Parenting Processes and Dating Violence: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem in Low- and High-SES Adolescents

The current investigation tested a model in which low self-esteem mediated the effects by parenting processes (monitoring, closeness, and support) on measures of dating violence (victimization, perpetration, attitudes, and perceptions) in a sample of adolescents (n=809; mean age=16.4 years) from both low- and high-socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. Hierarchical regression analyses provided evidence that low self-esteem partially mediated the link between parenting processes and dating violence, with unique differences observed between low- and high-SES youth. Specifically, in low-SES youth, low self-esteem mediated the relationship between closeness as well as support and dating violence "behaviours," while in high-SES youth, it only mediated the relationship between maternal support and dating violence "attitudes."