In-person and cyber dating abuse: A longitudinal investigation

While studies have identified associations between cyber and in-person dating abuse, most research has relied on cross-sectional data, limiting the ability to determine temporality. This study tested the longitudinal associations between cyber and physical and psychological forms of in-person dating abuse. Data were from an ongoing longitudinal study following a group of high school students originally recruited in Southeast Texas, US, into their young adulthood. Three waves of data (Waves 4–6) were used, with each wave collected one year apart. At Wave 4, participants’ age ranged from 16 years to 20 years (mean = 18.1, median = 18.0, SD = .78). The analytical sample consisted of 879 adolescents/young adults (59% female, 41% male; 32% Hispanics, 28% Black, 29% White, and 11% other) who completed the dating abuse questions. Cross-lagged panel analysis showed that dating abuse victimization and perpetration were predictive of subsequent dating abuse of the same type. Cyber dating abuse perpetration was found to predict subsequent physical dating abuse perpetration as well as physical dating abuse victimization, but not vice versa. Further, cyber dating abuse perpetration predicted psychological dating abuse victimization, but not vice versa. Cyber dating abuse victimization was not significantly associated with either physical or psychological dating abuse temporally. Overall, findings suggest that cyber dating abuse perpetration may be a risk marker for both physical and psychological forms of in-person dating abuse. Interventions may benefit from targeting cyber dating abuse perpetration as means to prevent in-person dating abuse.

Cyber-dating abuse in young adult couples: Relations with sexist attitudes and violence justification, smartphone usage and impulsivity

Technologies have become important for interaction in couples. However, in some cases, controlling and aggressive behaviors can occur in the context of virtual interactions in couples; this is known as cyber-dating abuse (CDA). Identifying factors linked to CDA, as perpetrator and victim, are relevant for its prevention; therefore, more research is needed in this novel field of study. To contribute to the literature, our first goal was to analyze the associations among certain risk factors for CDA perpetration and victimization of, i.e., sexist attitudes and violence justification, problematic smartphone usage and impulsivity; sex and age were also considered. The second goal was to study whether there were differences in direct aggression and control, from the perpetrator and victim perspectives, with consideration of the above-mentioned risk factors. Third, differences in the diverse range of control behaviors and direct aggression between women and men were explored. To this end, 697 young adults (aged between 18 and 35 years; 548 women) completed self-report questionnaires that allowed assessment of the above-mentioned variables. The results showed that, among the wide range of CDA behaviors, indirect ones such as control behaviors were the most common. The highest level of control was strongly associated with the inability to manage behaviors under certain emotional states, especially negative ones, along with problematic smartphone usage. Sex differences were also observed: men displayed more sexist attitudes and violence justification, and perceived that they were more controlled by their partners. Regarding CDA behaviors, men and women showed differences in control (e.g. men considered themselves to be more controlled in terms of location and status updates), and direct aggression (e.g. men used more insults and humiliations than women). The results were discussed in terms of the importance of better understanding these risk factors to attenuate the increasing prevalence of CDA in relationships.

Gambaran Pengetahuan Remaja mengenai Perilaku Cyber Dating Abuse

Technology has a lot of impact on the development of adolescent’s romantic relationships. Previously, dating violence could only have happened offline, now can be easily done online in many different forms. The adolescent can take the benefits of digital technology to abuse and control their partner. This kind of online abusive behavior towards a romantic partner is defined in terms of “cyber dating abuse”. The main purpose of this study is to describe adolescent’s knowledge and their awareness of cyber dating abuse behavior. This study involves 52 teenagers (36 girls and 16 boys) across different ages (12-18 years old). Measurement tools are derived from set of cyber dating abuse behavior lists in Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire (CDAQ). The collected data is further analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result shows that CDA behavior, especially controlling behavior with new technologies and social media, tend to be tolerated by teenagers and failed to see as dating violence toward their own partner. Another finding is teenager start showing high technology usage, that makes them more vulnerable to CDA. At the end of this discussion, we suggest that immediate educational intervention about CDA for adolescent and more thorough research into another psychological aspect and social competence that could correlates with CDA needs to be done in Indonesia.Indonesian Abstract: Teknologi memiliki banyak pengaruh pada perkembangan hubungan asmara remaja. Sebelumnya, kekerasan dalam pacaran hanya bisa terjadi secara offline, kini bisa dengan mudah dilakukan secara online dalam berbagai bentuk. Para remaja dapat memanfaatkan teknologi digital untuk menyalahgunakan dan mengontrol pasangannya. Perilaku kasar online semacam ini terhadap pasangan romantis didefinisikan dalam istilah "penyalahgunaan kencan maya". Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pengetahuan remaja dan kesadarannya terhadap perilaku penyalahgunaan cyber dating. Penelitian ini melibatkan 52 remaja (36 perempuan dan 16 laki-laki) dengan berbagai usia (12-18 tahun). Alat pengukuran berasal dari kumpulan daftar perilaku penyalahgunaan kencan cyber di Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire (CDAQ). Data yang terkumpul dianalisis lebih lanjut dengan menggunakan statistik deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perilaku CDA, terutama perilaku mengontrol dengan teknologi baru dan media sosial, cenderung dapat ditoleransi oleh remaja dan tidak dipandang sebagai kekerasan dalam pacaran terhadap pasangannya sendiri. Temuan lainnya adalah remaja mulai menunjukkan penggunaan teknologi tinggi, yang membuat mereka semakin rentan terhadap CDA. Di akhir pembahasan ini, kami menyarankan agar intervensi pendidikan segera tentang CDA untuk remaja dan penelitian yang lebih mendalam tentang aspek psikologis dan kompetensi sosial lainnya yang dapat berhubungan dengan CDA perlu dilakukan di Indonesia

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Early Maladaptive Schemas as Predictors of Cyber Dating Abuse: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model Approach

The increasing role that new technologies play in intimate relationships has led to the emergence of a new form of couple violence, cyber dating abuse, especially among adolescents and young adults. Although this phenomenon has received increased attention, no research has investigated predictors of cyber dating abuse taking into account the interdependence of the two partners. The study examines adverse childhood experiences (abuse, neglect, and witnessed intimate partner violence) and early maladaptive schemas (emotional deprivation and abandonment) as possible predictors of young adults’ perpetrated and suffered cyber dating abuse. Adopting a dyadic approach, mediational models in which adverse childhood experiences were assumed to be related to individual and partner’s cyber dating abuse through individual early maladaptive schemas were tested. 134 couples completed online self-reports of the variables of interest, including a bidimensional measure of cyber dating abuse assessing pressure-aggression and control-monitoring. Actor-partner interdependence mediation model analyses were conducted. Results indicated that the emotional deprivation schema mediated the association between adverse childhood experiences and cyber dating abuse, whereas the abandonment schema did not. Specifically, more frequent experiences of emotional abuse and physical neglect during childhood were indirectly related to increased likelihood of perpetrating cyber dating pressure-aggression as well as of perpetrating and suffering cyber dating control-monitoring in both males and females. These associations were mediated by a stronger internalization of the emotional deprivation schema and were supported by both self-reported and partner-reported data. Also, a strong and direct association was found between childhood exposure to intimate partner violence by the opposite-sex parent and cyber dating pressure-aggression by females or control-monitoring by both males and females. These findings help to clarify the potential negative effects of specific adverse childhood experiences and early maladaptive schemas on the tendency to perpetrate and suffer cyber abuse in romantic relationships. The implications for prevention and treatment programs are noted and avenues for future research are described.

Does Cyber Dating Abuse Victimization Increase Depressive Symptoms or Vice Versa?

Although there is a robust positive association between cyber dating abuse victimization and depression, the direction of effects between them is unknown. Thus, we conducted two studies to investigate their temporal relationship. Study 1 ( n = 198) examined whether cyber dating abuse victimization predicted depressive symptoms 6 weeks later, after controlling for the initial level of depressive symptoms. Study 2 ( n = 264) used a two-wave, cross-lagged design to investigate possible bidirectional relations between cyber dating abuse victimization and depression. Participants in both studies were emerging adults in romantic relationships. They completed the Partner Cyber Abuse Questionnaire and depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. Many individuals (42.40% in Study 1 and 36.4% in Study 2) reported experiencing cyber abuse from their partners. Study 1 replicated the cross-sectional association previously found between cyber dating abuse victimization and depression and showed that cyber abuse predicted depression 6 weeks later. Study 2 replicated the findings of the first study and revealed that cyber dating abuse victimization was related to higher levels of depressive symptoms 12 weeks later, but the converse was not the case. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and clinical practice.

Epidemiology of Cyber Dating Abuse Victimization in Adolescence and Its Relationship With Health-Related Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study

There is currently no evidence of the relationship between cyber dating abuse (CDA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), especially from a longitudinal perspective. The objectives were: a) to analyze the point and period prevalence, incidence, and score changes over time of victimization by CDA; b) to compare HRQoL in the different categories of victims of CDA (nonvictims, new, ceased, intermittent, and stable victims). A three-wave longitudinal study was carried out over 13 months. The final sample was composed of adolescents who had a partner in the 6 months before the measurements: 341(W1), 357(W2), and 416(W3). The prevalence of CDA was 31.1% (W1), 32.8% (W2), and 18.1% (W3). The girls had higher prevalence in victimization by control than the boys in all waves. The period prevalence was 23% (20% for control, 15% for direct aggression) and the cumulative incidence was 15%. Stable victims had the lowest HRQoL scores.