Dating Violence Experiences among Youths with Same-gender and Multi-gender Dating Partners: A Dyadic Concordance Type Approach

Dating violence (DV) among youth is widespread and is now established as a significant public health problem. Yet, few studies have assessed DV experiences among youth with same-gender or multi-gender dating partners, and most failed to consider bidirectional DV. We analyzed self-reported dyadic concordance types (DCTs) among 295 youths (52% girls) who dated same-gender and multi-gender partners in the last 12 months using an adapted version of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory. Youths were classified in one of three DCTs:self-only(unidirectional perpetration of DV by the participant),partner-only(unidirectional victimization perpetrated by their partner) orboth(bidirectional DV, where partners are both perpetrators and victims of DV). Overall prevalence rates of DV among sexual minority youths (SMYs) range from 11.5% for threats, to 51.2% for psychological violence, with physical and sexual violence reported by about one-fourth of participants. ThebothDCT was the most common pattern for psychological (59.6%) and physical (50.6%) DV across gender, while most threatening behaviors were reported as perpetrated by the partner only (47.1%). Girls were more likely to report sexual DV as partner-only perpetrated (63.6%), whereas boys reported higher rates ofboth(44.2%) andself-only(34.9%) perpetrated sexual violence. Because healthy intimate relationships can play a supportive and positive role in transitioning toward adulthood, it is crucial that DV prevention becomes more inclusive of sexual and gender diversity.