The Myths of Romantic Love and Violence in Courtship

Abstract

Objective: The objective is to analyze the relationship between the myths of romantic love and intimate partner violence, to identify the predictive factors. Theoretical Framework: Partner violence has its beginnings in dating; through obvious or invisible behaviors due to their normalization. In Mexico, 70.1% of women aged 15 years and older have experienced at least one situation of violence throughout their lives (INEGI, 2022). On the other hand, the myths of romantic love are a set of socially supported beliefs with sexist ideals that can be a direct source of information to know if it is related to violence in the couple. Method: The proposed research is quantitative, non-experimental and correlational. The instruments used were: Boyfriend Violence Questionnaire by Rodríguez-Franco et al., (2010) and the Romantic Love Myths Scale by Bonilla and Rivas (2020). 200 people (65 men and 135 women) adolescents in the age range of 16 to 23 years participated. Results and Discussion: Significant relationships (p<.05) were found between the myths of distorted love and dating violence, since actions that cause harm to the subject are minimized. Distorted myths are related to humiliation, sexual violence, physical coercion, gender violence, emotional and instrumental punishment in the relationship. Implications of the research: The findings contribute to the understanding of emotional health in couple relationships, as well as the psychosocial dynamics between beliefs and practices of violence in relationships. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the understanding of violence and the role of myths of romantic love in couple relationships in the context of southeastern Mexico.