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Among the college-age population, social media and other forms of electronic communication have become commonplace. This population is also considered at high risk for dating violence experiences; however, the intersection of electronic use and dating violence has only begun to be explored with this age group. This study sought to add to the understanding of technology use in dating relationships by examining electronic dating violence (EDV), as well as in-person dating violence and mental health symptoms. For the study, 330 students were asked to report their experiences of EDV and in-person dating violence victimization as well as any symptoms of depression and anxiety. An exploratory factor analysis was used to better understand the measurement of EDV, and three subscales were determined: indirect, direct, and physical/sexual electronic victimization. For women, indirect and direct EDV victimization predicted depression, while only direct EDV predicted anxiety. For men, indirect EDV predicted depression. With in-person victimization, emotional aggression predicted depression and anxiety for men and women. Findings indicate a connection between EDV and mental health symptoms, and that these relationships vary by gender. Results highlight the importance of further EDV research as well as the development of intervention and prevention programming for this population.

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