engleski

The connection between self-esteem, attachment style and experiences of violence in students' romantic relationships

Many contemporary researches recognize violence in youth romantic relationships as a relevant social problem in recent years. Based on the theory of attachment, theory of the individual characteristics, theory of the family dynamics and theories of the social influence on the violence in couple’s relationships, this presentation aims to examine experiences of violence in the romantic relationships of students in Croatia. The goal of the research was to determine the correlation between self- esteem, attachment styles and experiences of violence in students' romantic relationships. The survey was conducted on a sample of 854 students (87.7% female and 12.3% male) attending different faculties in Croatia, mostly at the University of Zagreb (98.8%). Students were between 18 – 26 ages. All of them have experience of romantic relationship for at least three months continuously. The survey was conducted through web survey. The Questionnaire consisted of three scales: Rosenberg’s Self- Esteem Scale (revised version by Bezinović, 1988.), Questionnaire of experienced violent behavior in youth romantic relationship (Ajduković, Low and Sušac, 2011.) and Modification of Brennan's Experiences in Close Relationship Inventory (Kamenov and Jelić, 2003.). The obtained results have shown significant correlation between degree of self-esteem, attachment style and experience of the violence in students' romantic relationships. Students who did not experienced violence in romantic relationship perceive higher self-esteem. Students who have experienced violence in romantic relationship show higher results on anxiety and avoidance subscale on two underlying dimensions of attachment styles. More violence in relationship is experienced by those students who have dismissing, reoccupied, and fearful attachment styles. Based on the results obtained, it is necessary to devise and implement the interventions and prevention programs to combat violence in youth relationships.

self - esteem, attachment style, violence, youth romantic relationships

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