Adolescent Dating Violence: Results of a Mixed Study in Quito, Ecuador

Abstract

Dating violence is a public health problem affecting people worldwide. This study evaluated the occurrence of different types of adolescent dating violence using a mixed analysis of each data source. The present study addresses the following research questions: does the occurrence of the types of violence analyzed in the quantitative phase match with the narratives obtained in the qualitative phase? and does the additional information obtained in the qualitative phase improve the understanding of the analyzed phenomenon? In the quantitative phase, 410 participants (aged 13 to 19 years) answered a questionnaire based on the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale, while in the qualitative phase, 26 participated in two focus groups. Data were collected from May to June 2019. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of those who had agreed to participate. The present research was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. The results were divided on: prevalence of dating violence based on age groups and gender, management and resolution of dating conflicts, victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence, factors favoring intimate partner violence and acceptance of abuse. The results were analyzed via triangulation and indicated that adolescents were involved in the perpetration and victimization of psychological as well as mild and severe physical violence. An analysis of the contributing factors revealed a strong tendency toward the acceptance of the traditional gender model. Challenging these models is crucial to deconstruct hierarchical models, develop conflict resolution skills, and promptly identify abusive behaviors that affect emotional development. The combination of different methodological approaches improved the understanding of the phenomenon studied.

Influence of Cross-Cultural Factors about Sexism, Perception of Severity, Victimization, and Gender Violence in Adolescent Dating Relationships

“…Female victims could have assumed this belief as their own, especially in traditional cultures such as Latin societies. This conclusion has been already pointed out by authors such as [ 38 ], who indicated that adolescents tend to assume the traditional gender role model. In this regard, Fernández et al [ 64 ] pointed out that, although girls in general showed a lower degree of acceptance of abusive behaviour and a higher level of perception of severity, as the frequency of abuse increased, the victimized girls also began to show greater acceptance of violence perpetrated by their partners and more sexist attitudes, which leads to a progressive normalization of violent behaviour.…”

“…As a result, the more recognizable forms of gender stereotypes related with hostile sexism could have less importance in countries such as Spain. In contrast, the perpetuation of the assumption of traditional gender roles, which seems to be accepted by society in general, and adolescents in particular in Ecuador [ 38 ], may be the key to the maintenance of both gender gap and traditional gender stereotypes.…”

“…In this sense, its social and cultural characteristics are of vital importance for the development and maintenance of these attitudes, as has been noted by authors such as [ 35 , 36 , 37 ], who explain the importance of sexist attitudes in the role played by women in Ecuadorian culture and in domestic violence. In this sense, recent studies such as the one carried out in Quito (Chile) by [ 38 ], found a tendency in adolescents which revealed how this group of people accept in general the traditional gender role model. Thus, the Global Gender Gap Report of 2017 [ 32 ] records a gender gap in Latin America countries of 29.8%, a higher gap than Spain.…”

Estudio de la prevalencia de las tácticas empleadas por los adolescentes ecuatorianos para la resolución de conflictos en el noviazgo

“…Este estudio está sujeto a limitaciones en cuanto a su generalización a tener presentes. Primera, la disimulación, esto es, la ocultación de características negativas o acciones antisociales o delictivas que se ha de sospechar en este contexto de evaluación, especialmente entre los varones (Bravo et al, 2018;Gracia-Leiva et al, 2019;Cárdenas et al, 2021Medina-Maldonado et al, 2021; y la tendencia a la responsabilización del otro miembro de la pareja de los conflictos (Fariña et al, 2020). Segunda, los sesgos en las respuestas del participante, la medida de la táctica de razonamiento/ argumentación está sujeta a un error muy grande (α combinado = .311), tal que no capta la gran mayoría de ésta.…”

Lifestyle and Violence among Dating in University Students

“…In relation to physical violence, it continues to stand out and is the one subcomponent is most widely studied among the dating relationships of university students according to research conducted by a university in Spain and another in South Korea led by Arenas-Carbellido et al [26]. Similarly, in the study of Medina-Maldonado et al [27]; the most common violent relationships among adolescents are psychological, mild, and severe.…”