The Role of Temperament in Mediating the Association between Adolescence Dating Violence and Early Traumatic Experiences

Violence in adolescent intimate relationships poses a real threat to adolescent well-being and is a risk factor for recurrent violent patterns in adult marital relationships. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between different dimensions of childhood trauma and dating violence perpetration and the mediating role of temperament. The sample was composed of 3497 adolescents (n = 1549 boys, n = 1948 girls; M = 1.56, SD = 0.497) aged between 10 and 22 years (M = 15.15, SD = 1.83). Instruments used in this study included the Social Desirability Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ). The results show that temperament plays a mediating role in the relationship between dating violence perpetration and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Furthermore, the results suggest that adolescents who have been abused in childhood tend to demonstrate more temperamental problems and a greater susceptibility to the perpetration of teen dating violence, but only in the more severe dimensions of childhood trauma.