The Roles of Family Factors and Relationship Dynamics on Dating Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among College Men and Women in Emerging Adulthood

Background/purpose:

While family and relational factors have been found in previous studies to be associated with dating violence among college students, little effort has been put forth to recognize the risk markers empirically linked to the aforementioned violence (i.e., perpetration and victimization) simultaneously. Similarly, previous research has failed to examine the interactive mechanisms between these factors that may reinforce or protect against physical dating violence. This study examined the roles of early socialization, family social structure, and relationship dynamics factors on physical aggression in dating among U.S. college students in emerging adulthood.

Methods:

Data: Our data come from the International Dating Violence Study. Our analytical sample comprised 3,495 participants from a combination of 16 public, private, rural, urban, or suburban universities or colleges throughout the United States who were in emerging adulthood (between 18 and 25 years), and who had been in a heterosexual dating relationship that lasted at least 1 month.

Analytical approach: We calculated frequency distributions and mean values of each physically aggressive act reported by the participants to examine the prevalence and chronicity of these behaviors. We also employed multiple regression analyses to assess the association of early socialization, family social structure, and relationship dynamics on physical aggression in dating relationships from the victims’ and perpetrators’ perspectives. The interaction effects between three domains of interest (early socialization, family social structure, and relationship dynamics) were explored to understand the underlying mechanisms that influenced victimization and perpetration in dating.

Results:

We found that family and relational variables associated with dating victimization and perpetration were fairly similar. Among the early socialization variables, experience of childhood neglect and having witnessed domestic violence were significantly related to victimization and perpetration. Living in a two-parent household appeared to exert a protective effect, although associations with parental education were not statistically significant. Furthermore, the participants were more likely to experience victimization or impose aggression in dating relationships which were characterized by conflicts, distress, dominance, or psychological aggression. Overall, for the participants who came from a two-parent household, dominance in dating was linked to less violence. When the participants faced higher levels of psychological aggression, adverse early socialization factors were associated with higher levels of dating violence victimization and perpetration.

Conclusions/implications:

The influence of risk and protective factors on college dating violence could differ contingent upon the family or relational variables that interact. We highly discourage any research or treatment effort that adopts a “one size fits all” approach in their model formulation but embrace the concepts of diversity in their research and practice approach.

Source: Paat, Y-F., & Markham, C. (2016). The roles of family factors and relationship dynamics on dating violence victimization and perpetration among college men and women in emerging adulthood. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. doi: 10.1177/0886260516640544