RESUMO
For young women, the power imbalance in favor of males in dating relationships has been related to dating violence (DV) victimization. In addition, the use of rumination to cope with DV may increase their psychological distress. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether experiences of DV and rumination mediate the association between power imbalance and suicide risk (SR). The sample comprised 1,216 young women aged between 18 and 28 years from Colombia (n = 461) and Spain (n = 755), in a heterosexual dating relationship, not married or cohabiting with a partner and without children. The following scales were applied: The Sexual Relationship Power Scale-Modified, The Dating Violence Questionnaire--R (DVQ-R); Cyberdating Abuse Questionnaire, Measure of Affect Regulation Scale (MARS), and The Spanish Suicide Risk Scale. A sequential mediation paths model was tested. Results indicated that power imbalance was associated with DV victimization. Furthermore, DV was associated with more rumination, which was also linked to a greater SR in both countries. Rumination may be a mechanism through which experiences of DV victimization negatively influence mental health in young women and is an important variable related cross-culturally to SR. The findings suggest an equality approach, addressing the power imbalance in dating relationships, empowering girls to prevent DV, and teaching coping strategies for dealing with victimization and its consequences.
Assuntos
Vítimas de Crime , Violência por Parceiro Íntimo , Suicídio , Masculino , Humanos , Feminino , Criança , Adolescente , Adulto Jovem , Adulto , Colômbia , Comparação Transcultural , Violência/psicologia , Violência por Parceiro Íntimo/psicologia , Vítimas de Crime/psicologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Studies examining both victimization and perpetration of dating violence among both women and men are virtually non-existent in Haiti. This study aimed to document the prevalence and factors associated with victimization and perpetration of dating violence (DV) among adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years in Haiti. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A total of 3586 participants (47.6% women; mean age = 19.37; SD = 2.71) were sampled in the 10 geographical departments according to residence areas (urban/rural), age group (15-19/20-24 years old), and gender (men/women). METHOD: Participants completed questionnaires assessing DV victimization and perpetration, witnessing interparental violence, parental violence, violence acceptance, social desirability, and self-esteem. RESULTS: Overall, 1538 participants (56% women) were in a romantic relationship in the past year. Results showed that men were more likely to experience both psychological (49.4% of women and 57% of men, X2 = 8.17, p = .004), and physical violence (11.1% of women and 18.8% of men, X2 = 8.13, p = .004). There were marginally significant differences for sexual violence between gender for adolescents aged 15 to 19 (26.5% of girls and 20.5% of boys, X2 = 3.25, p = .07), and not for young adults (21.8% of women and 24.0% of men, X2 = 0.49, p = .48). No significant difference was observed for any forms of DV perpetration. DV perpetration was positively associated with victimization (b = 0.5, p = .002), however victimization was not associated with perpetration. Results also showed different associations between violence perpetration and victimization, gender, social desirability, acceptance of violence, parental violence, and witnessing interparental violence. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights avenues for prevention and intervention that must begin at an early age, engage teachers, train peer-educators, promote healthy, non-violent and egalitarian romantic relationships.