Evaluation of the Relationship Between Attitudes Towards Gender Roles and Attitudes Towards Dating Violence of a Group of University Students

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the attitudes towards gender roles and dating violence in a group of university students. Material and Methods: The sample group of this descriptive study consisted of 363 first and second-grade students studying at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University Health Services Vocational School Medical Laboratory Techniques, Child Development, First and Emergency Aid departments in the fall semester of 2018-2019 academic year. “Individual Characteristics Form”, “Gender Roles Attitude Scale”, “Dating Violence Attitude Scale” were used to collect the data. The data were evaluated using the SPSS 21.0 program. Number, percentage, mean, chi-square, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and Spearman Correlation tests were used to analyze the data. Results: Female students supported dating violence less than male students and were more egalitarian regarding gender role attitudes. Students who receive social support and think that the society is discriminatory/negative towards girls support dating violence less; those who thought to be neutral were found to be more egalitarian in gender roles. Students who do not support dating violence had a more egalitarian attitude towards gender roles. Conclusion: Gender role attitudes affect attitudes towards dating violence. Female students have more egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles and support dating violence less than male students. It is crucial to determine young people's traditional gender role attitudes and attitudes towards dating violence and change them in an egalitarian direction.