Prevalence, age of initiation, and patterns of co-occurrence of digital dating abuse behaviors nationwide.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the patterns of adolescent and young adult digital dating abuse (DDA) nationwide. This study characterizes (1) the lifetime prevalence, (2) the age of initiation, and (3) the patterns of co-occurrence of both using and experiencing DDA behaviors in dating relationships. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among a sample of 696 U.S. young adults recruited from Prolific, an online research platform. The sample was 50.7% female, 43.7% male, and 5.6% gender non-binary or transgender. The average age was 18.7 years (SD = 0.63, range: 16-22). RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS: Among those with dating experience, 76.1% (n = 530) reported either using or experiencing at least one DDA behavior in their lifetime. Overall, 42.9% of respondents reported using and 58.3% experiencing digital monitoring and control behaviors, 25.0% reported using and 49.2% experiencing digital direct aggression, and 12.4% reported using and 36.4% experiencing digital sexual coercion. The average age of initiation for most DDA behaviors was 16 years with respondents reporting experiencing these behaviors at 11 years of age at the earliest. Of those with any involvement with DDA, 59.2% report both using at least one DDA behavior and experiencing at least one DDA behavior (n = 314), 32.5% report experiencing at least one DDA behavior but not using any (n = 172), and 8.3% report using at least one DDA behavior but not experiencing any (n = 44). DDA behaviors are common, can occur at young ages. Our findings highlight crossover between those who use and those who experience DDA behaviors and suggest prevention should focus on underlying issues that drive both the use and experience of these behaviors.

Digital Dating Abuse: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Social media and other technologies are being increasingly adopted as mechanisms to perpetrate abuse against dating partners. Using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior as a framework, a sample of 352 emerging adults completed a questionnaire that assessed the core constructs of the theory of planned behavior (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), as well as intentions to commit three types of digital dating abuse in the near future: digital monitoring and control, digital direct aggression, and digital sexual coercion. The models explained 44%, 34%, and 44% of the variance in intentions to commit digitally facilitated monitoring and control, direct aggression, and sexual coercion, respectively. Attitudes and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions, whereas perceived behavioral control did not. Given the increasing prevalence of digital dating abuse, prevention efforts should target attitudes toward digital dating abuse-related behaviors and perceptions of social acceptability and engagement.

The Role of Intrasexual Competition and the Big 5 in the Perpetration of Digital Dating Abuse.

Recent research has examined digital dating abuse through an evolutionary lens, finding people who report intrasexual competitiveness engage in digital dating abuse. Here, we replicated this finding and extended the literature by examining the role of the Big Five personality traits in the perpetration of digital dating abuse, which, to our knowledge, has not been examined in relation to digital dating abuse (n=280). This paper reports findings showing intrasexual competitiveness positively predicts the perpetration of digitaldating abuse; whereby high intrasexual competition is related to high levels of digital dating abuse. Agreeableness was a negative predictor of digital dating abuse; whereby high agreeableness was related to low perpetration of digital dating abuse. Our findings extend the literature exploring digital dating abuse through an evolutionary lens.

Digital Violence and Abuse: A Scoping Review of Adverse Experiences Within Adolescent Intimate Partner Relationships.

International research in the past 2 decades has suggested that intimate partner violence among adolescents is a significant public health concern. Both are commonly understood as a pattern of behavior that is intended to establish and maintain control over a partner. Recently, a plethora of digital applications and social networking sites have presented new opportunities for adolescents to initiate, develop, and conduct intimate partner relationships. However, research exploring adverse experiences related to digital interactions in the context of adolescents' intimate partner relations is limited. This scoping review aims to identify and describe the nature and range of difficult experiences in the current published research relating to digital interactions between intimate adolescent partners, from digitalized violence to less severe adverse experiences. Systematic and manual searching resulted in the identification of 1,876 potential articles for inclusion in this review. A total of 18 articles were ultimately included based on the following predefined inclusion criteria. The article must: (a) be an empirical study that has used quantitative, qualitative, mixed, or review methods; (b) include young adolescents and adolescents of 18 years or younger as participants; (c) include accounts of young adolescents and young people's experiences and/or consequences of digital interactions within intimate partner relationships; and (d) be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Examples of less severe experiences could be different kinds of digital harassment, such as electronic intrusiveness, excessive texting, insults, unpleasant messages, and the spreading of rumors. Other adverse experiences related to digital interactions included being controlled by a partner, verbal abuse, experiences of aggression, sexual pressure, and coercion. Common consequences of adverse experiences included emotional and mental health-related difficulties, self-restricting behaviors, relationship difficulties, and risk behaviors.

Meta-Analysis of Cyber Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Different Types and their Associations with Face-to-Face IPV among Men and Women.

Cyber intimate partner violence (C-IPV) is a technology-mediated form of violence. It has been examined only in the last 10 years as a form of violence that can cause psychological damage to its victims. How this phenomenon connects to and differs from face-to-face IPV (F2F-IPV) has been, as yet, little studied. Research has not made clear whether sex differences may impact its use, particularly in light of the fact that no physical coercion is used in C-IPV. Thus, the current research aimed to investigate through a meta-analysis: differences between the average levels of different types of C-IPV victimization and perpetration; the association between C-IPV and F2F-IPV victimization and perpetration; and whether the answers to these questions were dependent on sex. The current meta-analysis drew on 46 studies, within 44 papers, with a total sample of 27,491 participants. Findings from 22 of these studies showed no significant sex differences between the average levels of different types of C-IPV victimization and between different types of C-IPV perpetration. These 22 studies showed positive large effect sizes for the correlation between C-IPV and F2F-IPV perpetration and victimization. Moreover, in both perpetration and victimization, sex did not impact the level of association. The findings suggested that C-IPV and F2F-IPV are highly correlated, and though not the same, they may share similar characteristics. Additionally, the results suggested that sex differences do not impact non-physical aggression, such as C-IPV. The implications for preventive strategies include that IPV interventions should also focus on alleviating instances of C-IPV.

The Role of Mating-relevant Factors in the Perpetration of Digital Dating Abuse.

Previous research has explored offline intimate partner violence from an evolutionary perspective, primarily focusing on the role of individual differences in perpetration and victimization. However, a current form of intimate partner violence is digital dating abuse, which involves abuse toward a romantic partner, occuring online through the use of electronic communication technology. This form of abuse differs from offline abuse, in that physical proximity is not required. Although research has focused on the effects digital dating abuse has on victims, little research has focused on the perpetration of digital dating abuse. This is important as research focused on perpetration can inform a wide range of initiatives geared toward understanding the factors which drive this behavior. Recent research has focused on evolutionary mating-relevant factors that drive the perpetration of digital dating abuse. Here, we extended and replicated previous work by reporting two studies (study 1, n = 114; study 2, n = 162) which explored the roles of mate value discrepancy, intrasexual competition, and relationship-contingent self-esteem in the perpetration of digital dating abuse. We found that mate value discrepancy (studies 1 and 2) and intrasexual competition (study 2) positively predicted the perpetration of digital dating abuse. To our knowledge, this article is the first to provide support that those who report high intrasexual competition, engage in greater levels of digital dating abuse, thus furthering theoretical advancements in this field by showing digital dating abuse is a mate retention tactic. Our findings further our understanding of online behavior in romantic relationships through an evolutionary psychological lens.

Digital Dating Abuse Among a National Sample of U.S. Youth.

Digital dating abuse is a term used to describe physical, sexual, or psychological/emotional violence that occurs between romantic partners through the use of texting, social media, and related online mediums. Survey data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 2,218 American middle and high school students (12-17 years old) who have been in a romantic relationship. About 28% of students in a relationship in the previous year had been the victim of digital dating abuse. Males were more likely to report having experienced it (32% compared to 24%), though no other demographic differences emerged. Several covariates did emerge as significantly related to experience with digital dating abuse, including depressive symptoms, sexual intercourse, sexting, and being the victim of cyberbullying. Experiencing offline dating abuse was by far the strongest correlate. Implications for prevention and policy within schools and the community are discussed, along with considerations for future research in this important area.

Perpetration of Electronic Intrusiveness Among Adolescent Females: Associations With In-Person Dating Violence.

Electronic intrusiveness is a form of cyber dating abuse that includes monitoring a partners' location, whom a partner is talking to, and other private information via technology and social networking sites. The aim of this study was to further explore the prevalence of electronic intrusiveness, as well as to assess how electronic intrusiveness relates to in-person dating violence while controlling for known risk factors for in-person dating violence, namely, depression, emotion regulation, and acceptance of couple violence. Data for this study were drawn from the baseline assessment of a larger clinical trial. A sample of high-risk adolescent females between the ages of 14 and 17 with a lifetime history of prior dating violence victimization or perpetration was used. Participants completed self-report measures for all study variables. Findings demonstrate that perpetration of electronic intrusiveness within the past 3 months is common among a sample of high-risk adolescent females, with rates across various modes of technology ranging from 30% to 57%. Results also revealed electronic intrusiveness is associated with in-person dating violence perpetration after accounting for known risk factors. This study highlights the need to increase awareness of electronic intrusiveness and to better incorporate electronic intrusiveness into theoretical and empirical models of dating violence.

Evaluating Female Experiences of Electronic Dating Violence in Jordan: Motivations, Consequences, and Coping Strategies.

Gender stereotypes can influence electronic dating violence (EDV) because the victims' experiences with abusers depict crucial social mechanisms concerning relational dependency and unequal power relations between men and women, making it difficult for women to resist, report, or escape cyber abuse. In the Arab context, cyber abuse in romantic relationships has not been sufficiently examined. This study investigated female experiences of EDV through a qualitative exploratory descriptive approach. Participants experienced several short- and long-term negative psychological and emotional behavioral responses. Our findings validate that EDV heightened the probability of intimate partner violence definitively via psychological, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse. Their resistance strategies differed according to the extent and nature of the abuse. None of the participants sought help from family due to fear of being killed or forced out of university, and realizing that they would continue to experience multiple forms of abuse. Rather, they either sought help from female professors at the university or paid the abuser to be left alone. Further, they engaged in protective behaviors to block their abusive partner's access to them, consulted an Information Technology expert, and secretly requested assistance from the police. Preference for controlling and dominant roles, gaining monetary benefits, sexual exploitation, peer pressure, and revenge and anger due to abandonment were the leading motivations for abuse. Female students in their first year of university, those who lived in a disjointed family environment, or those who suffered abuse from their families were particularly susceptible to being victimized. Moreover, passwords shared with others or accounts left open on others' devices also enabled EDV. Hence, universities must conduct awareness sessions, for female students, on how to manage emotions and safe communication on social media and build healthy friendships and relationships. Curricula, seminars, workshops, and courses in the Jordanian educational sector should include programs and interventions that challenge perceived gender norms. These results have significant practical and clinical implications that help understand EDV in a poorly understood context and provide the groundwork for further research on the EDV problem in Jordan, addressing a lacuna in the literature on violence against Jordanian women.

Technology-Facilitated Domestic and Sexual Violence: A Review.

This article investigates the phenomenon of domestic and sexual violence against adult women using digital communications technologies. The article explores terminological and conceptual challenges and describes the empirical research literature in this field to date in relation to digital dating abuse, intimate partner cyberstalking, technology-facilitated sexual assault, image-based sexual abuse, and online sexual harassment. The article also discusses policy and practice responses to this growing problem, as well as future directions for research. We argue that research and practice need to be guided by existing conceptual frameworks that utilize gender and actor-network theory to understanding the causes and consequences of women's experiences of abuse and violence facilitated by digital technologies.

Mapping digital dating abuse in Brasil and Australia: / Mapeando o abuso digital no namoro no Brasil e na Austrália: uma revisão das experiências de vitimização do Sul Global

Abstract Technology plays a key role in young people's relationships. While its benefits are well known, less is known about its negative impacts and experiences, such as digital dating abuse. Most studies originate from North American and European countries and have not framed digital dating abuse as a multidimensional phenomenon. Exploring this social and public health issue in the Global-South is necessary because it significantly impacts youths' lives. I use Brown and Hegarty's framework of digital dating abuse as a wide range of harmful behaviours and a gender perspective to review the extant literature on adolescent victimisation in digital dating abuse in heterosexual relationships from a southern perspective. This perspective is demonstrated by drawing primarily from the scholarship of two countries in the Global-South, Brasil and Australia. I argue that digital dating abuse is a multifaceted and gendered phenomenon and suggest a qualitative approach across multiple southern countries aids researchers to compile and study adolescent digital dating abuse experiences, contexts and impacts. This contemporary phenomenon of adolescent digital dating abuse merits scholarly attention as a social and public health problem.

Resumo A tecnologia desempenha papel fundamental nas relações entre jovens. Embora seus benefícios sejam bem conhecidos, menos se sabe sobre seus impactos e experiências negativas, como o abuso digital no namoro. A maioria dos estudos vem de países norte-americanos e europeus e não enquadram o abuso digital no namoro como um fenômeno multidimensional. É necessário explorar esta questão social e de saúde pública no Sul Global que impacta significativamente a vida de jovens. Uso a concepção de abuso digital no namoro de Brown e Hegarty como uma ampla gama de comportamentos nocivos e uma perspectiva de gênero para revisar a literatura existente sobre vitimização de adolescentes por abuso digital no namoro em relacionamentos heterossexuais de uma perspectiva do Sul. Essa perspectiva é demonstrada na revisão que destaca estudos de dois países do Sul Global: Brasil e Austrália. Argumento que o abuso digital no namoro é um fenômeno multifacetado e de gênero e sugiro que uma abordagem qualitativa em vários países do Sul pode ajudar pesquisadoras a estudar experiências, contextos e impactos de abuso digital no namoro entre adolescentes. Esse fenômeno contemporâneo merece atenção acadêmica como um problema social e de saúde pública.