The relation of jealousy and various forms of violent behavior in the relationships of adolescent

Abstract

Objective - To examine gender differences in the attitudes of boys and girls in a hypothetical situation of emotional and sexual infidelity and the predictive contribution of hypothetical jealousy for various forms of violent behavior in boys and girls.

Method - The study included 140 high school students (58 boys and 82 girls). The Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI) used examines the incidence of dating violence. In order to determine the intensity of jealousy, sensitivity to sexual and emotional infidelity of the partner was also examined.

Results - The most common form of abuse in adolescent relationships is emotional and verbal abuse to which boys (52.16%) and girls (48.41%) are exposed. Young men more frequently sexually abuse their partners (F(1.140)=43.58; p=0.000), as compared to girls, and are more often exposed to emotional and verbal abuse by their female partner (F(1.140)=3.09; p=0.080). In comparison with girls, boys are more sensitive to hypothetical sexual infidelity (F(1.140)=10,08; p<0.000). The sensitivity of boys to hypothetical sexual infidelity was a significant predictor of physical (β=-0.27) and sexual abuse (β=0.26), while the sensitivity to hypothetical emotional infidelity was a predictor of emotional and verbal abuse (β=0.23).

Conclusion - Boys are more sensitive to sexual and girls to the emotional infidelity of their partners. The adolescent men more frequently use sexual forms of abuse while girls are more often exposed to emotional and verbal abuse. Jealousy of adolescent men towards hypothetical sexual infidelity was a significant predictor of sexual abuse, while jealousy of adolescent girls towards hypothetical sexual and emotional infidelity is not a predictor of any form of violent behavior.