Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization Among South Korean College Students: A Focus on Gender and Childhood Maltreatment

Abstract

Unlike the attention given to intimate partner violence among adolescents and young adults in western societies, dating violence is not currently recognized in South Korea as a social phenomenon in terms of research, prevention, and intervention. Childhood maltreatment has been identified in previous research as a risk factor for violence in a later dating relationship. This study examines the relationship between childhood maltreatment and physical and psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization among 1,399 college students in South Korea, with a specific focus on gender. Poisson regression models and tests of equivalent parameters were conducted to determine whether the observed relationships were invariant across gender. Findings indicated that childhood maltreatment is a consistent predictor of involvement in dating relationships characterized by violence for males and females. The implications of the current research within a cultural context are discussed.