Violent Behavior in College Student Dating Relationships: Implications for Campus Service Providers

• NCJ Number: 160839
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1996) Pages: 2-27
• Author(s): C S Sellers; M L Bromley
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study provides a descriptive analysis of the nature and extent of self-reported use of aggression and victimization in dating relationships among random samples of 995 currently dating and 1,391 never-married students at a large urban university.

Abstract

Four measures of dating violence were used: self-reported use of violence against a current partner, self-reported use of violence against past partners, self-reported victimization in a current dating relationship, and self-reported victimization in past relationships. Respondents were asked how many times during their current relationship they had done any of the following things to their partner: threw something at the partner; pushed, grabbed, or shoved a partner; slapped the partner; kicked, bit, or hit a partner with a fist; hit or tried to hit a partner with something; beat up a partner; threatened a partner with a knife or gun; and used a knife or gun against a partner. The study also examined sociodemographic, student, relationship, and situational correlates of the measures of dating violence. One of the most salient findings of the study is that the most serious forms of violent behavior were relatively rare events. This was a consistent response from both the users of violence and the victims. This finding parallels the relatively low proportion of violent assaults reported to the university police during 1994. A second finding relates to the apparent similarities between the users of violent or aggressive behaviors and victims. Perpetrators of violent acts live off-campus, are often responding to violence being used against them, and are involved in lengthy, sexually intimate relationships with the persons against whom they used the aggressive tactics. Similarly, victims are most often the object of less serious acts of aggression such as pushing, grabbing, or shoving. Victims are also most likely to live off-campus and are more likely to be involved in long-term, sexually active relationships. 10 tables and 50 references