Longitudinal Risk Profiles for Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Dating Aggression: a Latent Profile Analysis with Spanish Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction Understanding the specific risk profile for distinct forms of dating aggression (DA) is very informative to define cross-cutting interventions. The study aims to evaluate whether specific profiles of risk defined using a person-oriented approach predicted physical, sexual, and psychological DA after 6 months. Methods Eight hundred sixty-six Spanish adolescents were interviewed at two time points (50.5% male; average age = 15.04). Latent profile analysis at T1 was used to delineate profiles of individual and relational risk. Results A three-class model best represents the data: a “normative” class (N = 768; 88%); a “highly aggressive” class characterized by acceptance of violent norms, bullying behaviors, and anger dysregulation (N = 13, 1.5%); a “jealous-conflictual” class characterized by cognitive and emotional jealousy, negative couple quality, and anger dysregulation (N = 85, 10%). Controlling for age, sex, and longitudinal stability, physical DA was predicted significantly by the “highly aggressive” profile (β = .11; p < .05), psychological DA by the “jealous-conflictual” profile (β = .16; p < .01), and sexual DA by the “jealous-conflictual” (β = .20; p < .001) and “highly aggressive” profile as a trend (β = .08; p = .071). Conclusions Specific risk profiles differentially predict risk for physical, sexual, and psychological DA perpetration. A general aggressive pattern predicts physical DA and sexual DA weakly, whereas psychological and sexual DA are associated with a couple of risks, where the dimension of jealousy, control, and conflict characterizes the dynamic between partners. Policy Implications Findings suggested that physical DA, and at a lower level sexual DA, should be prevented using cross-cutting strategies on general aggression. Psychological and sexual DA might require more contextually based interventions.

Does Online Jealousy Lead to Online Control in Dating Adolescents? The Moderation Role of Moral Disengagement and Socio-Emotional Competence

“…(H3) socio-emotional competence would moderate the association between online jealousy and online control. Specifically, we expected to find that low levels of socioemotional competence strengthened the association between online jealousy and online control (Nocentini et al, 2021) and that higher levels weakened it. No hypothesis was formulated regarding whether this relationship would be more robust in boys or girls, as the data reported in previous studies are inconclusive.…”

“…Socio-emotional competence is another crucial factor in the explanation of dating aggression. Several studies have linked poor emotion regulation and impulse control to increased involvement in dating aggression (Farrell & Vaillancourt, 2019; Nocentini et al, 2021; Shorey et al, 2011). Conversely, specific socio-emotional competencies, such as identifying and managing one’s own and other people’s emotions, have been proposed as protective factors against dating aggression (Fernández-González et al, 2018; Shorey et al, 2011).…”

“…Conversely, specific socio-emotional competencies, such as identifying and managing one’s own and other people’s emotions, have been proposed as protective factors against dating aggression (Fernández-González et al, 2018; Shorey et al, 2011). Nocentini et al (2021) identified different longitudinal risk profiles for psychological, physical, and sexual dating aggression in the adolescent population. One of these profiles was the “jealousy-conflictual” group, characterized by poor anger regulation abilities and negative couple quality (such as conflicts) and high emotional and cognitive jealousy levels.…”

“…Gender differences constitute a key issue in the study of dating aggression (Hines & Saudino, 2003; Nocentini et al, 2021). In the case of online control, studies with the adolescent population have reported similar involvement rates for both boys and girls (Sánchez-Jiménez et al, 2017).…”

Reactive and Proactive Aggression among Children and Adolescents: A Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis

“…Research exploring aggression profiles in childhood and adolescence has largely been neglected (e.g., [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]). Most of the available research has used cluster analysis (e.g., [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]) investigating reactive and proactive aggression more generally.…”