Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among College Students

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between college students' attitudes regarding gender roles and gendered violence and their perpetration of intimate partner violence. Although findings from previous studies demonstrate associations between gender role and gendered violence-related attitudes and intimate partner violence, research to date fails to fully explore these associations. In an attempt to fill this void, the current study looks at attitudes before and after perpetration is reported to determine whether attitudes precede or follow perpetration. Additionally, the study examines these relationships among a previously unexplored set of attitudes within the physical violence literature—those related to chivalry. Findings suggest that the relationships between attitudes and intimate partner violence are more complex than prior research indicates and differ for female and male college students.