Assessing the Victim–Perpetrator Overlap in Adolescent Dating Violence in China: A Latent Class Analysis

There is a limited understanding of the pathways that lead to victim-perpetrator overlap in adolescent dating violence (ADV) particularly in developing countries such as China. Applying a latent class approach, the present study focuses on whether the overlap can be explained by theoretical constructs grounded in social learning, general strain, and social bonding theories, and whether these constructs relate to underexplored mediating mechanisms or are direct precursors. The study sample consisted of 1,787 dating adolescents (39.8% male; mean age = 17.82 ± 0.92 years) from a population of 5,820 adolescents in 32 high schools in Chinese cities and rural counties. We found a significant victim-perpetrator overlap in controlling, psychological, and physical ADV, with the proclivity increasing with the severity of ADV. Membership of groups engaged in general delinquency and those engaged in dating violence increased the odds of victim-perpetrator overlap. Peer bullying victimization was the most consistent direct predictor of victim-perpetrator overlap in family/peer/community settings; victimization resulting from interparental violence during childhood, peer bullying, and community violence was the most consistent indirect predictor. Neighborhood bonds had a greater impact than social bonds with family and school in terms of direct and indirect protective effects against victim-perpetrator overlap. Patterns of exposure to violent victimization in family/peer/community settings and patterns of social bonds cast new light on the nature of deviant peer (general delinquency vs. ADV) networks, which were found to operate as major mediating mechanisms in victim-perpetrator overlap.