Nonviolent Aspects of Interparental Conflict and Dating Violence Among Adolescents

This longitudinal study examined whether nonviolent aspects of interparental conflict, in addition to interparental violence, predicted dating violence perpetration and victimization among 150 Mexican American and European American male and female adolescents, ages 16 to 20. When parents had more frequent conflict, were more verbally aggressive during conflict, had poor conflict resolution, or were physically violent during conflict at baseline, adolescents were more involved in dating violence, both perpetration and victimization, at 1-year follow-up. Adolescents' appraisals of parental conflict and their emotional distress mediated the relationships between nonviolent parental conflict and dating violence. In contrast, interparental violence directly predicted involvement in dating violence. Results provide support for the importance of nonviolent parental conflict as an influence on adolescents' involvement in dating violence, over and above the influence of interparental violence. Cognitive and emotional processes may help explain the way in which nonviolent aspects of parental conflict influence adolescents' behavior in romantic relationships.