Dating Violence Perpetration Among Sexual Minority Youths in the US: Exploring the Effects of Masculinity Ideology

Abstract

This study analyzes two waves of survey data from a prospective cohort study of secondary school students in Midwestern United States and shows that masculinity ideology contributes in varying degrees to dating violence perpetration across different gender and sexual orientation groups. Conformity to masculinity ideology not only elevates physical violence among bisexual male and lesbian youths, but also does it to a greater extent than its effect among heterosexual male youths. Gay youths, on the other than hand, report lower levels of physical violence perpetration with higher conformity to masculinity ideology. Conformity to masculinity ideology also precipitates higher levels of sexual violence perpetration among bisexual male and lesbian youths. Several policy implications for dating violence prevention are discussed.