Epidemiology of Cyber Dating Abuse Victimization in Adolescence and Its Relationship With Health-Related Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

There is currently no evidence of the relationship between cyber dating abuse (CDA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), especially from a longitudinal perspective. The objectives were: a) to analyze the point and period prevalence, incidence, and score changes over time of victimization by CDA; b) to compare HRQoL in the different categories of victims of CDA (nonvictims, new, ceased, intermittent, and stable victims). A three-wave longitudinal study was carried out over 13 months. The final sample was composed of adolescents who had a partner in the 6 months before the measurements: 341(W1), 357(W2), and 416(W3). The prevalence of CDA was 31.1% (W1), 32.8% (W2), and 18.1% (W3). The girls had higher prevalence in victimization by control than the boys in all waves. The period prevalence was 23% (20% for control, 15% for direct aggression) and the cumulative incidence was 15%. Stable victims had the lowest HRQoL scores.

Keywords

cyber dating abuse health-related quality of life longitudinal prevalence incidence

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adam

E. K.

Chyu

Hoyt

L. T.

Doane

L. D.

Boisjoly

Duncan

G. J.

Chase-Lansdale

P. L.

McDade

T. W.

(2011). Adverse adolescent relationship histories and young adult health: Cumulative effects of loneliness, low parental support, relationship instability, intimate partner iolence, and loss. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49(3), 278–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.12.012

Almendros

Gámez-Guadix

Carrobles

J. A.

Rodríguez-Carballeira

. (2009). Intimate partner psychological abuse: Concept, measurement, and recent contributions. Psicologia Conductual, 17(3), 433–451.

Borrajo

Gámez-Guadix

Calvete

(2015a). Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema, 27(4), 327–333. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2015.59

Borrajo

Gámez-Guadix

Calvete

(2015b). Cyber dating abuse: Prevalence, context, and relationship with offline dating aggression. Psychological Reports, 116(2), 565–585. https://doi.org/10.2466/21.16.PR0.116k22w4

Burke

S. C.

Wallen

Vail-Smith

Knox

(2011). Using technology to control intimate partners: An exploratory study of college undergraduates. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1162–1167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.12.010

Calvete

Fernández-González

Orue

Machimbarrena

J. M.

González-Cabrera

(2020). Validation of a questionnaire to assess abuse in dating relationships in adolescents (CARPA), their reasons and reactions. Revista de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescentes, In press.

Caridade

Braga

Borrajo

(2019). Cyber dating abuse (CDA): Evidence from a systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 48, 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.08.018

Cava

M. J.

Buelga

Carrascosa

(2015). Violencia física y psicológica ejercida en parejas adolescentes: Relación con el autoconcepto y la violencia entre iguales. Behavioral Psychology, 23(3), 429–446.

Cava

M.-J.

Buelga

Carrascosa

Ortega-Barón

(2020). Relations among romantic myths, offline dating violence victimization and cyber dating violence victimization in adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1551. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051551

10.

Choi

H. J.

Temple

J. R.

(2016). Do gender and exposure to interparental violence moderate the stability of teen dating violence?: Latent transition analysis. Prevention Science, 17(3), 367–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0621-4

11.

Curry

T. R.

Zavala

(2020). A multi-theoretical perspective on cyber dating abuse victimization and perpetration within intimate Relationships: A test of general strain, social learning, and self-ontrol theories. Victims & Offenders, 15(4), 499–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2020.1734996

12.

Duerksen

K. N.

Woodin

E. M.

(2019). Cyber dating abuse victimization: Links with psychosocial functioning. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519872982

13.

Exner-Cortens

Eckenrode

Rothman

(2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics, 131(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1029

14.

Fernández-González

Calvete

Orue

(2020). Adolescent dating violence stability and mutuality: A 4-year longitudinal study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(9–10), 2012–2032. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517699953

15.

Fritz

P. A.

Smith

A. M.

(2009). Stability of physical and psychological adolescent dating aggression across time and partners. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38(3), 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410902851671

16.

Gámez-Guadix

Gini

Calvete

(2015). Stability of cyberbullying victimization among adolescents: Prevalence and association with bully–victim status and psychosocial adjustment. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.007

17.

Gámez-Guadix

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Borrajo

Universidad de Deusto Calvete

& Universidad de Deusto. (2018). Partner abuse, control and violence through internet and smartphones: Characteristics, evaluation and prevention. Psychologist Papers, 39(3), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.23923/pap.psicol2018.2874

18.

González-Cabrera

Machimbarrena

J. M.

Fernández-González

Prieto-Fidalgo

Á.

Vergara-Moragues

Calvete

(2019). Health-related quality of life and cumulative psychosocial risks in adolescents. Youth & Society, 0044118X1987946. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X19879461

19.

González-Cabrera

Machimbarrena

J. M.

Ortega-Barón

Álvarez-Bardón

(2019). Joint association of bullying and cyberbullying in health-related quality of life in a sample of adolescents. Quality of Life Research, 29(4), 941–952. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02353-z

20.

Hancock

Keast

Ellis

(2017). The impact of cyber dating abuse on self-esteem: The mediating role of emotional distress. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-2-2

21.

Hellfeldt

Gill

P. E.

Johansson

(2016). Longitudinal analysis of links between bullying victimization and psychosomatic maladjustment in Swedish schoolchildren. Journal of School Violence, 17(1), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2016.1222498

22.

Hinduja

Patchin

J. W.

(2011). Electronic dating violence: A brief guide for educators and parents. Cyberbullying Research Center. https://cyberbullying.org/electronic_dating_violence_fact_sheet.pdf

23.

Hinduja

Patchin

J. W.

(2020). Digital dating abuse among a national sample of U.S. youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519897344

24.

Kochenderfer-Ladd

Wardrop

J. L.

(2001). Chronicity and instability of children’s peer victimization experiences as predictors of loneliness and social satisfaction trajectories. Child Development, 72(1), 134–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00270

25.

Lara

(2020). Cyber dating abuse: Assessment, prevalence, and relationship with offline violence in young Chileans. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37(5), 1681–1699. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520907159

26.

Lien

Welander-Vatn

(2013). Factors associated with the persistence of bullying victimization from 10th grade to 13th grade: A longitudinal study. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 9(1), 243–250. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901309010243

27.

Lin

X.-J.

Lin

I.-M.

Fan

S.-Y.

(2013). Methodological issues in measuring health-related quality of life. Tzu Chi Medical Journal, 25(1), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcmj.2012.09.002

28.

Van Ouytsel

Walrave

Ponnet

Temple

J. R.

(2018). Cross-sectional and temporal associations between cyber dating abuse victimization and mental health and substance use outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 65, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.02.009

29.

Machimbarrena

J. M.

Calvete

Fernández-González

Álvarez-Bardón

Álvarez-Fernández

González-Cabrera

(2018). Internet risks: An overview of victimization in cyberbullying, cyber dating sbuse, sexting, online grooming and problematic internet use. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(11), 2471. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112471

30.

Meade

Dowswell

(2016). Adolescents’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes over time: A three year longitudinal study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 14(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-016-0415-9

31.

Michel

Bisegger

Fuhr

D. C.

Abel

(2009). Age and gender differences in health-related quality of life of children and adolescents in Europe: A multilevel analysis. Quality of Life Research, 18(9), 1147–1157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-009-9538-3

32.

Peskin

M. F.

Markham

C. M.

Shegog

Temple

J. R.

Baumler

E. R.

Addy

R. C.

Hernandez

Cuccaro

Gabay

E. K.

Thiel

Emery

S. T.

(2017). Prevalence and correlates of the perpetration of cyber dating abuse among early adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(2), 358–375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0568-1

33.

Raiford

J. L.

Wingood

G. M.

DiClemente

R. J.

(2007). Prevalence, incidence, and predictors of dating violence: A longitudinal study of African American female adolescents. Journal of Women’s Health, 16(6), 822–832. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2006.0002

34.

Reed

L. A.

Tolman

R. M.

Ward

L. M.

(2017). Gender matters: Experiences and consequences of digital dating abuse victimization in adolescent dating relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 59, 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.05.015

35.

Smahel

Machackova

Mascheroni

Dedkova

Staksrud

Livingstone

Hasebrink

(2020). EU Kids Online 2020.Survey results from 19 countries (p. 156). EuKids Online. https://www.eukidsonline.ch/files/Eu-kids-online-2020-international-report.pdf

36.

Smith

Cénat

J. M.

Lapierre

Dion

Hébert

Côté

(2018). Cyber dating violence: Prevalence and correlates among high school students from small urban areas in Quebec. Journal of Affective Disorders, 234, 220–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.043

37.

Smith

P. K.

Talamelli

Cowie

Naylor

Chauhan

(2004). Profiles of non-victims, escaped victims, continuing victims and new victims of school bullying. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74(4), 565–581. https://doi.org/10.1348/0007099042376427

38.

Smokowski

P. R.

Evans

C. B. R.

(2019). Bullying and victimization across the lifespan: Playground politics and power. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20293-4

39.

Stonard

K. E.

Bowen

Lawrence

T. R.

Price

S. A.

(2014). The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of Adolescent Dating Violence and Abuse: A research synthesis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(4), 390–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2014.06.005

40.

Temple

J. R.

Choi

H. J.

Brem

Wolford-Clevenger

Stuart

G. L.

Peskin

M. F.

Elmquist

(2016). The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(2), 340–349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0380-3

41.

The Kidscreen Group Europe (Ed.). (2006). The Kidscreen questionnaires: Quality of life questionnaires for children and adolescents: Handbook (3rd ed.). Pabst Science Publishers.

42.

Vehovar

Toepoel

Steinmetz

(2016). Non-probability sampling. In Wolf

Joye

Smith

T. W.

The SAGE handbook of survey methodology (pp. 329–345). SAGE Publications Ltd.

43.

Viejo

Monks

C. P.

Sánchez

Ortega-Ruiz

(2016). Physical dating violence in Spain and the United Kingdom and the importance of relationship quality. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(8), 1453–1475. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514567963

44.

Víllora

Navarro

Yubero

(2019). Abuso online en el noviazgo y su relación con el abuso del móvil, la aceptación de la violencia y los mitos sobre el amor. Suma Psicológica, 26(1), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.14349/sumapsi.2019.v26.n1.6

45.

Wallander

J. L.

Koot

H. M.

(2016). Quality of life in children: A critical examination of concepts, approaches, issues, and future directions. Clinical Psychology Review, 45, 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.11.007

46.

Wincentak

Connolly

Card

(2017). Teen dating violence: A meta-analytic review of prevalence rates. Psychology of Violence, 7(2), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040194

47.

Yahner

Dank

Zweig

J. M.

Lachman

(2015). The co-occurrence of physical and cyber dating violence and bullying among teens. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(7), 1079–1089. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514540324

48.

Zweig

J. M.

Dank

Yahner

Lachman

(2013). The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(7), 1063–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9922-8

49.

Zweig

J. M.

Lachman

Yahner

Dank

(2014). Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(8), 1306–1321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0047-x