Sexism and dating violence in Spanish, Chilean and Colombian adolescents

The relationship between hostile sexism and benevolent sexism, and mild and severe verbal/psychological and physical aggressions perpetrated and suffered was examined among 815 adolescents, 382 males and 433 females, 12 to 19 years old, selected from secondary schools in Seville (Spain), Talca (Chile) and Tunja (Colombia). The most frequent type of aggression found was verbal/psychological, followed by mild physical and severe physical aggression and males had significantly higher scores on hostile sexism than women. Colombian participants had significantly higher scores in both hostile and benevolent sexism. We found more statistically significant correlations between hostile sexism and exercised and suffered aggressions, particularly among males, although none of these correlations were moderate or high, varying by country. The results indicate that sexist beliefs might be involved but they don´t have a significant weight in perpetration or victimization. However, the differences between men and women in sexism should be considered at preventive level.