Abuse in dating relationships : an urban/rural comparison

This thesis is an exploration of dating abuse, providing information on incidence rates and the consequences of urban/rural upbringing and current residence. It is framed within the sociological study of cultural and subcultural environments and their ability to help determine attitudes and behaviour. Data for this study were collected using self-administered questionnaires. A non-probability sample of 428 male and female students attending urban and = rural universities was obtained. A modified version of the Conflict Tactics scale was used to measure both victimization and self-reported abuse. Analyses of the data show the most significant finding to be the strikingly similar abuse rates reported by males and females. With the exception of the more severe types of physical abuse, there was a tendency for men to report themselves to be victimized more than abusive and for women to report higher rates of abusive acts than victimization. Only small variations in urban and rural incidence rates were reported, a finding which does not support a culture-of-violence effect. Distrust of some of the findings forced me to reexamine the literature to make sense of the results. Suggestions to help provide researchers and the public with more accurate, generalizable information on the extent of dating abuse are provided.