Disparities in Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization in Justice-Involved Emerging Adults: A MAIHDA Study

Abstract Purpose Dating violence (DV) victimization and perpetration in emerging adulthood is a significant criminal justice and public health concern. Yet, research is mixed as to who is most at-risk for experiencing DV during this developmental period. In response, we examined (a) which dimensions of identity (e.g. college attendance, gender, race/ethnicity, SES) were the most salient predictors of DV experiences and (b) if an intersectional model provided incremental insight into DV disparities. Methods We conducted secondary data analyses using Pathways to Desistance , a longitudinal study with a racially/ethnically diverse, justice-involved sample of emerging adults ( N = 1,111). Both a traditional logistic regression approach and Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Analyses (MAIHDA) were leveraged to examine DV disparities. Results Overall, for physical forms of DV, those who identified as Black, female, and non-college attending had higher rates of perpetrating DV and those who were Hispanic and who did not attend college had higher rates of victimization. For psychological DV experiences, non-college, Black, Hispanic, and female-identifying individuals had higher rates for perpetration, while those who identified as Hispanic had lower rates for victimization. Individuals possessing multiple, marginalized identities (e.g., Black and female, Hispanic and college-attending) had higher rates for DV-perpetration and victimization across subtypes. Conclusions Results provide preliminary support for subpopulations who can benefit most from dating violence prevention efforts. Translational implications of our findings, including the potential for the MAIHDA framework for uncovering violence disparities at the population health level, are discussed.