Validation of the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT) in Spanish Adolescents

摘要

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of two instruments that assess attitudes justifying use of aggression in adolescents' dating relationships: the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT). The sample was made up of 2,856 adolescents from different high schools of Madrid. Results supported the three-factor structure for the AADS and the six-factor structure for the JVCT, which was consistent with the theory and with previous research. As expected, the relation between attitudes and aggressive behavior was between small and moderate but significant in most cases. Furthermore, attitudes differed depending on the type of violence, the respondent's sex, and on whether aggression is carried out by a man or a woman. Finally, the potential applications of these two scales are discussed, and it is concluded that both constitute useful tools to assess justification of aggression in dating relationships in young couples.