Christina M. Dardis

An Examination of the Factors Related to Dating Violence Perpetration Among Young Men and Women and Associated Theoretical Explanations A Review of the Literature

This article provides a review of the literature on dating violence (DV) perpetration, specifically sex similarities and differences in the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration and the utility of current theories to explain young men’s and women’s DV perpetration. Overall, many of the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration are similar among young men and women (e.g., witnessing interparental violence, experiencing child abuse, alcohol abuse, traditional gender roles, relationship power dynamics). However, young women’s perpetration of DV is more strongly related to internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression), trait anger and hostility, and experiencing DV victimization than young men’s perpetration, whereas young men’s perpetration of DV is more consistently related to lower socioeconomic status and educational attainment, antisocial personality characteristics, and increased relationship length than young women’s perpetration. Each theory offers insights into but does not fully account for the correlates and predictors of DV perpetration. Sociocultural theories may be useful in explaining the use of coercive control in relationships, and learning/intergenerational transmission of violence theories may be useful in explaining bidirectional couple violence. Future research should focus on integrative theories, such as in the social–ecological theory, in order to explain various forms of DV. Our understanding of young men’s and young women’s DV perpetration is limited by cross-sectional research designs, methodological inconsistencies, a lack of sex-specific analytic approaches, and a lack of focus on contextual factors; more multivariate and longitudinal studies are needed. Further, as DV prevention programming is often presented in mixed-sex formats, a critical understanding of sex differences and similarities in DV perpetration could ultimately refine and improve effectiveness of programming efforts aimed at reducing DV.

Women's disclosure of dating violence: A mixed methodological study

The researchers utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to examine college women’s disclosure of dating violence. Quantitative analyses showed that disclosure of dating violence was related to stress associated with abuse, partner blame, and thoughts about ending the relationship. Qualitative content analyses demonstrated that women’s minimization of the abuse was the most commonly given reason for nondisclosure. Women who disclosed dating violence reported that the following responses to their disclosures were most helpful: receiving ‘good advice’, the opportunity to vent/talk about it, receiving comfort and other emotional support, rationalizing the partners’ behavior, and providing a neutral perspective. Conversely, the following responses were reported as least helpful: being told to end the relationship, not understanding, joking about the experiences, and ‘bad advice’. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

Feminist Self-Defense and Resistance Training for College Students A Critical Review and Recommendations for the Future

There remains resistance to feminist self-defense and resistance training programming for women, despite (a) documented effectiveness of rape resistance strategies in avoiding rape, (b) consistently high rates of sexual victimization on college campuses, and (c) limited evidence of lasting change in sexual assault perpetration reduction within existing men’s prevention programs. The current article seeks to discuss (1) the rationale for feminist self-defense and resistance training for women, (2) key components of feminist self-defense and resistance training, (3) barriers to its implementation, (4) outcomes of self-defense and resistance training programming, and (5) recommendations for future work. Such suggestions include increasing funding for large-scale self-defense and rape resistance outcome research to examine program effectiveness. Specifically, outcome research that examines the role of contextual factors (e.g., alcohol use) and women’s victimization histories is needed. Finally, self-defense training and resistance training should be combined with bystander intervention and men’s programs with the goal of providing synergistic effects on rape reduction.

Informal Social Reactions to College Women’s Disclosure of Intimate Partner Violence Associations With Psychological and Relational Variables

This researchers assessed informal (e.g., friends, family) social reactions to college women’s (N = 139) disclosure of intimate partner violence (IPV) within their current romantic relationships and associated psychological (i.e., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS] and global psychological distress symptoms) and relational (i.e., intentions to leave the abusive relationship) variables. Women completed confidential surveys, which assessed current partner abuse, psychological and relational variables, and three types of social reactions from informal supports to disclosure of IPV: positive (e.g., believing, validating the victim), negative (e.g., disbelieving, blaming the victim), and leaving (i.e., being told to end the relationship) reactions. At the bivariate level, negative social reactions to women’s disclosure were related to increases in global psychological distress, PTSS, and leaving intentions; positive social reactions to disclosure related only to increases in PTSS; and being told to leave the relationship related to increases in PTSS and leaving intentions. In the regression analyses, after controlling for abuse severity, negative social reactions were significantly related to global psychological distress and PTSS, and being told to leave significantly related to leaving intentions and PTSS. Mechanisms for these relationships and implications are discussed.

Predictors of Sexual Assault–Specific Prosocial Bystander Behavior and Intentions A Prospective Analysis

This study prospectively examined the impact of men’s own attitudes and behaviors and perceptions of peer attitudes and behaviors on intentions and engagement in prosocial bystander behavior. Undergraduate men completed surveys at baseline and 4- and 7-month follow-ups. Men’s perceptions of peer attitudes and behaviors and their own attitudes and behaviors were both important predictors of intentions. However, men’s own attitudes and behaviors appeared to be more robustly predictive of behavior. Intentions to engage in bystander behavior were not predictive of behavior. Results support two specific areas of bystander intervention programming addressing misperceptions of social norms and personal attitudes and behaviors.

Dating Violence Perpetration: The Predictive Roles of Maternally versus Paternally Perpetrated Childhood Abuse and Subsequent Dating Violence Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated both young mens and young womens perpetration of physical, sexual, and psychological forms of dating violence, examining predictors of violence including maternally or paternally perpetrated forms of various types of child maltreatment, as well as attitudes toward dating violence and dating violence victimization. Results of hierarchical linear regressions found that childhood experiences of maternal neglect predicted mens physical perpetration, and childhood sexual abuse predicted womens sexual perpetration and mens psychological perpetration. Further, positive attitudes toward dating violence predicted womens physical, psychological, and sexual perpetration, as well as mens sexual perpetration, and experiences of dating violence victimization were the strongest predictors of most forms of dating violence perpetration, particularly among women. Implications for future research and prevention initiatives are discussed.

Perceptions of Dating Violence and Associated Correlates: A Study of College Young Adults

The purpose of this study was to better understand young adults’ perceptions of what behaviors constitute intimate partner violence (IPV) and the correlates of these perceptions using a comprehensive measure of IPV perceptions and behaviors. Participants were undergraduates (aged 18-25), including 357 women and 346 men (N = 703) from the midwestern region of the United States, who completed surveys for course credit. Results demonstrated that young women and men on average reported that acts of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were abusive. However, young women generally rated these behaviors as more abusive than young men, male-to-female (M-to-F) IPV was viewed as more abusive than female-to-male (F-to-M) IPV, and physical IPV was considered the most abusive form of IPV, followed by sexual IPV, which was rated as more abusive than psychological IPV. Furthermore, among men, a history of IPV perpetration and victimization generally predicted decreased perceptions that acts were abusive; however, among women, histories of IPV perpetration and victimization were generally unrelated to abuse perceptions. These data underscore the importance of the inclusion of psychoeducation about the seriousness of all forms of IPV in IPV prevention programming and the importance of situation-specific and targeted IPV prevention messages. Moreover, future research is needed to replicate and better understand the explanatory mechanisms underlying the relationships among a history of IPV, abuse perceptions, and gender.

A Mixed-Methodological Examination of Investment Model Variables Among Abused and Nonabused College Women

Abstract Objective: This study assessed abused and nonabused womens perceptions of Investment Model (IM) variables (ie, relationship investment, satisfaction, commitment, quality of alternatives) utilizing a mixed-methods design. Participants: Participants included 102 college women, approximately half of whom were in abusive dating relationships. Methods: Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze transcribed responses to open-ended questions about abused and nonabused womens perceptions of IM variables. These coding categories were compared with a quantitative measure of IM variables. Results: Overall, abused and nonabused women were not found to differ on qualitative or quantitative measures with regard to overall level of commitment, investment, or perceived alternatives to their relationships. However, abused women reported lower levels of satisfaction, and listed more negative aspects of their relationships than nonabused women. Additionally, a number of factors were identified by women to affect their perceptions of these IM variables. Conclusions: Victims of dating violence may minimize the abuse sustained in efforts to maintain their relationships. Alternatively, dissonance between the positive and negative aspects of the relationships may drive ambivalence about leaving relationships, all of which could be addressed in dating violence prevention and intervention programming on campuses.

“Miscommunication” and Undergraduate Women’s Conceptualizations of Sexual Assault: A Qualitative Analysis

Approximately 60% of legally defined rape victims do not label their experiences as “rape,” most of whom label the experience as “a serious miscommunication.” However, little research has examined why women choose this label. Labeling rape as a miscommunication could be problematic if chosen due to stereotypical conceptions that one’s experience is not “real” rape. The present study used a mixed-methodological approach to understand why women might refer to rape as a “miscommunication,” and how their reasons for labeling might differ from those who label their experiences and those who are nonlabeled (i.e., unequivocally state that they were “not victimized”). Participants included 123 undergraduate women who experienced rape. Participants responded to how they labeled rape and answered questions regarding assault characteristics, disclosure, reporting, and self- and perpetrator blame. Chi-square analyses assessed labeling group differences. Responses to an open-ended question about factors contributing to their labeling decision were content analyzed. Whereas miscommunication-labeled and nonlabeled victims reported similar assault characteristics in the quantitative analyses, qualitative content analyses revealed varying reasons for labeling rape as miscommunication, not victimization, and rape. Over three quarters of miscommunication-labeled victims reported that one or more of the following factors influenced their labeling: victim and perpetrator substance use, sexual activity prior to the rape, and perceptions that one did not express nonconsent strongly enough and that the perpetrator “did not realize” their lack of desire. Whereas miscommunication-labeled and nonlabeled victims reported similar assault characteristics, the extent to which those assault characteristics affected their labeling differed. Those who labeled their experiences as miscommunication gave reasons for their label that centered on factors which reflect inconsistencies between their experiences and “stereotypical rape.” Misperceptions of rape can be addressed via prevention programming and clinical work.

The psychological toll of unwanted pursuit behaviors and intimate partner violence on undergraduate women: A dominance analysis.

Objective: Despite heightened attention to intimate partner violence (IPV) toward undergraduate women, unwanted pursuit behaviors (UPBs) have received much less attention. The purpose of the present study was to refine and validate existing in-person and cyber UPB measures, examine their association with other forms of IPV, and assess the unique impact of UPBs on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depressive symptoms. Method: Undergraduate women (N = 318) completed measures assessing the frequency and levels of fear and annoyance caused by cyber and in-person UPBs, and measures of IPV, PTSS, and depressive symptoms. Factor analyses and comparisons based on psychological outcomes were used to determine the suitability of the removal of items rated as low in fear and annoyance. Dominance analyses assessed incremental contributions of each type of UPBs and IPV to PTSS and depressive symptoms. Results: Five in-person UPB items were rated as low in annoyance, and fear and were removed; scale structure was unaffected by their removal. After their removal, fewer women were identified as UPB victims, and those who were no longer identified as victims did not differ from others who were not victimized with respect to psychological outcomes. Dominance analyses indicated that cyber contact UPBs (e.g., threatening calls or texts) contributed more incremental variance to PTSS and depressive symptoms than did any other form of UPB or IPV. Conclusions: Findings call attention to the particular need for practitioners and policymakers to better address cyber UPBs and their prevention, which are frequently overlooked in present IPV prevention efforts.