Dating Violence Myth Acceptance and Victim Blaming among College Students: Does Gender Matter?

Event Center A & B

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) affects approximately one in four women every year in the United States (Black et al., 2011). Women who have experienced domestic violence are at an increased risk for physical, emotional, and psychological symptomatology; increased fear, concern for physical safety, PTSD symptoms (Chrisler & Ferguson 2006; Kaur & Garg 2008). As a result, determining the potential implications IPV has on the victims requires extensive research and education. The manner in which a victim is responded to by others following their assault experience may have important implications for their adjustment following IPV. Identifying factors that contribute to the quality of responses towards victims of violence can help to inform future intervention and prevention programs; as well as assist in decreasing mental health problems, and reducing the incidence rates of IPV. The present study examined dating violence myths and victim blaming depending on severity of violence among male and female college students. A sample of 823 psychology undergraduate college students completed measures of social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960), perceived severity of violence (e.g., how serious do you consider the behavior), victim blame (Beineck & Krahe, 2010; Yamawaki, 2009), and domestic violence myths (DVMS; Yamawaki, 2011). The researchers examined three hypotheses: 1) female participants would report reduced perceptions of victim blame when compared to males, 2) female participants would report lower endorsement of dating violence myths as compared to male participants, and 3) that females would report greater perceptions of severity of violence when compared to their male counterparts.