The Role of School Social Support and School Social Climate in Dating Violence Victimization Prevention among Adolescents in Europe

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show the role of school social support and school social climate in dating violence victimization prevention among adolescents in Europe. Study participants were students from secondary schools (age 13–16) in Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland and UK. The analysis in this text concern student with dating experience (n = 993) (57.2% of girls and 66.5% of boys). School social support was measured by School Social Climate, Factor 1 Scale (CECSCE) and by Student Social Support Scale (CASSS), subscales teachers and classmates. The association between school social support and different types of dating victimization (physical and/or sexual dating violence, control dating violence and fear) was measured by calculating the prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals, estimated by Poisson regression models with robust variance. All the models were adjusted by country and by sociodemographic variables. The results show that the average values of all types of social support are significantly lower in young people who have suffered any type of dating violence or were scared of their partner. The likelihood of suffering physical and/or sexual dating violence decreased when school social support increased [PR (CI 95%): 0.96 (0.92; 0.99)]. In the same way, the likelihood of fear decreased when school social climate increased [PR (CI 95%): 0.98 (0.96; 0.99)].There is an association between school social support and school social climate and experiences of being victim of dating violence among adolescents in Europe. Our results suggest that in the prevention of dating violence building a supportive climate at schools and building/using the support of peers and teachers is important.

Dating violence and associated factors among male and female adolescents in Spain

“…In addition, the likelihood of DV victimization in girls was higher for those who had a poor relationship with the school’s teaching staff. This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown that the likelihood of suffering physical and/or sexual DV decreased when school social support increased [ 10 ]. Other studies have shown a moderating effect of social support in terms of physical and psychological DV victimization and relationship satisfaction in girls [ 42 ].…”

“…The selection of variables was carried out through a forward stepwise procedure to explore which variables could add more significance to the model. The selected variables were also included in previous studies concerning the factors associated with dating violence [ 10 , 29 ]. The significance level considered in all the analyses was >.05.…”

“…There is also evidence that shows that social and economic factors are associated with a higher risk for DV, such as being of older age, experiencing lower socioeconomic conditions and belonging to a minority ethnic group [ 5 , 6 ]. An increased risk of DV victimization has been also reported by female and male adolescents who have been exposed to other forms of violence (childhood exposure or witnessing different forms of violence, bullying), poor quality friendships and family relationships, and the presence of harmful attitudes such as sexism, machismo, or violence acceptability [ 7 – 10 ]. Conversely, a higher sense of attachment to school and teachers seems to be associated with a lower likelihood of both DV victimization and perpetration [ 11 ].…”

Dating Violence and Associated Factors Among Male and Female Adolescents in Spain

“…In addition, the likelihood of DV victimization in girls was higher for those who had a poor relationship with the school's teaching staff. This nding is consistent with previous studies that have shown that the likelihood of suffering physical and/or sexual DV decreased when school social support increased [10]. Other studies have shown a moderating effect of social support in terms of physical and psychological DV victimization and relationship satisfaction in girls [39].…”

“…There is also evidence that shows that there are social and economic factors associated with higher risk for DV, such as being of older age, lower socioeconomic conditions and belonging to a minority ethnic group [5,6]. An increased risk of DV victimization has been also reported by female and male adolescents who have been exposed to other forms of violence (childhood exposure or witnessing different forms of violence, bullying), poor quality friendships and family relationships and the presence of harmful attitudes such as sexism, machismo, or violence acceptability [7][8][9][10]. Conversely, a higher sense of attachment to school and teachers seems to be associated to a lower likelihood of both DV victimization and perpetration [11].…”