Online dating violence in Ecuadorian university students

Abstract

Introduction. Online dating violence has been shown to have a high frequency in the population of young university students. Despite this, there is little research aimed at studying this problem because its interest has focused on face-to-face or offline violence. Objective. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to analyze the frequency of online dating violence in Ecuadorian university students and determine the differences according to sex and sexual orientation. Methodology. This research presents a quantitative approach, is descriptive in scope and uses a cross-sectional design. 3,202 university students participated, who answered the Online Abuse in Dating Relationships Scale (AORN). Results. The results show that 76.7% of Ecuadorian university students have experienced being victims and 76.1% being perpetrators of online dating violence, considering that victims can also be perpetrators of violence. At the same time, statistically significant differences (p>.005) were found between sex and the perpetuation of direct aggression and monitoring/control. Conclusion. In conclusion, although there may be differences in the forms and consequences of violence, both men and women can be victims of violence, and both can suffer significant harm as a result.