Abstract:

Background:
Dating violence has as a consequence, among others, low academic performance. Consequently, several policies and action programmes have been implemented, especially in the school environment, the main space for socialisation and identity construction of young people.

Objectives:
To identify which lifestyles influence dating violence; to identify which sociodemographic variables interfere in dating violence; to analyse the relationship between affective contexts and dating violence; to determine whether there is a relationship between coping strategies, resilience and dating violence.

Methodology:
Quantitative, descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study. Sample composed of 429 students, mostly female (79.7%), with a mean age of 22.11 years (SD=4.55). For data collection, we used the questionnaire that allowed the sociodemographic characterization, lifestyles, sexual, reproductive and affective health. The Resilience Scale of Wagnild and Young (1993), validated for the Portuguese population by Carvalho and Pereira (2012), the Brief Cope Scale (Carver, 1989), validated for the Portuguese population by Pais-Ribeiro and Rodrigues (2004), and the Dating Violence Practices and Behaviours Scale (dimensions physical and sexual violence; psychological violence and stalking), adapted and translated for the Portuguese population by Dixe, Rodrigues, Freire, Rodrigues, Fernandes, and Dias (2010), were included.

Results:
We found that 11.9% of students are victims of violence in the current dating relationship. The predictor variables of physical and sexual violence are substance abuse, serenity and age. The predictor variables of psychological violence are serenity, substance abuse, age, self-blame, denial and positive reinterpretation. The predictor variables of stalking violence are serenity, age and substance abuse. Analysing the predictor variables, for the total dating violence scale, we found serenity, age, substance abuse, self-blame and denial.

Conclusion:
Given the results, it is important to implement more awareness-raising campaigns on dating violence in higher education institutions, to raise students' awareness of this issue and to deconstruct false ideas and beliefs related to this practice.

Keywords:

Dating violence, affective determinants, health determinants, psychological determinants.