The (un)acceptability of violence against peers and dates

Although violence has become an increasing concern, the motivations and jus tifications for such egregious behavior remain poorly understood. flue hund red and sixty-one college students completed questionnaires concerning acce ptance of and participation in two kinds of violence-violence against peers and dating violence. Results indicate that although violence may be common place, it is still deemed unacceptable, especially when the violence is mot ivated by peers, personal disposition, or avoiding accountability In contra st, violence is viewed as more acceptable when in response to provocation o r in defense of oneself or another. Violence type affected acceptability, w ith date violence less acceptable than peer violence. A modest relation bet ween violence and behavior was observed; those more accepting of violence w ere more likely to engage in violent behavior: The sex of the respondent an d the sex of the aggressor influenced all the findings, suggesting that gen der may moderate acceptance of violence and its relation to violent behavio r.