Cyber dating abuse: nuova espressione di IPV o nuova forma di violenza?

Abstract

The increasing role that new technologies play in the intimate relationships of young adults has led to the emergence of a new form of violence, cyber dating abuse. To date little studied, above all in Italy, this phenomenon is of interest due to its significant pervasiveness and its negative effects highlighted by the individuals involved. There is still a lack of clarity regarding the factors of the construct, their relationship with intimate partner violence (IPV) and predictors. Moreover, the tools regarding CDA have limitations that are attributable both to differences in behaviors and scales chosen to detect it, and to poor validation. Finally, despite being a dyadic phenomenon, none of the studies conducted to date examines CDA, analyzed the responses of both partners, considering them as playing the dual role of possible perpetrators as well as victims. Therefore, the pretest had the goal of developing a new questionnaire about CDA, designed to complement that of Reed et al. (2017) and validated in the two following studies. The results of factorial validity revealed a two-factor structure: monitoring-aggression - which includes acts aimed at controlling and injuring, damaging and threatening the partner - and sexual cyber abuse - which includes violent sexual behavior. Convergent validity and discriminant validity confirmed the construct validity of the instrument. The first study, conducted on 263 subjects between 18 to 30 years of age and involved in a romantic relationship for at least three months, endeavored to compare CDA and IPV with respect to the role of mediation played by early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and victimization /perpetration of violence within the couple and to verify the moderating role played by alcohol consumption in the relationship between ACEs, early maladaptive schemas and perpetration of CDA. IPV and CDA were partially different because the patterns that mediate the relationship between ACEs and CDA are marginally similar to those that perform a similar function concerning offline violence. Alcohol increased the correlation only between some patterns: abandonment, emotional deprivation, approval-seeking, emotional inhibition and perpetration of CDA, when the ACEs considered were emotional abuse, emotional neglect, maternal assisted violence, depressed parent and parent who attempted suicide. The second study, carried out on 135 pairs of subjects with characteristics analogous to those of the participants in the first study, aimed to: 1) verify separately on males and females the role of mediation played by early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between ACEs and victimization / perpetration of CDA in order to identify any gender differences; 2) examine whether personal schemas mediate the relationship between ACEs and CDA while also controlling the influence of early maladaptive partner schemas; 3) check if, in addition to personal schemas, the partner's schemas influence CDA; 4) test if the most violent couples are those in which at least one or both partners have experienced many forms of ACEs. The way ACEs indirectly affect CDA through pattern mediation often differs between males and females. Most of the mediations remained significant even while keeping the partner's schemas under control and only in some conditions the partner's schemas were found to have an influence on the CDA perpetrated and suffered by a member of the couple. Finally, couples were found to be more violent when both partners have experienced more forms of ACEs.