“ If she isn’t Jealous,that Means she doesn’t Love me.” Representations of Love Among French Early Adolescents: An Exploration of the Link With Perceptions of Dating Violence

Abstract

Young people are particularly at risk of experiencing dating violence (DV). Several quantitative studies among this population have highlighted the link between an adherence to romantic love and the legitimization and acceptance of DV. However, adolescents’ meaning-making of love and violence is underexplored. We conducted in-depth interviews with 21 French adolescents (aged 11–15 years) in order to explore the social representations of love and the links between these representations and DV perception. Our results show that, from an early age, romantic love constitutes a frame of reference for understanding the ideal love relationship, and that it coexists with the perception of DV, the latter sometimes being interpreted as love, notably through the dimension of jealousy. While all interviewed strongly valued this form of love, notable gender differences were found in the expression of the love ideal and the relationship to violence. Whereas girls' speech focused more on respect and (non)violence, the boys valued fidelity and exclusivity above all. Our findings suggest that the fight against DV among teenagers must first and foremost involve the demystifying of dominant romantic representations.