Through Others' Eyes: Understanding Dating Violence Attitudes Through Perspective Taking
Abstract
Dating violence impacts health across diverse cultural contexts; college campuses witness a heightened recurrence of such incidents. The prevalence of violence within relationships endures, manifesting in contemporary platforms like social media and dating apps. This study examined the role of perspective taking in shaping attitudes toward violence, and its influence on both perpetration and victimization. Undergraduate students (N=449) engaged in a behavioural perspective taking task and questionnaires encompassing demographics and the Attitudes Toward Dating Violence Scale. Regression analyses revealed that weaker perspective taking ability in both perpetrators and victims is associated with more accepting attitudes of dating violence. The knowledge derived from this study holds significant implications for enhancing education, prevention, and intervention initiatives, emphasizing the need to strengthen perspective taking skills and foster empathic understanding.