Nem só vítimas, nem só agressores

: violência bidirecional nas relações de namoro e influência das crenças de género

Abstract

This study investigated dating violence (DV) among young adults (18325 years), considering their involvement as victims, perpetrators, or both, and its relationship with gender beliefs, acceptance of violence, and emotional dependency. For this purpose, the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), the Gender Beliefs Inventory (ICG), the Attitudes Toward Dating Violence Scale (EAVN), and the Emotional Dependency Questionnaire (QDE) were used. The convenience sample included 103 young people (69.8% women; mean age = 22.59 years). Results indicated a high prevalence of DV, with the bidirectional pattern being the most common (51,5% psychological, 18,4% physical e 9,7% sexual violence, during the past year). Gender beliefs that minimize or justify violence were significantly associated with physical violence. Acceptance of psychological violence4particularly perpetrated by men4was significantly associated with the occurrence of psychological violence. Meanwhile, acceptance of psychological violence perpetrated by women was significantly associated with physical violence. Emotional dependency was significantly associated with both psychological and physical violence. Overall, the findings highlight that dating violence among young people is frequent and cannot be understood through dichotomous or simplistic models of victim and perpetrator. Instead, its bidirectional nature, as well as the role of gender stereotypes, attitudes that legitimize violence, and emotional dependency, must be considered.

Date of Award	17 Jul 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Diogo Costa (Supervisor)