| Popis: |
The current study examined stay/leave decision-making processes of young adults in non-violent and violent dating relationships. Although intimate partner violence (IPV) has received growing attention in recent decades, and has been acknowledged as a serious social problem, the vast majority of research has focused on married and cohabiting relationships. More recent investigations are beginning to examine younger populations, but are largely concerned with the risk factors, prevalence, and characteristics of such relationships. Researchers have suggested a link between relationship violence in young adulthood and later in life, but have not fully explored the factors that influence relationship termination. Data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationship Study (TARS) were used to address how relationship dynamics, perceived alternatives, social support and IPV itself influenced break-ups among respondents in dating relationships (n=700). Both positive and negative relationship dynamics, perceived alternatives, and messages from significant others predicted whether individuals ended their relationships. Additionally, these analyses indicated that net of other predictors, violence was in general not associated with the odds of relationship termination. Among individuals reporting IPV (n=245) similar factors influenced stay/leave decisions. Additionally, associations between relationship dynamics, social support, and ending the relationship were similar for men and women in both the violent and non-violent subgroups. Finally, the test for a threshold effect of IPV (n=700) to determine whether higher levels of IPV experience ‘tipped the scales,’ and resulted in increased odds of relationship termination demonstrated that greater frequency of relationship violence was not associated with ending the relationship. |
