Longitudinal Risk Profiles for Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Dating Aggression: a Latent Profile Analysis with Spanish Adolescents

Abstract

IntroductionUnderstanding the specific risk profile for distinct forms of dating aggression (DA) is very informative to define cross-cutting interventions. The study aims to evaluate whether specific profiles of risk defined using a person-oriented approach predicted physical, sexual, and psychological DA after 6 months.MethodsEight hundred sixty-six Spanish adolescents were interviewed at two time points (50.5% male; average age = 15.04). Latent profile analysis at T1 was used to delineate profiles of individual and relational risk.ResultsA three-class model best represents the data: a “normative” class (N = 768; 88%); a “highly aggressive” class characterized by acceptance of violent norms, bullying behaviors, and anger dysregulation (N = 13, 1.5%); a “jealous-conflictual” class characterized by cognitive and emotional jealousy, negative couple quality, and anger dysregulation (N = 85, 10%). Controlling for age, sex, and longitudinal stability, physical DA was predicted significantly by the “highly aggressive” profile (β = .11; p < .05), psychological DA by the “jealous-conflictual” profile (β = .16; p < .01), and sexual DA by the “jealous-conflictual” (β = .20; p < .001) and “highly aggressive” profile as a trend (β = .08; p = .071).ConclusionsSpecific risk profiles differentially predict risk for physical, sexual, and psychological DA perpetration. A general aggressive pattern predicts physical DA and sexual DA weakly, whereas psychological and sexual DA are associated with a couple of risks, where the dimension of jealousy, control, and conflict characterizes the dynamic between partners.Policy ImplicationsFindings suggested that physical DA, and at a lower level sexual DA, should be prevented using cross-cutting strategies on general aggression. Psychological and sexual DA might require more contextually based interventions.