Cyber Dating Abuse – Towards a clear conceptualisation and examination of a heart-breaking online phenomenon

Cyber dating abuse
Intimate partner violence
Online-offline interplay

The internet provides ample opportunities for romantic partners to interact, sometimes in a harmful manner. The use of technological applications to express excessive controlling and monitoring behaviours and verbal aggression towards a partner is called cyber dating abuse (CDA). Although considerable research has already studied the prevalence and nature of CDA, there are still many important knowledge gaps.

We at imec-mict-UGent will address such knowledge gaps within this fundamental research project. Specifically, we aim to construct a clear conceptualisation of this online phenomenon and to develop new instruments to reliably measure cyber dating abuse. Additionally, we will further explore the relationship between online and offline forms of partner violence. The findings of this research project will provide important insights for partner violence prevention and intervention strategies, and future research. 

Partners: Department of Criminology, Ghent University

Duration: 01/11/2020 – 31/10/2024

Contact: Janneke Schokkenbroek