Violent Households and the Reproduction of Toxic Masculinity and Dating Violence Perceptions In Male and Female Adolescents

Abstract

Across disciplines, it has been established that exposure to household violence in early adolescence leads to the reproduction of toxic masculinity behaviors. These studies, however, have focused on the effects of household violence in males and have not paid attention to whether females reproduce the same perceptions on dating violence and traditional gender norms of masculinity after being exposed to household violence. This study examines the answers provided to the questionnaire of the Bullying, Sexual, and Dating Violence Trajectories From Early to Late Adolescence in the Midwestern United States, 2007-2013. By taking the answers from the 1,162 students throughout 7 waves, this study looked at how male and female students who answered that they were exposed to household violence (wave 4) responded to questions regarding their perceptions of toxic masculinity and the acceptance of dating violence (wave 7). Six linear regression models that looked at this relationship with covariates and with an interaction model were run. The findings indicate that the exposure in early adolescence to household violence is a statistically significant predictor of increased acceptance of both traditional masculinity norms and dating violence. Additionally, males exhibited a higher baseline of acceptance compared to females. Nonetheless, the effect of household violence is present across both males and females. This suggests that the relationship between household violence and the higher level of acceptance of toxic masculinity and dating violence in later adolescents is not isolated to males. At the same time, interaction variables show that there is no clear difference across gender on the effect of household violence and an increased acceptance of traditional masculinity perceptions. Thus, the reproduction of traditional masculinity perceptions seems not to be gender tied; instead, it happens regardless of gender. This paper addresses the current literary gap in existing discourse, which highlights how imperative the female perspective in studies about the normalization of violence is.