Will I Like Myself If You Hurt Me? Experiences of Violence and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem

Self-esteem seems to be a crucial factor in adolescents’ psychological well-being. Our study aimed to identify the likelihood of high/medium/low adolescents’ self-esteem in personal experiences of abuse and/or violence (abuse by an adult in childhood, bullying and cyberbullying, and dating violence victimization), different socioeconomic characteristics, perceived social support, and ability to resolve social problems. The study participants were 1451 students from secondary schools (age 13–16) in Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland and the UK. We calculated relative risk ratios using multinomial regression models to understand how socioeconomic characteristics, personal experiences of abuse and/or violence, perceived social support, ability to resolve social problems were associated with a self-esteem level. Having no experience of being a victim of physical and sexual abuse in childhood and not being a victim of bullying and cyberbullying is connected with the likelihood of high self-esteem regarding having low self-esteem. Taking as reference those who have never been in a dating relationship, the probability of medium and high self-esteem, decreases when teens are in a romantic or dating relationship and they are victims of intimate partner violence, but the negative effect is explained when other violent variables are included in the model. Being a boy, begin a younger teenager, mother’s paid work, high problem-solving skills and perceptions of social support is in relation with the prospect for higher self-esteem. Promoting adolescent self-esteem means preventing all forms of violence perpetrated by significant others, as well as increasing the ability of youth to seek social support and develop problem-solving skills.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Self-Change in Close Relationships: Evidence From Hong Kong Chinese and European Americans

Three studies examined cultural perceptions of self-change in romantic relationships. In Study 1 ( N = 191), Chinese participants perceived hypothetical couples who changed for the sake of the relationship to have better relationship quality than couples who did not, compared to European American participants. In Study 2 ( N = 396), Chinese individuals in a dating relationship were more likely to perceive that they had changed in the relationship, and self-change was a stronger predictor of relationship quality for them than for American dating individuals. In Study 3 ( N = 115 dyads), Chinese married couples perceived greater self-change, and their perceived self-change was due in part to higher endorsement of dutiful adjustment beliefs than American couples. Self-change was a stronger predictor of relationship quality for Chinese married couples than American couples. Our studies provide support for cultural differences in the role of self-change in romantic relationships, which have implications for partner regulation and relationship counseling across cultures.

Exploring the Roles of Familial and Dating Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault on Adolescent Girls and Young Women’s Risk of Partner Violence in Tanzania

This study explored the role of non-partner violence on adolescent girls and young women’s (AGYW) risk of partner violence in Tanzania. Among currently partnered AGYW, 36.7% reported lifetime physical and/or sexual partner violence. Prevalence of parental punishment, dating relationship violence, and sexual assault measured 3.0%, 2.5%, and 2.9%, respectively. There is evidence that exposure to all forms of non-partner abuse is associated with partner violence. Population attributable fractions suggest that 20% of partner violence incidence was because of non-partner violence. Adolescence and young adulthood is a critical intervention age group to prevent multiple forms of violence including in intimate relationships.

Marriages and remarriages: different stages of a dating relationship

Through a close exploration of a clinical case example, the authors intend to explore mutual frustrations inherent in the disruption of a marital relationship and how the illusions the couple deposited in it are reflected in a remarriage. The first marriage lived as a personal failure or defeat affects the establishment of the roles occupied in the second marriage, especially when the second marriage seeks to magically erase its predecessor.

Negative traits, positive assortment: Revisiting the Dark Triad and a preference for similar others

Across two studies ( NTOTAL = 933), a person’s willingness to engage in a relationship with those scoring high in each of the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) was examined as a function of their own levels of the Dark Triad traits and the relationship type in question (i.e., a one-night stand, a dating relationship, or a marriage). There were three notable findings. First, those scoring high in Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy were more willing to engage in a relationship with a person who was also high in Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, respectively. Second, as the commitment level of the relationship increased, so did a narcissistic individual’s willingness to engage in a relationship with a fellow narcissist. Third, psychopathic people were generally interested in having one-night stands, seemingly without concern for the personality traits of the other person involved. Results are discussed in relation to assortative mating.

Together all the bad things will disappear, I find my partner: Phenomenology study of online dating

The use of online dating applications has become a phenomenal social norm that is popular among the community of active social media users. Online dating activities are supported by the advancement of technology which resulted in an abundance of affordable smartphones, hence everybody can easily find and meet locals as well as foreigners, which eventually might establish a more serious relationship. This research aims to explore how an individual who is online dating addresses all the constraints and barriers the users experience and the motivation underlying the user in online dating to establish a relationship with the partner, which is certainly different from offline (classic) relationships. The research method used is a qualitative approach to the type of descriptive phenomenology. The number of subjects in this study was 8 people (3 men and 5 women), who had an online dating relationship with someone from abroad. The results showed that some couples chose to learn to understand the culture and their limitations in establishing the relationship. Besides, some subjects chose to learn the language of their partner and spending more time with their partner who had a regional time difference. The subjects had almost the same motivation in deciding to go for online dating. The fundamental thing that becomes a driver of an online dating relationship comes from the individual's owns’ desire to fulfill the needs of establishing a relationship with others to gain much-needed attention, love, care, and compassion.

Perceptions of Sexual Violence in Dating Relationships: Presentation Medium and Couple Characteristics

Undergraduate students evaluated scenarios depicting violence in a long-term dating relationship—in either video or written form, and involving either a male or female aggressor in either a same- or other-gender relationship. Other than the genders of the victims and assailants, the details of the scenarios were identical. Results showed that participants rated written scenarios as more powerful than video scenarios and believed that sexual assault was more likely to have happened in the written than in the video scenarios. Compared to men, women were more emotionally impacted by the scenarios, thought sexual assault was more likely to have happened, were more likely to think the aggressor wanted to have sex with the victim, and were less likely to think the victim wanted to have sex with the aggressor. Participants who rated other-sex scenarios thought sexual assault was more likely to have occurred, that the aggressor more likely wanted to have sex with the victim, and that the victim less likely wanted to have sex with the aggressor than those rating same-sex scenarios. When women were portrayed as the victims, regardless of relationship type, the scenario was more emotionally evocative. On average, participants strongly agreed that sexual assault had occurred in each of the scenarios.

Stalking and Other Forms of Dating Violence: Lessons Learned from You in Relation to Cyber Safety

Often, individuals share private information on social media, being unaware of online dangers. You, a popular psychological thriller series on Netflix, raises issues of stalking behaviors through social media as part of a pattern of dating violence. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, this study examined how social media is used for erotic stalking, dating violence, and cyber safety awareness (or lack thereof) in You. The researchers analyzed all 10 episodes of the first season of You independently, taking notes. A combined in-depth analysis included discussions of messages and meanings resulting in three overarching themes: obsessive online and in-person erotic stalking, controlling behaviors in the context of the dating relationship, and an apparent indifference about cyber safety with oversharing of personal information on social media, which was exploited by the lead protagonist. You raises important concerns including inappropriate dating behaviors such as stalking, coercive control, violence, and questionable masculine attitudes, which are interwoven with an apparent lack of knowledge and understanding in relation to cyber safety. We concluded that raising awareness of the importance of online safety and security in the context of a dating relationship is imperative and that You can be used as an educational tool.

Moral Disengagement as a Moderating Factor in the Relationship between the Perception of Dating Violence and Victimization

There have been studies establishing the relationship between moral disengagement and aggressiveness in various contexts, especially in the role of the aggressor. Few, however, have analyzed moral disengagement’s mediating role in the phenomenon of teenage dating violence, taking into account how these mechanisms affect the victims’ perception of themselves as fearful, trapped, or mistreated in a dating relationship. This study analyzes the relationship between moral disengagement, the acceptance of violence, and how the victims of this type of abuse perceive victimization. The participants were 2577 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18. They completed two questionnaires that addressed teenage dating violence and moral disengagement. To study the relationship between the variables, factorial, structural, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to construct the perceptual structure of victimization. The analyses showed moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence, as well as their interaction, to have a mediating and moderating influence by modifying the perception of victimization. The victims’ levels of moral disengagement explained their acceptance of the violence and their inability to recognize abuse. Finally, these results may be a key element in the design of psychological interventions aimed at minimizing the use of moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence in situations involving aggression in teenage dating.

Why settle when there are plenty of fish in the sea? Rusbult’s investment model applied to online dating

The current mixed-methods study reports the results of a cross-sectional survey of 205 online daters and uses the Investment Model to examine the antecedents of commitment in online dating and users’ decisions to delete their online dating account(s). We hypothesized that the quality of alternatives, investments, and satisfaction with the online dating relationship would mediate the association between online dating intensity and commitment, which, in turn, would predict the intention to terminate an account. The analyses revealed that online dating intensity was associated with greater commitment and a lower likelihood of account termination. There were also specific indirect effects on commitment through the quality of alternatives, investments, and satisfaction, and on termination through investments. Responses to an open-ended question provided more information about users’ decisions to quit online dating. These results point to ways online dating may facilitate the desire for commitment while potentially undermining the long-term stability of relationships.