NCJ Number
224899
Journal
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 227-244
Date Published
October 2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study was to examine numerous risk factors for the perpetration of dating violence across genders.
Abstract
Of the 118 undergraduate males in the study, who were in or had previously been in a dating relationship lasting 1 month or more, 31.8 percent reported being physically violent toward their partner in the past year. The findings correspond with previous research that found prevalence rates of college dating violence to range between 20 and 50 percent. In addition, a higher percentage of violence perpetrations among females was found which is consistent with previous research. For males, partner’s use of physical aggression, low anger management skills, and high relationship satisfaction were the strongest predictors of physical aggression. For females, partner’s uses of physical and psychological aggression were the most important predictors of their use of physical aggression. This study was an attempt to fill the gaps in the literature by examining numerous risk factors for violence perpetration. The eight risk factors examined were parental violence, childhood abuse, problems with alcohol, length of dating relationship, relationship satisfaction, anger management skills, partner’s use of physical aggression, and partner’s use of psychological aggression. Two predictive models were tested, one for males and one for females, to determine if risk factors operated differently for men versus women. Tables and references