Attitudes toward dating violence among Israeli and Thai youth

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to assess the prevailness and severity of attitudes toward dating violence among Jewish, Arabs, and Thai male and female adolescents. The random samples consisted 9th to12th grade pupils. The study assessed attitudes toward psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence. Jewish youth reflected lower endorsement of dating violence than Thai and Arab participants. The Thai youths held the highest support toward dating violence, with no difference between the Thai and Arab youths on psychological attitudes toward dating violence. While females reported less endorsement of dating violence than males, differences among the three female subgroups on attitudes toward dating violence were indicated. The discussion focuses on explanations for the differences between the three ethno cultural groups and genders, and presents the theoretical and practical implications of the study.