Jealousy, Control and Infidelity: The Antecedents of Dating Violence in Adolescent Relationships

The goal of this presentation is to describe the contextual and personal factors that influence physical dating violence interactions, based on qualitative interviews with girls who consistently reported dating violence from middle to high school. Interviewees were part of a cohort of students participating in the Healthy Teens Longitudinal Study. The sample for this study was selected in sixth grade and surveyed annually through twelfth grade. Every spring, participants completed a survey that included questions on dating and dating violence. In the Spring of 2009, twelve girls in Grade 12 (eight African American and four White) who consistently reported high scores on the Physical dating violence perpetration and victimization scales (7 items each, α range across grades=0.90 to 0.94; Foshee, 1996) were invited to participate in individual interviews. The interview protocol included questions about characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, the progression of dating relationships from initial dating experiences to conflict and violence, and the outcomes of these relationships.

Using the constant comparative method to guide our analysis, we identified a consistent pattern of behavior characterizing relationships that evolved into violence. Adolescents initially described an intense beginning of their romantic relationship: “I was walking on cloud nine.” Three themes emerged closely after this short “honeymoon” period. These themes consistently preceded violent incidents between dating partners: jealousy, controlling behavior, and accusations of infidelity. Violence was generally mutual and resulted in depression, regret, and shame. Overall, girls depicted tumultuous dating relationships riddled with unhealthy relationship behaviors and psychological and physical abuse.

Qualitative findings describing situational factors associated with dating violence hold promise for prevention efforts. Understanding the context in which dating violence occurs may help to highlight areas for prevention programming. The results from the present study underscore the need for dating violence prevention programs to emphasize that jealousy and controlling behaviors, occasionally misinterpreted as caring or non-abusive behavior (Gagne & Lavoie, 1993; Sears, 2006), are actually warning signs of dating violence. Additionally, understanding the motivations and attributions (e.g., infidelity) for violence in a relationship may help lead to novel ideas for dating violence prevention, specifically with respect to modifying locus of control.