Trajectories of psychological dating violence perpetration in adolescence

More than one adolescent out of three will use psychological dating violence (DV) as a strategy to resolve conflict in romantic relationships, which will have major consequences on their partner's well-being. However, over time, most adolescents will learn skills to better interact and face conflicts, suggesting that psychological DV rates should decrease over time. Yet, because of individual characteristics and experiences, evolution over time may differ across adolescents. Risk factors for psychological DV have not been examined specifically, even though it is the most common form of dating violence.

This study aimed to explore latent trajectories of psychological DV perpetration and examine risk factors predicting trajectory group membership.

A sub-sample of 449 adolescents who reported being in a dating relationship for the three waves of the [blind for review] completed printed and online self-report questionnaires.

Results from the group-based modeling identified 4 trajectories of psychological DV perpetration: absence of violence (30.7%), low violence (61.3%), high descending (4.2%), and moderate elevating (3.8%). Age, DV victimization, exposure to father toward mother violence, low self-esteem, marijuana use, DV victimization of peers, and antisocial behaviors of peers predicted trajectory membership. The model explained 36.7% of the variance.

These results support the need for a person-oriented approach to study psychological DV and for developing prevention programs adapted to the specific characteristics of vulnerable youth.