Examining Bullying Perpetration as a Predictor of Later Teen Dating Violence Perpetration: Do Gender-Based Biases Affect This Pathway?

Objective: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a prevalent form of interpersonal violence that profoundly impacts lifelong physical and mental health. To support the prevention of TDV perpetration, the present study examined whether an early occurring form of interpersonal violence, bullying perpetration, was longitudinally associated with later TDV perpetration and whether gender-based biases may influence this relationship. Method: This study used a longitudinal high school sample (N = 2,301) to examine the relationship between bullying and TDV perpetration across 3 years. Five types of TDV outcomes were included: relational, physical, verbal–emotional, sexual abuse, and abuse involving threatening behavior. We examined sexism and homophobic name-calling (HNC) as moderators between bullying and TDV perpetration. Bullying perpetration at Time 1 was used to predict TDV perpetration at Time 3. Sexism and HNC were introduced as moderators to this path analysis at Time 2. Results: Our findings revealed several significant pathways that supported the longitudinal association between bullying and forms of TDV. In addition, sexism and HNC significantly moderated some of these pathways, respectively, especially among boys. Conclusions: Our results suggest that gender-based biases may be mechanisms through which the likelihood of TDV is bolstered among adolescents who engage in bullying behaviors. We critique the influences of systemic gender norms, and pressures to adhere to masculinity in particular, as related to the perpetration of TDV. We call for comprehensive sex education to be mandated at the policy level and for biased-based aggression based on widespread gender inequities to be addressed in society.