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Jealousy and Violence in Dating Relationships: Gender-Related Differences among a Spanish Sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2014

Julia Sebastián ,
Alba Verdugo  and
Beatriz Ortiz
Julia Sebastián*
Affiliation:
Univesidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Alba Verdugo
Affiliation:
Univesidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Beatriz Ortiz
Affiliation:
Univesidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Julia Sebastián. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Autónoma. Cantoblanco. 28949. Madrid. (Spain). E-mail address: julia.sebastian@uam.es
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Abstract

The present study analyzes violent behavior (psychological, physical, and sexual violence) that may occur in dating relationships. Data was collected from couples of adolescents and young adults in a sample of 579 students from the region of Madrid, consisting of 319 females and 260 males aged between 12 and 22 years. A novel aspect of this study compared with the great majority of published studies is analysis of a) the frequency of violent behaviors (and not only their presence or absence) to study significant mean differences and b) potential gender and age related differences in the patterns of violence. Results indicate the high prevalence of violence in Spanish dating relationships. Specifically, females carry out more mild physical (p < .001) and psychological violence (p < .05), whereas males perpetrate more sexual violence (p < .001). However, with regard to victimization, no significant gender related differences in frequency were found between boys and girls in any type of violence. With regard to age, young adolescents perform (p < .05) and suffer (p < .01) significantly more jealous behavior, whereas the young adults of our sample commit and suffer more sexual violence (p < .05). Directions for future research are outlined, mainly concerning instruments used that ought to be more sensitive to the reality being measured.

Keywords

dating violencejealouslysex differences
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 17 , 2014 , E94
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2014 

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