Multiple studies have
demonstrated that adolescent dating violence is highly prevalent and associated
with internalizing and externalizing problems. A number of prevention
initiatives are being implemented in North-American high schools. Such initiatives
do not only aim to raise awareness among potential victims and offenders but
also among peer bystanders. Since teenagers mainly reach out to their peers
when experiencing adversity, it is important to address adolescents’ efficiency
to deal with witnessing dating violence or with friends disclosing dating
abuse, in addition to increasing ability to deal with experienced dating
violence victimization or perpetration.
The aim of this study is to explore
adolescents’ self-efficacy to deal with dating violence victimization and
perpetration in their relationships and those of their peers. A
paper-and-pencil questionnaire was completed by 259 14–18 years olds in Quebec,
Canada. The data allows building insight into adolescents’ confidence to reach
out for help or to help others in a situation of dating violence victimization
and perpetration. We also considered the impact of gender and dating
victimization history.
Results suggest that dating violence prevention can
build on teens’ self-efficacy to deal with dating violence and offer them tools
to do so efficiently.
...Girls generally report higher
self-efficacy to deal with having witnessed or experienced DV than boys, as
suggested by Banyard and colleagues (Banyard, 2008; Banyard et al.,
2010). While
boys paint a positive picture of their competence to seek help for themselves
or others when confronted with DV, they feel less confident than girls. Our
results further demonstrate that girls feel most confident to encourage a
victim of DV to talk to someone they trust, while boys feel most confident they
could intervene when they witness someone being hit. Overall, male teenagers
seem to have less difficulty in directly intervening or to act as opposed to
talking to someone, whether it concerns something that happens to them or to
another. Girls do not present diminished self-efficacy when it comes to verbal
skills. This concords with findings based on adult samples of male bystanders
to be more likely to engage in heroic and risky behaviour to help others in
need, while women prefer more nurturing strategies (Eagly and
Crowley, 1986; Frasier Chabot
et al., 2009). Also,
male respondents in our sample indicate to be least likely to tell on someone
who is abusing their partner. Adolescent male tolerance for DV perpetration was
also highlighted by Noonan and
Charles (2009).
Secondly, since boys seem to
feel less confident than girls when confronted with DV, prevention programs,
irrespective of their focus on potential victims and perpetrators or on
potential bystanders, should pay particular attention to boosting boys’
confidence to deal with DV (Banyard et al.,
2010).
Particular attention should be paid to their verbal or communication skills.
Teenage males feel most confident that they could intervene but present lower
self-efficacy as far as talking to someone is concerned. While girls are more
inclined to talk to someone, boys are more prone to take action, such as
intervening when someone is hit. As such, they may put themselves more at risk
of harm by getting involved in a violent situation. Prevention programs need to
address dangers of direct interventions by witnesses and offer alternative
helping behaviors, such as talking to the victim or reporting violence to an
adult. Thirdly, we observed a male tolerance for gendered violence in the form
of a lower sense of self-efficacy to tell on a perpetrator among their peers.
Although self-efficacy to inform someone about a friend abusing their partner
is positive among boys, it received the lowest score in the self-efficacy
scale. It therefore justifies highlighting the need to address it in bystander
education programs, as already suggested by Gidycz et al.
(2011) as
well as by Miller et al.
(2012). They remark
that through bystander education one strives to raise awareness and reduce
tolerance for gendered violence, which might in turn dissuade teens from
verbally or physically assaulting peers...
1School of law, University of Sheffield, UK
2Department of sexology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
3Department of psychology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
4
2Department of sexology, Université du
Québec à Montréal, Canada
3Department of psychology, Università degli
Studi di Firenze, Italy
4School of psychology, Université Laval,
Canada
1School of law, University of Sheffield, UK
