Cyber Dating Violence: How Is It Perceived in Early Adolescence?

Background: Reports on cyber dating violence in adolescent populations vary significantly depending on whether the focus is on directly aggressive behaviours or behaviours designed to control one's partner. In contrast to direct aggression, which is often clearly identified by adolescents, there is a greater degree of ignorance, and even a certain degree of normalisation, of controlling behaviours. Such behaviours may include, for example, insisting on knowing the whereabouts of a partner at all times or sharing social media passwords. This study aims to explore adolescent perceptions of cyber dating violence and to identify the differential characteristics of cyber-violent relationships using the Iramuteq software program for text analysis.

Methods: Participants were 466 second- and third-year secondary school students. Data were collected through surveys, and responses were analysed using the Iramuteq program. This software tool enabled the identification of common terms and themes linked to cyber dating violence, as perceived by participating adolescents.

Results: The analyses revealed the repeated appearance of terms associated with violent behaviours, online media, toxic relationships, and victim coercion. However, there was a notable lack of recognition of controlling behaviours as a manifestation of cyber dating violence. Adolescents frequently normalised behaviours such as insisting on knowing a partner's whereabouts at all times or sharing social media passwords.

Conclusions: The findings suggest a significant gap in adolescents' understanding of what constitutes cyber dating violence. In contrast to direct aggression, which is easily identified, controlling behaviours are often normalised, indicating a need for educational and preventive measures to address this issue. By improving adolescents' understanding of controlling behaviours as a form of cyber dating violence, preventive efforts can be more effectively tailored to address and mitigate this problem. To prevent the normalisation of certain behaviours indicative of cyber dating violence, early education is recommended in areas such as healthy relationships, communication skills, respect for privacy, and recognition of signs of excessive control.