Cyber Dating Abuse Among Korean College Students: An Exploratory Study of Risk and Protective Factors

This study investigated the factors associated with cyber dating abuse (CDA) among college students in South Korea. In order to shed light on this relatively understudied area concerning social and health issues, the study analyzed data from a convenience sample of 199 undergraduate students enrolled in a medium-sized Korean university. The findings showed that over the past 12 months, 52.5% of male and 51.4% of female students experienced CDA, while perpetration rates stood at 37.3% for males and 46.4% for females. Binomial logistic regression analyses revealed that students who had experienced partner abuse were more likely to be victims of CDA (IRR = 1.640; CI [1.108, 2.428]), as were those who had perpetrated physical or psychological abuse against their partners in person (IRR = 2.740; CI [1.456, 5.153]). Furthermore, users of online dating services were three times more likely to experience CDA than non-users (IRR = 3.008; CI [1.326, 6.822]). Perpetrating offline partner abuse (IRR = 3.572; CI [1.770, 7.210]) and using online support networks to resolve conflicts in romantic relationships (IRR = 2.734; CI [1.294, 5.778]) were significantly linked to CDA perpetration. These findings underscore the prevalence of CDA victimization and perpetration among college students in South Korea. Therefore, colleges and universities must implement effective prevention programs targeting cyber dating abuse or strengthen existing IPV prevention programs. Plain language summary Analyzing why dating abuse happens, using data from students at a Korean university The internet and other new technologies have made life more convenient, but they can also be used to harm others. Sometimes, those who suffer the most are victims of those they trust the most: their boyfriends and girlfriends. For a long time, researchers have studied abusive behaviors in face-to-face interactions. However, more recently, they have studied how online harmful behavior can cause harm even without the need for any physical contact. This study looked at how common online abuse is among dating college students in South Korea. It found that many students engage in these behaviors. How common is it? Why does it happen? How can we prevent it? These are some of the questions that we tried to answer. We found that many students engage in these behaviors or experience them. One significant reason was that students who are abusive online frequently had done the same in person toward their partners or had e