The Influence of Peer Support for Violence and Peer Acceptance of Rape Myths on Multiple Forms of Interpersonal Violence Among Youth.

Significant work has highlighted the associations among physical dating violence, bullying perpetrated in person, and cyberbullying. Yet these experiences are most often examined in isolation. The present study adds to the literature by testing the hypothesis that peer factors (e.g., perceived peer support for sexual violence and perceived peer endorsement of rape myths) display associations with three forms of aggression (physical dating violence perpetration, perpetration of bullying in-person, and cyberbullying perpetration). A sample of 2,830 10th-grade youth, recruited across 27 high schools in the northeast region of the United States, completed self-report surveys assessing peer context and the perpetration of violence. To examine the potential shared risk of peer approval for sexual violence and peer endorsement of rape myths and multiple forms of violence, a multivariate extension to multilevel models (MLMs) was used. Findings suggested that as hypothesized both peer support for sexual violence and perceptions of peer endorsement of rape myths each made a significant contribution in association with dating aggression perpetration, in person bullying, as well as cyberbullying. Findings offer insight into the development of aggression in adolescence and highlight the necessity of unified research examining multiple domains together. Discussion also underscores the potential benefits of targeting peer context and perceptions of peer norms through cross-cutting prevention programming for adolescents.

#MeToo: Disclosure and Response to Sexual Victimization on Twitter.

Communication on Twitter surrounding violence against women often occurs through the use of "hashtags" that allow users to engage in shared discourse. The present study examined utilization of the Twitter hashtag #MeToo, which emerged in 2017 as a method for disclosing personal experiences of sexual victimization. Specifically, the present study sought to clarify how Twitter users utilized the #MeToo tag to disclose and respond to sexual violence by conducting a qualitative analysis of a random sample of tweets using #MeToo (N = 1,660). Survivors frequently prioritized the "who," "what," "where," "when," "why," and "how" of personal trauma experiences when disclosing using #MeToo. Twitter users also reflected on the prevalence of violence in society, acted as advocates to highlight the problem of violence against women, called attention to the experiences of other survivors of violence, or utilized the forum in a manner that distracted from survivors' experiences. The present data highlight the utility of Twitter for raising awareness regarding the prevalence of sexual violence, and providing a space where users can share personal trauma, connect to others with similar experiences, and provide support to others.