Violent Behavior in College Student Dating Relationships: Implications for Campus Service Providers

Dating violence among students is one of the more common types of campus violence facing university administrators and service providers. This study provides a descriptive analysis of the nature and extent of self-reported use of aggression as well as victimization in dating relationships among random samples of 995 currently dating and 1391 never married students at a large urban university. Results indicate that dating violence is limited to relatively minor acts of aggression and is more likely in relationships of greater degrees of intimacy and commitment Both males and females report using physical aggression against daring partners and both also report victimization by their partners. Most such incidences occur off campus and few report their victimization to campus agencies designed to handle domestic violence. Implications for campus service providers are discussed.