Digital dating abuse perpetration and impact: The importance of gender

Abstract

Although measurement and prevalence of digital dating abuse (DDA) in young people’s relationships is of growing research interest, youth perceptions of the behaviours and the impact on victims are yet to be fully understood. This study explored thirty-eight (16–24 year old) youth’s perceptions of DDA behaviours and descriptors of the emotional impact of the behaviours on victims. A predominant theme of gender differences emerged, with five subthemes: (a) men tend to engage in sexual-related behaviours, (b) men and women undertake different controlling and monitoring behaviours, (c) the role of reputation shapes the impact on men, (d) serious negative emotions characterise the impact on women, and (e) some men misconceive the severity of the impact on women. Findings move discussions beyond DDA prevalence and frequency to reveal that young people perceive DDA to have significant emotional consequences for victims and that there are gender differences in the perpetration and impact of DDA. These perspectives provide a valuable contribution to the development of gender-sensitive DDA measures, DDA prevention initiatives and support programmes for youth experiencing DDA.