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Perpetrating Cyber Dating Abuse: A Brief Report on the Role of Aggression, Romantic Jealousy and Gender

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Abstract

There is increasing evidence that the use of electronic communication technology (ECT) is being integrated into romantic relationships, which can be used as a medium to control a romantic partner. Most research focuses on the victims of cyber dating abuse, however, we focused on the factors that predict perpetration of cyber dating abuse. We explored whether aggression (verbal aggression, physical aggression, anger and hostility), romantic jealousy (emotional, cognitive and behavioral jealousy), and gender predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse (n = 189). We found that hostility, behavioral jealousy and gender significantly predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the psychological factors that drive cyber dating abuse in romantic relationships.

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Acknowledgments

We thank James E Bartlett for his valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychological, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK

    Heather Deans & Manpal Singh Bhogal

  2. Psychology Department, School of Life Sciences and Education, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE, UK

    Manpal Singh Bhogal

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  1. Heather Deans
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  2. Manpal Singh Bhogal
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Correspondence to Manpal Singh Bhogal.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Deans, H., Bhogal, M.S. Perpetrating Cyber Dating Abuse: A Brief Report on the Role of Aggression, Romantic Jealousy and Gender. Curr Psychol 38, 1077–1082 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9715-4

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