Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization Among U.S. College Students: A Focus on Witnessing Interpersonal Violence and Substance Use

Background: Dating violence among adolescents and young adults is a significant social problem with numerous detrimental impacts. Despite its high prevalence and relationship to a wide range of adverse outcomes, more research is needed to better understand the developmental trajectory of dating violence victimization and perpetration—particularly with a focus on analyzing differences among subgroups who report experiencing, perpetrating, and both experiencing and perpetrating dating violence—to inform prevention and intervention efforts. Research indicates that childhood exposure to interpersonal violence and substance use might increase the risk for dating violence victimization and perpetration. However, the pathways between violence exposure, substance use, and dating violence warrant further exploration. As such, this study examined the potential mediating role of substance use in the relationship between witnessing violence in childhood and later dating violence among U.S. college students.

Methods: We used data from the International Dating Violence Study (IDVS, 2001–2006), a cross-sectional study of college students in 32 nations (N = 17,404). Our study included 3,316 U.S. college students who had current or former dating relationships lasting more than a month with an opposite sex partner. Dating violence perpetration and victimization were assessed by the revised Conflict Tactics Scale. Witnessing interpersonal violence during childhood (Personal and Relationship Profile; PRP) as well as past and current substance use (PRP) were assessed. Sociodemographic covariates included sex, age, socioeconomic status, sexual relationship, and criminal history. Path analysis models tested the relationship between witnessing interpersonal violence as a child and substance use predicting dating violence, while adjusting for relevant sociodemographics and clustering within colleges. Due to the small sample size of those who endorsed perpetration only, two separate sets of path analyses were conducted with those who reported victimization and those who reported both perpetration and victimization.

Results: A majority of the sample reported both experiencing and perpetrating dating violence (83%), followed by reporting victimization only (16%). Model-fit indices for the two path models suggested a well-fitting model. Witnessing interpersonal violence during childhood was significantly associated with a lower risk of using substances for those who reported victimization only (β=-.12, p<.001) and those who reported both perpetration and victimization (β=-.12, p<.001). Witnessing violence during childhood was associated with a lower risk of dating violence victimization (β=-.18, p<.05), but not with dating violence perpetration and victimization. There were no direct or indirect effects of substance use on dating violence for either group.

Conclusion: Contrary to our hypotheses, no significant mediating effect of substance use was found between witnessing violence as a child and dating violence victimization and perpetration for individuals who reported dating violence victimization or both victimization and perpetration. It is likely that the IDVS measurement of both substance use and witnessing interpersonal violence might partially explain these findings. However, findings and how they are situated in broader literature on this topic underscore that more research is needed to explore underlying mechanisms for dating violence perpetration and victimization, including other potentially confounding variables, to inform the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies for dating violence.