Traditional Media Use and Perpetration of Digital Dating Abuse Among College Men: Exploring the Mediating Role of Gendered Sexual Scripts

• In Event: From Hook Up to Pregnancy: Sex, Sexuality, and Media

Abstract

Media are important agents for the sexual socialization of youth, teaching audiences powerful lessons about gendered expectations for romantic relationships and appropriate behavior within these relationships. In this paper, we consider the possibility that these lessons might affect the use of digital media in the context of dating relationships. Specifically, we posit that young men’s exposure to traditional media forms (e.g., sitcoms, movies) affects their endorsement of gendered sexual scripts, which in turn affects their endorsement of dating violence-supportive attitudes, which ultimately affects their likelihood of perpetrating digital dating abuse. Using a sample of 340 heterosexual undergraduate men, we use structural equation modeling to examine these associations and find support for our hypothesized model, uncovering indirect (but not direct) effects of several traditional media genres on digital dating abuse perpetration. Findings contribute to our understanding of the effects and use of media in modern dating relationships.

Authors

• Julia R Lippman, U of Michigan

• Lauren A Reed, U of Michigan

• Lucretia Monique Ward, University of Michigan Psychology Dept.