Cyber dating abuse victimization and association with offline dating violence.

Abstract

Despite the positive effects associated with information and communication technologies (ICTs) on youth socialization process (e.g., ability to exercise self-control, to promote tolerance and respect for others, to adequately express feelings, to exercise critical thinking, and to make decisions), negative effects have also been documented (e.g., cyberbullying or online risk taking behaviour), including cyber dating abuse (CDA). Some studies have been documenting that CDA is an extension of offline dating violence (ODV). Accordingly, this chapter summarizes the findings when analysing the association between CDA and ODV in a sample of 145 Portuguese adolescents and young adults, mostly female (89%), with mean age of 23.54 and standard deviation (SD) of 4.01 years. Results show that CDA and ODV are very prevalent among Portuguese youth involved in dating relationships and that both types of abuse were positively associated in terms of victimization and perpetration. The co-occurrence of CDA and ODV signals the importance of finding additional strategies to encourage more cautious use of ICTs in order to prevent specific situations between dating partners, able to trigger abusive behaviour.