Romantic attachment and cyber dating violence in adolescence: A dyadic approach

Abstract

Introduction Little research has documented cyber dating violence (DV)—a type of teen DV with unique characteristics that has been associated with negative consequences. Attachment is central to understanding negative behaviors in the context of relationships and has been associated with other forms of DV in teens. This study used an actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) to examine how cyber‐DV victimization and perpetration (direct aggression and control) relate to attachment anxiety and avoidance. Methods An online questionnaire was completed by 126 adolescent couples (n = 252; mean age = 17.7) from Quebec, Canada. Results In almost all couples (96%), at least one partner reported an incident of cyber‐control in the previous year, while cyber‐aggression was reported in 34% of couples. APIM results revealed that girls' and boys' victimization and perpetration of direct cyber‐aggression are associated similarly with both their own high levels of attachment anxiety and their partner's. Concerning cyber‐control, results show that boys' and girls' victimization is associated more with their partner's higher level of anxious attachment than their own. Girls' perpetration of cyber‐control is associated with both their own high levels of attachment anxiety and their partner's, while for boys' perpetration, their own high levels of anxious attachment were found to play a significantly greater role than their girlfriend's. No significant associations were found for the dimension of avoidant attachment for both cyber‐aggression and cyber‐control whether perpetration or victimization. Conclusion These findings, which identify potential risk factors for victimization and perpetration of cyber‐DV, have implications for research, intervention, and prevention.

“I felt imprisoned”: A qualitative exploration of controlling behaviors in adolescent and emerging adult dating relationships

“…They had to be aged between 14 and 24 years old. For a description of the quantitative component of the research, readers are referred to Laforte et al (2023) Fortin et al (2022).…”

Genç Kadınlarda Siber Flört İstismarının Belirlenmesi

“…Doğrudan saldırganlık boyutunda 11 madde (2,3,4,6,8,9,10,12,15,16,18. sorular), izleme kontrol boyutunda 9 madde (1,5,7,11,13,14,17,19,20. sorular) yer almaktadır.…”

“…yoğun şekilde kullanmasıyla gençlerin romantik partnerlerini sosyal medya ve kısa mesajlar yoluyla korkutmasını, kontrol etmesini ve aşağılamasını mümkün kılmaktadır (5). Ayrıca elektronik iletişim teknolojisi bir partnere nefret dolu kısa mesajlar göndermeyi (siber saldırı) veya partnerin yerini tespit etmeyi ve kontrol etmeyi (siber kontrol) kolaylaştırmaktadır (5,6,7).…”