Moral Disengagement as a Moderating Factor in the Relationship between the Perception of Dating Violence and Victimization

Abstract

There have been studies establishing the relationship between moral disengagement and aggressiveness in various contexts, especially in the role of the aggressor. Few, however, have analyzed moral disengagement’s mediating role in the phenomenon of teenage dating violence, taking into account how these mechanisms affect the victims’ perception of themselves as fearful, trapped, or mistreated in a dating relationship. This study analyzes the relationship between moral disengagement, the acceptance of violence, and how the victims of this type of abuse perceive victimization. The participants were 2577 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18. They completed two questionnaires that addressed teenage dating violence and moral disengagement. To study the relationship between the variables, factorial, structural, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to construct the perceptual structure of victimization. The analyses showed moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence, as well as their interaction, to have a mediating and moderating influence by modifying the perception of victimization. The victims’ levels of moral disengagement explained their acceptance of the violence and their inability to recognize abuse. Finally, these results may be a key element in the design of psychological interventions aimed at minimizing the use of moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence in situations involving aggression in teenage dating.

Give me your password! What are you hiding? Associated factors of intimate partner violence through technological abuse

“…We consider that the prevention and intervention programs addressing all forms of domestic violence, with a focus on ITPV, should combine the efforts made by the judicial system (e.g., the Police), the educational structure (e.g., basic school programs and university courses), the medical institutions and representatives (e.g., family and community doctors), and the religious organization, especially in such religious countries as Romania is. For example, given that our findings highlighted the significant relationship between ITPV perpetration and moral disengagement, in line with other previous studies that linked unethical relational behavior and domestic violence (Clemente et al, 2019 ; Cuadrado-Gordillo et al, 2020 ), we consider that educational and community-based intervention and prevention programs should focus on reducing the primary moral disengagement mechanisms underlying such violent behavior. One practical intervention in this regard might be focused on reducing and, finally, eliminating cognitive processing that generally leads to dehumanization, diffusion, and displacement of responsibility, or blaming the victims of ITPV, as other studies previously suggested when exploring the mechanisms underlying similar conducts in cyber-aggression (e.g., Falla et al 2021; Wang & Ngai, 2020).…”

“…Though moral disengagement has been rarely explored in specific domestic violence contexts, many findings point out the significant link between moral disengagement mechanisms and generally aggressive behavior (which, implicitly, might also appear in intimate relationships). For example, researchers suggested significant links between moral disengagement mechanisms and bullying and cyberbullying perpetration (Runions & Bak, 2015;Teng et al, 2020), unethical relational behavior such as the likelihood of making false allegations or retaliating against one's partner (Clemente et al, 2019), dating violence and victimization (Cuadrado-Gordillo et al, 2020), deviant peer affiliation (Wang et al, 2020), violent extremism (Blanco et al, 2020), sexist attitudes (Sánchez-Jiménez & Muñoz-Fernández, 2021), andgenerallyantisocial behavior (Risser & Eckert, 2016;Sijtsema et al, 2019).…”

“…Previous research suggested significant links between online moral disengagement and cyber aggression (Runions & Bak, 2015), dating violence and victimization (Cuadrado-Gordillo et al, 2020), and general deviant relationship behaviors (Clemente et al, 2019). Additionally, the relationship between attachment styles, toxic online disinhibition, and several forms of intimate partner violence, including cyber-abuse, was suggested by a growing number of studies (e.g., Duerksen & Woodin, 2019;Hellevik, 2019;Velotti et al, 2018).…”

Myths about Sexual Aggression, Sexual Assertiveness and Sexual Violence in Adolescent Romantic Relationships

“…In addition, other possible influences on the origin and perpetuation of this problem, such as family and peers, must be explored further. Moreover, it is necessary to study how adolescents define dating violence, as it is possible that some participants did not report experiences of sexual violence in their romantic relationship simply because they did not realize that they had experienced it; it could also happen that others think that the use of some aggression or some pressure on a romantic partner is acceptable [ 54 , 55 ]. Finally, and in accordance with other authors, it would be of interest to analyze what happens in other populations, apart from the large group of heterosexual adolescents attending school, like teenagers who no longer study after graduating from school and the LGBT+ community [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 26 ].…”

When Are Sexist Attitudes Risk Factors for Dating Aggression? The Role of Moral Disengagement in Spanish Adolescents

“…Rubio-Garay and colleagues [49] found small-to-medium associations between MD and physical and verbal aggression. Cuadrado-Gordillo et al [50] reported similar results; MD increased the risk for couple victimisation.…”