Dating Aggression Among High School Students

Abstract

Links were examined among physical aggression toward a dating partner, parental aggression, and justification of physical aggression during an argument in a sample of 228 (122 male and 106 female) high school students. Forty-four percent of females and 16% of males reported engaging in at least one physically aggressive behavior toward a dating partner during a disagreement, with the modal form of aggression being push, grab or shove for both males and females. The probability that a male, but not a female, would aggress was significantly predicted by parental aggression and justification of aggression. Among aggressive students, the extent of males’ aggression was strongly predicted by their justification of aggression; the extent of females’ aggression was not predictable. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Gender Differences in Dating Aggression Among Multiethnic High School Students

“…Our prediction was based on findings of more accepting attitudes regarding use of physical aggression by females [5,6]; and that attitudes accepting of use of physical aggression were associated with use of physical aggression in this sample [5]. Similar to our results herein, an examination of the data in a Spanish survey [18] showed a higher rate of aggression by females than victimization.…”

“…Also, with the sample herein, attitudes supporting the use of physical aggression were associated with use of physical aggression by both males and females [5]. Further, in this sample and in another high school sample [6], physical aggression by females was more accepted than physical aggression by males. Thus, we hypothesized that a higher percentage of females would report engaging in physical aggression against their partners than would say that their partners engaged in aggression against them.…”

Prevalence of partner violence in same-sex romantic and sexual relationships in a national sample of adolescents

“…Victimization reports were similar for males and females. Although these figures suggest that physical violence victimization may be less prevalent than previously reported in smaller scale studies, they document the fact that psychological and minor physical violence is common in adolescent heterosexual romantic relationships, and as has been found in earlier surveys, that adolescent females report perpetrating less severe violence at frequencies similar to males [2][3][4][5].…”

Predictors of Violent Behaviours in Young Adults Dating Relationships

“…In accordance with this, they do not report a higher incidence of this form of violence compared to men. In other words, attitudes that justify this type of violence, as well as not a lack of awareness of the harmfulness of this behaviour could contribute to the lower reporting of psychological violence toward their partners (65)(66). Evolutionary psychologists argue that there are sex differences in jealousy, whereby men tend to be more jealous with respect to the sexual infidelity of partner, while women to emotional infidelity (67)(68).…”