FACTORS MEDIATING THE LINK BETWEEN WITNESSING INTERPARENTAL VIOLENCE AND DATING VIOLENCE

The present study examined several protective and vulnerability factor s in a subsample of adolescents who witnessed high levels of interpare ntal violence to determine what factors differentiated adolescents who inflicted (and received) violence in their dating relationship and th ose who had violence-free dating relationships. Findings revealed that males who witnessed high levels of interparental violence, who inflic ted violence in their dating relationships were differentiated from th ose who had violence-free relationships by the following variables: lo w socioeconomic status, exposure to community and school violence, acc eptance of violence in dating relationships and low self-esteem. Low s ocioeconomic status and acceptance of violence in dating relationships differentiated males who experienced dating violence and those who ha d nor. With regard to females, exposure to community and school violen ce, poor school performance, and experiencing child abuse differentiat ed those who inflicted dating violence from those who had not, while p oor school performance and experiencing child abuse differentiated fem ales who experienced dating violence and those who had not. Implicatio ns of the findings are discussed.