Perpetration of Dating Violence Among Belgian Youth: Impulsivity, Verbal Skills, and Empathy as Risk and Protective Factors?

Abstract

Dating violence (DV) is a serious social problem among adolescents and emerging adults, both boys and girls are victims and perpetrators. The current study aimed to investigate correlates of DV perpetration among Belgian youths. We examined facets of empathy and verbal skills as protective factors, and facets of impulsivity as risk factors for psychological and physical DV perpetration. Eight hundred and thirteen adolescents and emerging adults (71.7% females, mean age = 18.9) completed self-administered questionnaires investigating their physical and psychological DV perpetration, empathy, verbal skills, and impulsivity. Findings show that male and female respondents have different patterns of correlations between the studied variables. Facets of empathy and verbal skills hinder DV perpetration, whereas facets of impulsivity foster it. The impact of the different facets can vary across regression models, gender of the perpetrator, and forms of DV. The present study contributes to a better understanding of DV by examining facets of empathy, verbal skills, and impulsivity. Prevention programs are encouraged to target specific facets of these variables among adolescents and emerging adults.

Attachment Style and Emotional Regulation as Protective and Risk Factors in Mutual Dating Violence among Youngsters: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…Consequently, our third hypothesis is partially confirmed, since the interaction between difficulties in emotional regulation, attachment style and empathy is not a key predictor of violence. These results are inconsistent with prior research that has highlighted the role of empathy, considering it a protective factor that reduces the probability of aggression [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. A possible explanation of this fact could be related to the high prevalence of controlling behavior and psycho-emotional violence exercised and suffered by both young men and women.…”

“…Focusing attention on empathy, which is defined as the ability to understand and experience the emotions, thoughts and experiences of another person, which entails experiencing an emotional response and establishing an empathic connection to both emotional and cognitive experiences [ 27 ], it is cataloged as one of the most important precipitating factors in intimate partner violence, with the importance of its inhibitory role against violent impulses emphasized, considering that this variable is a protective factor that reduces the probability of aggression [ 28 , 29 ]. In contrast, a low level of empathy, or its absence, would increase the probability of a person assaulting their partner, becoming a facilitator of violence [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”