Abstract

As the public concern about dating violence rises, research on the emotional and behavioral characteristics of dating violence perpetrators is required. The present study explored the influence of ambivalence of emotional expressiveness on three types of dating violence (physical, emotional, sexual), as well as if relational aggression served as a mediator between ambivalence of emotional expressiveness and dating violence. Based on a sample of 160 single men and women in their 20s and 30s, we found that ambivalence of emotional expressiveness, relational aggression, and three types of dating violence were all positively correlated. Furthermore, there was a full mediating effect of relational aggression between ambivalence of emotional expressiveness and dating violence. In other words, the higher the ambivalence of emotional expressiveness, the higher the relational aggression, and the higher the relational aggression was, the more physical, emotional, and sexual dating violence occurred.