Does true love conquer all? The role of romanticized beliefs, abuse type, and ambivalent sexism on emerging adult women's response intentions to dating violence

Abstract

Dating violence is a common problem that affects young women's well-being globally and in Turkey. Understanding young women's interpretations of and response intentions to dating violence is crucial for tackling this problem. Previous research points to romantic love myths and sexist beliefs as factors that justify and normalize violence. Thus, the current research aimed to identify the effects of romanticization and abuse type on young Turkish women's response intentions to dating violence and examine the moderating role of ambivalent sexism via three consecutive studies. Study 1 included three pilots to prepare, revise, and finalize hypothetical vignettes containing physically or emotionally abusive behaviors (Ntotal = 131), while Study 2 examined response intentions to violence (N = 100). Informed by their findings, Study 3 had an experimental design where the participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions [2x2 design; abuse type (physical/emotional) and romanticization (yes/no)] to read a vignette and complete a follow-up survey (N = 400). Analysis revealed that young women reported a higher intention to display surviving behaviors (e.g., accommodating the partner) when the vignettes involved emotional abuse, when dating violence was romanticized, or when they endorsed higher ambivalent sexism. In physical abuse scenarios, young women intended to respond more by restoring control (e.g., getting help from friends/family), resisting (e.g., confronting the partner), or ending the relationship. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of young women's perceptions and possible responses to dating violence and inform culturally tailored prevention programs to be implemented on university campuses.