Norms Regarding the Acceptability of Abuse in Heterosexual Dating Relationships

Abstract

We examined how individuals’ personal attitudes toward the acceptability of partner abuse relate to their perceptions of corresponding peer norms. University students (Study 1: N = 476; Study 2: N = 451) reported on their personal attitudes and their perceptions of other students’ attitudes toward male and female violence and psychological abuse in heterosexual dating relationships. Participants of both genders believed that their male peers were more accepting of male partner abuse than themselves, and that their female peers were more accepting of female partner abuse than themselves. Thus, discrepancies between personal attitudes and perceived norms were moderated by gender of the abuse perpetrator. As well, for participants of both genders, perceived female and male peer norms for dating abuse were independently associated with personal attitudes. However, only female norms were independently related to intentions to hit a dating partner in a hypothetical scenario. Discussion focuses on mechanisms underlying these effects, future research directions, and applications to programs to combat partner abuse.