Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dating violence (DV) represents a specific form of intimate partner violence that is particularly prevalent among university students, a population considered especially vulnerable to relational risk. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of DV (including both victimisation and perpetration) among university students (cyberbullying, control, emotional, physical and sexual) and to analyse its association with attachment, mentalisation, emotion regulation, anxiety and depression in DV experienced as victims or perpetrators. Method: A total sample of 724 Chilean university students (67.5% female, 30.2% male, and 2.2% nonbinary) completed an assessment protocol comprising validated psychological measures. Results: The results indicated that 70.9% of participants had been victims at least one form of DV (71.2% women, 70.8% men and 62.5% nonbinary), and 70.3% had perpetrated some type of violence against a partner (72% women, 68.9% men and 37.5% nonbinary). From a victimisation perspective, the most relevant associated variables were attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and depressive symptoms. By contrast, perpetration was primarily associated with attachment anxiety, mentalisation difficulties, particularly uncertainty about mental states, and depression. CONCLUSIONS: DV (victimization and aggression) is highly prevalent in the sample studied. Furthermore, a relationship has been found between victimization and aggression and the psychological variables studied. The implications of these findings for understanding DV and the contribution of psychological factors are discussed.
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