessary to promote a more critical perspective on the social construction of SV and intimate relationships in the young population.

[Discourses on violence against women by young people and professionals in Spain: PositivMasc project]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the discourses of young people and professionals on violence against women and to explore possible strategies for its prevention in Spain.

METHOD

Qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 16 young people (18-24 years old) and 23 professionals working in violence against women prevention. A discourse analysis was carried out to identify the main interpretative repertoires.

RESULTS

The four interpretative repertoires of this study reflect how young people perceive physical violence in the domestic sphere as the most visible type of violence against women. In their discourses, both young men and women describe the bidirectional nature of intimate partner violence. The allusion to the responsibility of social agents in the perpetuation of violence against women emerges. Finally, young people and professionals emphasize the key role of boys in the prevention of violence against women.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical violence continues to be the main type of violence perceived by the young population, but most girls were able to identify other more subtle and normalized forms of violence. Social agents have a strong influence on the imaginary of violence against women in the young population. Finally, future strategies against violence against women must involve young men in community-based strategies that work to promote positive and egalitarian attitudes and relationships.

"I Reject it, But That's What Normally Happens": Grey Zones of Gender-Based Violence and Gender Roles in Young People

There has been growing concern about the increase in gender-based violence (GBV) among young people. The aim of this study was to explore the grey zones in GBV alongside gender (masculinities and femininities) discourses in young adults. We used the concept of a "grey zone" as an analytical tool to identify possible contradictory discursive positions where the notions of victims and perpetrators of GBV converge and become ambiguous. We performed a qualitative study based on 20 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus groups (October 2019 to February 2020) in Spain with a sample of 49 cisgender women and men, aged between 18 and 24, some involved in feminist activism and some not. We conducted a sociological analysis of the discourse system. Study findings show how culturally constructed gender norms intervene in the ways in which young people understand and deal with GBV. When asked general questions about GBV, this concept was problematized along with gender assumptions and two discursive positions were identified: the discourse of "men as authors of GBV" and the discourse of "GBV as an individual genderless issue." When vignettes of everyday GBV situations were shown, grey zones became visible when discussing subtle forms of GBV influenced by the myths of romantic love, victim-blaming around sexual violence, digital GBV and bystander men intervention on GBV. In those grey zones, discourses on GBV were articulated around unequal notions of gender that, in turn, served as its justification, reproduction, and normalization. The grey zones identified represent contexts of oppression that illustrate how GBV is systematically reproduced, as well as the ways in which young people can be involved in it, perpetuating power and health inequalities. Our findings provide information as a guide to design GBV interventions and prevention actions that incorporate a focus on gender configurations.

Love, jealousy, satisfaction and violence in young couples: A network analysis

In recent years, couples have been affected by health measures related to COVID-19, a circumstance that forces us to examine couple interactions in terms of crucial variables of their functioning. In this sense, the present study aimed to examine the association between love, jealousy, satisfaction, and violence in young couples through network analysis. A total of 834 young people and adults between 18 and 38 years of age (Mean = 20.97, SD = 2.39) participated; 646 women (77.50%) and 188 men (22.50%), who completed the Sternberg's love scale (STLS-R), Brief Jealousy Scale (BJS), Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST-2). A partial unregularized network was estimated using the ggmModSelect function. The Bridge Strength index was calculated because the aim was to identify the bridge nodes between the variables under study. The results reveal that two nodes of the love variable, Commitment, and Intimacy, had a direct and moderate relationship with the Satisfaction node. The latter is the central node in the network. However, in the male group, the most intense associations are in Satisfaction-Intimacy, Violence-Passion, Jealousy-Commitment. It is concluded that there are relevant connections between the nodes of the network, which invite further research on couple relationships after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevalence of teen dating violence in Europe: A systematic review of studies since 2010

Violence in adolescent relationships is a common problem with numerous negative short- and long-term consequences. Because most of the evidence on teen dating violence (TDV) synthesized in reviews comes from North American studies, this review aimed to compile evidence on prevalence rates of TDV based on studies identified for Europe only. Specifically, we considered different forms of TDV victimization and perpetration, gender differences, and its measurement. A systematic literature search of the most popular databases Ebsco and PubMed yielded a total of N = 34 studies, with most of the studies identified for Spain, and only a few studies in other European countries. In sum, the results revealed a great variability in prevalence rates across and within the European countries, a common pattern of gender differences, and a wide range of applied measures, corresponding with the evidence from the North American studies. Implications for future research and policy were discussed.

The prevalence and severity of teen dating violence victimization in community and at-risk adolescents in Spain

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and severity of teen dating violence victimization in Spanish adolescents from both community and at-risk samples. The sample comprised 1,105 community adolescents from secondary schools, 149 adolescents from child, and adolescent mental health centers, 129 from residential care centers associated with the child welfare system, and 101 from centers in the juvenile justice system. The participants, aged between 14 and 17 years, were interviewed using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. The lifetime prevalence of victimization in dating relationships ranged from 2.5% to 33.7%. The prevalence of physical victimization was slightly higher in boys, while sexual and electronic victimization and injuries were more prevalent in girls. In conclusion, teen dating violence is a prevalent problem in Spain that needs to be addressed to prevent adolescents from developing risk behaviors and to avoid adverse consequences on mental health, especially in at-risk adolescents.

Personality characteristics of a sample of violent adolescents against their partners

Background

The study of intimate partner violence has historically focused on violence perpetrated on females by males, but recent research suggests that, at least in teenage couples, the difference between genders is decreasing or even reversing. The objective of this study is to analyze the personality characteristics of adolescents who are violent with their partners. The sample consisted of 430 subjects (229 girls and 201 boys), between 14 and 19 years (M = 16.18, SD = 1.81), middle or high school students, which completed the Personality Assessment Inventory-Adolescents and the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory.

Results

The results show that girls have higher personality scores on the scales that show problems of internal behavior (depression and anxiety), while boys show higher scores on the scales of external behavior problems (antisocial behavior and drug use). Through a regression analysis, the results show predictive weights in the aggression traits (β = .331, p < .001), antisocial characteristics (β = .202, p < .001), and mania (β = .185, p < .05), as the scores on the scale of violence perpetrated increase in girls. For boys, personality variables do not seem to have such a decisive weight to explain the violence committed, since only heat and alcohol problems represent 5.4% of the variance found. These differences between boys and girls should be analyzed in future studies and, if the findings are maintained, taken into account when developing programs to prevent gender-based violence in adolescents.

Conclusions

The results of this study show how the personality characteristics have a differential weight in the explanation of the teen dating aggression according to the gender of the aggressors, with a greater relevance in the prediction of the aggressive behaviors committed by the girls.