Toward a Comprehensive Model of Physical Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization

Though physical dating violence is prevalent among college students, the literature remains disjointed due to the number of studies that are a theoretical. As such, we examine physical dating violence perpetration and victimization informed by three theories: the background-situational model of dating violence, social learning theory, and attachment theory. Results revealed that gender, child abuse, styles of attachment, and risky behaviors were associated with both perpetrating and being a victim of physical dating violence. Protective factors, including maternal relationship quality and religiosity, were associated with a lower risk of perpetrating dating violence. Analyses demonstrate that some elements of all three theoretical perspectives were associated with dating violence perpetration and victimization. Implications of the study findings on practice and future research are discussed.