Gender matters: Italian adolescents’ perceptions of Cyber Dating Violence

Cyber Dating Violence (CDV) refers to online violence within adolescents’ romantic relationships. The study explored CDV perception of male and female adolescents. 326 Italian adolescents completed a survey investigating CDV perpetration and victimization. Vignettes describing a CDV scenario (switching genders of perpetrator/victim) were also employed. No gender differences emerged for CDV behaviors. Moreover, males tended to downplay its severity, attribute responsibility to the victim and engage in victim blaming more than females. In case of CDV disclosure, the strategies mainly chosen concerned providing emotional support, especially in females, whereas the least reported were being passive and informing adults at school. Generally, males showed greater difficulties in attributing responsibility and appeared to be more susceptible to gender-related biases compared to females.