An Empirical Examination of the Relationship Between Dating Abuse and Entitlement Within a College Population

Abstract

Although partner abuse is well established as destructive societal problem, partner abuse among adolescents and young adults has only recently gained attention. Entitlement is a concept regularly evoked in the dating abuse literature. Much of the literature on dating partner abuse focuses on adolescent/young adult victimization, whereas perpetration is less well understood. This study examined sense of entitlement and its relationship to various types of abuse, including economic, emotional, physical, and sexual. Sense of entitlement was positively correlated with all types of abuse and was a better predictor of abusive behaviors than other variables in the regression model. Implications address how, including how assessing and addressing entitlement can enhance both partner abuse prevention and intervention efforts.