Cyberviolence in young couples and its predictors

Abstract

The aims of this research were to analyze the presence of cyberviolence in young couples, to explore the associations between cyberviolence, emotional dependence, empathy, and filioparental relationships, and to identify predictors of cyberviolence. For this purpose, a convenience sample consisting of 469 university students was selected. They completed the following measures: The Adolescent Social Network Partner Violence Scale, the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Dating Emotional Dependence in Youth and Adolescents, and the Basic Empathy Scale. 51.9% of the sample admitted to having suffered cyber-violence, and 56.6% admitted to having perpetrated it. Boys scored higher than girls on cyberviolence and cybervictimization. It was found that the higher the level of education, the lower level of cyberviolence and the higher the number of partners, the greater the possibility of suffering cyberviolence. The scarce empirical evidence about the factors related to cyberviolence points to the need of further research on individual and family variables.