2. ABSTRACT
In thisstudy, the influencesofgenderandemotions ondatingviolence
among undergraduates were examined. Ten (10)300 Levelstudentsfrom
the Psychology department ofthe University ofLagos were used. 3 (30%)
were maleswhile 7 (70%) were females. The agesofthe participants
ranged between18 and26 yearswith a meanage of 22.
The findings indicated that determine that the male undergraduateis
more violent in datingrelationshipswhile femalesare victimised more
than males. The result also indicated that emotionsdonot play a pivotal
role in influencingdatingviolence.
A 12-item scale on datingviolence wasvalidated by Suraju;a senior
Psychology student, andused inthe study.
OBJECTIVES
a. To ascertain that emotionsinfluence datingviolence among University
students.
b. To determine significant differencesbetweenmale andfemale students’
attitude to dating violence.
INTRODUCTION
Dating violence is menace which has beenconstantly erodingthe
psychological and physical stability ofmany dating students. Accordingto
Iconis(2013), datingviolence isa significant problem oncollegecampuses.
It is a well-knownproblemaffectingbothmale and female studentsof
different age categories. Accordingto the U.S. Department ofJustice
(2012), dating violenceisdefinedasviolencecommitted bya person who
isor hasbeen in a social relationshipofa romanticnature with thevictim.
For example, most studentsin Nigerian Universitiesare not only victims
but also perpetratorsofviolent behaviours reflecting the rising incidence
ofviolence in the Nigeriansociety asa whole(Ajuwon, Funmilayo &
Osungbade, 2011). One ofsuchviolent behaviours isdatingviolence. It isa
significant problemin oursociety whichresearchers are workingto
understand itsdestructive effect andscope ofthe problemin the past few
3. decades. According toJackson(1999)andLewisandFremouw(2001), as
many asone in three collegecoupleswill beinvolved inat least one
incidence ofviolence during their dating relationship. Moreso, many
studieshave discovered prevalence ratesofdatingviolence close to fifty
percent (Arias, Samois, O’Leary, 1987; Pederser &Thomas, 1992;White &
Koss, 1991). Althoughprevalence rates fluctuatewidely dependingon the
definition criteriaofdating violenceadopted for a particularstudy(Lewis
& Fremouw, 2001),it isclear that dating violence isa significant issue that
needsattentionandcorrectiveaction.
Addressing thisissueempirically will helpresearchers, victims and
government agenciesproffer lastingsolutionto the problem. Dating
violence canbe defined asa formofrelationshipabusewhich involves
insult or assault. It isa dysfunctional behaviourin romantic relationships
which can have severe physicalandpsychological consequencesandcan
lead to homicide orsuicide in extreme casesaswell asemotional
symptomsstemming fromdepressionandPost-Traumatic StressDisorder
(PTSD) (Holtzworth-Munroe, 1992). In order to control problems
associated to datingviolence, examination offactorsthat are likelyto lead
to dating violenceisneeded. Thiswill leadto betterunderstanding
towards prevention programs, clinicaltreatment andvictimsensitisation.
Thisstudy isaimed at examining gender, emotions&age asfactorsthat
are likely to influence attitudesto datingviolence.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
a. Participants: Ten (10) 300 Level studentsofpsychologyfrom the
University ofLagos served asparticipantsin thisstudy. 7 (70%) were
femaleswhile 3 (30%) were males. The agesofthe participantsranged
from 18 to 26 yearswith a mean age of 22.
b. InstrumentsUsed: A 12-item self-developed questionnaire ondating
violence wasusedin theresearch. Thisquestionnaire wasdeveloped
to determine theextent to which undergraduate couplesexhibit
physical or verbal violence to their partners. The itemswere vetted by
Suraju, a senior and well versedstudent inthe Psychology
department. After the vetting, the face validity ofthe instrument was
approved. Using split/halfreliabilitytest and Spearman Brown
prophecy formula, a coefficient of0.42 wasobtained, indicatingthat
the instrument isreliable.
4. c. Procedure: Snowballsampling technique wasused to selectthe
participants. This method wascarried out by selectinga 300 Level
female student who isin a datingrelationshipto answer the
questionnaire. The participant was then askedto referthe
experimentersto more suitablecandidates whowere in turn given the
questionnaire to answer.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
1. Dating: A state ofromantic connectednessbetween two (or more)
people.
2. Violence: an act ofaggression
3. Undergraduate: a universitystudent who hasnot yet receiveda first
degree
4. Emotions: any strongfeeling
5. A: Thismeans“Agree”i.e. the respondent agreeswith a statement
6. SA: Thismeans“StronglyAgree” i.e. the respondentstronglyagrees
with a statement
7. N: Thismeans“Neutral or Undecided”i.e. the respondent indifferent
and neither agreesnordisagreeswiththe statement.
8. D: Thismeans“Disagree” i.e. the respondent disagreeswitha
statement
9. SD: Thismeans“Strongly Disagree”i.e. the respondent strongly
disagreeswith a statement
5. SA A N D SD
5 4 3 2 1
PARTICIPANTS
o e o e o e o e o e o e X Y
A B C D E F G H I J K L To Te
1. 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 4 2 15 13
2. 5 3 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 4 1 5 10 24
3. 3 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 5 1 2 3 14 13
4. 5 5 3 5 3 5 1 2 1 4 1 5 14 26
5. 2 3 4 1 4 5 2 1 2 5 4 4 16 19
6. 3 2 4 2 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 17 13
7. 4 3 2 4 4 3 4 4 1 1 1 2 16 17
8. 4 2 3 1 4 4 2 2 2 1 2 5 17 15
9. 4 4 5 1 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 4 16 15
10. 5 4 3 4 5 4 1 4 4 1 2 5 20 22
TOTAL 155 177
X Y XY X2 Y2
15 13 195 225 169
10 24 240 100 576
14 13 182 196 169
14 26 364 196 676
16 19 304 256 361
17 13 221 289 169
16 17 272 256 289
17 15 255 289 225
16 15 240 256 225
20 22 440 400 484
155 177 2713 2463 3343
6. r =
𝑵𝜺𝑿𝒀−(𝜺𝒙)(𝜺𝒚)
√[ 𝑵𝜺𝒙 𝟐]−( 𝜺𝒙) 𝟐[ 𝑵𝜺𝒚 𝟐−( 𝒆𝒚) 𝟐]
r = reliability
N = number ofparticipants
Ʃ = summation
X = Total ofyour oddnumbers
Y = Total ofyour evennumbers
To = Total ofodd numbers
Te = Total ofeven numbers
r =
(10 𝑋 2713) −(155)(177)
√[10 X 2463]−(155)2[10 𝑋 3343 − (177)2]
r =
27130 − 27435
√[24630]−24025 [33430 − 31329]
r =
305
√(605)(2101)
=
305
√1271105
r =
305
1127.432
= 0.27
Using SpearmanBrown prophecyformula
r = reliability
r =
2 X r
1+ r
7. r =
2 X 0.27
1 + 0.27
=
0.54
1.27
r = 0.42
S/N Question SD D N A SA
1 Men are more violent than ladies in a relationship 0% 10% 30% 30% 30%
2 Dating violence is more prominent in long-term relationships 0% 40% 30% 20% 10%
3
Dating violence is influenced by background of abuse from parent
relationship 10% 20% 40% 20% 10%
4 I sometimes hit my partner when I am angry 30% 20% 20% 20% 10%
5 Drug or alcohol abuse is often a factor in dating violence incidents 20% 10% 10% 50% 10%
6
If violence occurs once in a dating relationship, it is likely to happen
again. 0% 10% 20% 50% 20%
7 I have experienced physical violence in a dating relationship 50% 40% 0% 10% 0%
8 I have been affected psychologically by dating violence 20% 50% 0% 20% 10%
9
My boyfriend/girlfriend has harassed me via social media or instant
messages 50% 30% 0% 10% 10%
10 Denying my partner sex has once resulted to violence 50% 20% 0% 20% 10%
11
I sometimes become violent to my partner while feeling insecure or
unappreciated. 40% 40% 0% 20% 0%
12
Women are victims of violence in dating relationships more than
men 0% 20% 20% 20% 40%
Question 1: “Men are more violent than ladies in a relationship.” 10% of the
respondents disagreed to this.
Question 5: “Drug or alcohol abuse is often a factor in dating violence
incidents.” 50% of the respondents agreed to this.
8. DISCUSSION
Thissurvey helped the experimenters determine that the male
undergraduate ismore violentin datingrelationshipswhilefemalesare
victimised more than males. It wasdeterminedthat dating violence isnot
influenced bythe durationofthe relationship. Some respondents, albeit a
low percentage, hit theirpartnerswhenangry anda verylowpercentage
become violent whentheyfeel unappreciated orinsecure; this translates
to the fact that althoughemotionsinfluence datingviolence, it ison the
low side.
A decisive percentage ofrespondentsagreedthat alcohol or drugabuse
hasa strong influencein datingviolence incidents.
A higher numberofrespondentshave experiencedneither physical or
psychological datingviolence while participantswho havebeenvictimsof
dating violencehave beenaffected more psychologically than physically.
A low percentage ofrespondentsagreed that a backgroundof abuse in
parent’srelationships or sexual denial by partners hadaggravative effects
on dating violence.
9. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The goal ofthisresearchwasto determine;
1. To ascertain that emotionsinfluence datingviolence among University
students.
2. To determine significant differencesbetweenmale andfemale students’
attitude to dating violence.
3. To determine ifthere isany significant difference betweenolder and
younger studentson attitude to datingviolence.
Our findingsshowthat;
a. Emotionshave little influence ondatingviolence
b. Male studentsare more violent in a datingrelationshipthat the
opposite sex
c. Female studentsare moreofthe victimsin datingrelationships
d. Alcohol or drugabuse hasa stronginfluence in dating violence
incidents.
e. Victimsofdating violence havebeenaffected morepsychologically
than physically.
f. A high percentage ofrespondents disagreed that a backgroundof
abuse parent’s relationships had aggravative effect on dating
violence.
g. Sexual denial by partners doesnot have a stronginfluence on dating
violence.
CONCLUSION
Thisstudy demonstratesthat studentsofthe University ofLagos have
experienced (first hand orotherwise) dating relationshipviolence. Based
on the findingsstatedabove, the University ofLagoscouldcreate a
platform to sensitize studentsonthe adverse effectsofdatingviolence
and teach themhowto avoidit, teachvictimshowto deal withit andavoid
stigma or aggravationby requestingcounselfrom designated authorities.
10. REFERENCES
Ajuwon, A.J, Funmilayo .O & Osungbade, K.O (2011).
Experience and Perpetration of Violent Behaviours among Secondary School
Students in Ibadan, Nigeria. Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 3(1)
pp. 27-35.
Arias, I. Samois, M., & O’Leary, K. D. (1987).
Prevalence and correlates of physical aggression during courtship. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 2(1), 82-90.
Gryl, F.E., Stith, S.M. & Bird, G.W. (1991).
Close Dating Relationships Among College Students: Differences by use of
Violence and by Gender. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 8, 243-
264.
Holtzworth-Munroe, A. (1992).
Social skill deficits in martially violent men: Interpreting the data using a social
information processing model. Clinical Psychology Review, 12, 605-617
