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

Abstract

The phenomenon of adolescent dating violence directed towards women is a widespread social health problem all over the world. Various investigations over time have analysed and studied this problem from different perspectives, taking into account both the aggressors and the victims. However, apart from these perspectives there are other approaches that have been less explored. This study analyses the phenomenon from a cultural point of view. It looks at the way in which variables such as hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and the perception of severity attributed to violent behaviour perpetrated by the aggressor can differ depending on the country of origin of a group of victimized adolescent women, specifically, from Spain and Ecuador. The data analysis, based on the construction of a moderated mediation model, revealed that while hostile sexism seems to be linked to a greater extent with traditional cultures, benevolent sexism is highly relevant in today’s society, and modifies the severity that young female victims attribute to violent behaviour and ultimately affects the frequency of victimization. These results revealed the importance of culture and the way in which violence is perceived in different countries as an essential aspect that must be taken into account to guide the construction of effective prevention programs adapted to the specific target groups of adolescents.