The Role of Romantic Love Myths and Acceptance of Violence in Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Gender Perspective on Dating Violence Victimization

Abstract

Adolescent dating violence represents a critical issue in mental health research. This study examined a structural model in which romantic love myths and the acceptance of dating violence were specified as attitudinal variables associated with dating violence victimization, and dating violence victimization was, in turn, statistically associated with adolescents’ mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress). A total of 1,123 Chilean high school students aged 13 to 18 participated. Participants completed validated measures assessing romantic love myths (idealization and love–abuse link), acceptance of dating violence, face-to-face dating violence victimization (psychological, physical, and sexual), and cyber dating violence victimization (control and direct aggression), as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Structural equation modeling showed an excellent model fit for the total sample (χ2 = 22.97, comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.999, Tucker–Lewis index [TLI] = 0.992, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.037) and for multigroup analyses by gender (χ2 = 29.76, CFI = 0.999, TLI = 0.993, RMSEA = 0.034). Acceptance of dating violence showed the most consistent associations with both cyber and face-to-face victimization across genders, and cyber dating violence showed no direct association with mental health indicators. However, the pattern of the remaining associations differed by gender. Among girls, myths linking love with abuse were positively associated with psychological, sexual, and physical victimization, and psychological violence was statistically associated with higher depression, anxiety, and stress. Among boys, romantic love myths were not significantly related to any form of dating violence, and victimization showed no significant associations with mental health indicators. These findings emphasize the role of gendered beliefs in shaping adolescents’ dating experiences and call for prevention programs that challenge romantic myths and the acceptance of dating violence from a gender-sensitive perspective.