Modern Adolescent Dating Violence Attitude (Kirkman et al., 2025)

Items

Subscales

• Sexual Abuse Offline, 8 Items
• Sexual Abuse Online, 8 Items
• Psychological Abuse Offline, 8 Items
• Psychological Abuse Online, 8 Items
• Physical Abuse Offline, 8 Items
• Controlling Behaviour Offline, 8 Items

Items by Subscale

Attitudes towards Sexual Abuse (Offline) 

• If a girl agrees to go over to a guy’s house, then she is showing him that she is willing to have sex.
• In a relationship, a girl should give the guy what he wants sexually, even if she doesn’t feel like it at the time.
• It’s okay for guys to pressure their girlfriends into doing sexual things, that’s just how it works these days.
• When a guy forces his girlfriend to have sex with him, it shouldn’t be considered rape because they are in a relationship.
• When a girl invites a guy, she recently met over to her house, she’s signalling to him that she wants to have sex.
• It’s okay for a guy to expect something sexual in return if he’s been making an effort to be nice to a girl and giving her lots of attention.
• It’s okay for a guy to make a girl do certain sexual things, even if she’s acting shy or like she might not want to.
• There is nothing wrong with a girl giving a guy what he wants sexually so that he treats her better in the relationship

Attitudes towards Sexual Abuse (Online) 

• There is nothing wrong with a guy pretending to like a girl online so that he can convince her to send him nude pictures.
• If a girl has been flirting with a guy online, it’s okay for him to expect some sexual messages or images in return.
• Girls nowadays overreact and complain for no real reason about guys sending them unwanted sexual pictures online.
• Guys sending unwanted sexual pictures of themselves to girls online is just them trying their luck and it doesn’t really harm anyone.
• It’s okay for a guy to force his girlfriend do sexual things on camera if they are in a relationship.
• Girls who complain about guys sharing their naked pictures online are partially to blame too for sending them in the first place.
• Forcing girls to send naked picture or videos online is just a normal part of dating these days – pretty much all guys do it.
• When guys pressure girls for naked pictures and sex chat online, it’s just their way of showing that he’s interested in her.

Attitudes to Physical Abuse (Offline) 

• If a girl is talking to other guys online, her boyfriend is justified in pushing her around until he gets an explanation.
• If a girl is openly flirting with other guys online, her boyfriend can’t be blamed for being violent towards her.
• Girls complain too much these days about guys being physically aggressive with them when it’s usually just meant as a joke.
• As long as it doesn’t go beyond a push or shove, sometimes guys are justified in using force against their girlfriends.
• Sometimes issues with anger mean that a young guy cannot stop himself from hitting his girlfriend, even if he wanted to.
• Young guys don’t hit their girlfriends unless they did something serious to deserve it. 
• There is nothing wrong with a guy who has been cheated on hitting his girlfriend.
• There are some occasions when it’s okay for a guy to hit a girl. 

Attitudes to Psychological Abuse (Offline) 

• It’s not a big deal if a guy threatens to end the relationship to get his girlfriend to do what he wants.
• There is nothing wrong with a guy humiliating his girlfriend in front of her friends if he thinks she did something to deserve it.
• Some guys threaten and shout at their girlfriends, but it shouldn’t be made into a big deal unless it gets physical.
• It’s okay for guys to say hurtful things to make their girlfriends feel bad as it doesn’t cause any real harm.
• Guys often insult their girlfriends or use put downs - it’s just something that happens in relationships and shouldn’t be made into a big deal.
• There is nothing wrong with a guy making his girlfriend feel bad so that he can get her attention.
• There is nothing wrong with a guy making his girlfriend feel worthless if he thinks she is bad mouthing him to others.
• A guy shouldn’t be judged for bringing up something from his girlfriend’s past to deliberately make her upset as long as he says sorry after.

Attitudes towards Psychological Abuse (Online)

• If a guy suspects his girlfriend is talking to other guys online, he’s justified in making her feel worthless.
• It’s okay for a guy to bad mouth and insult a girl he’s dating, if she’s commenting on other guys pictures online.
• Guys have a right to ‘slut shame’ their girlfriends for talking to other guys online, even if they are just friends.
• It’s okay for guys to flirt with other girls online in view of their girlfriends - it’s harmless as long as they don’t do it in person.
• When guys insult their girlfriends online, it shouldn’t be made into a big deal as its only a bit of fun and doesn’t cause any real harm.
• It’s okay for a guy to stop his girlfriend from talking to people he doesn’t approve of on social media.
• A guy is justified in calling his girlfriend a slut online if she’s constantly liking other guys pictures.
• It’s okay for a guy to insult or embarrass his girlfriend on social media as long as he doesn’t do it to her in person.

Attitudes towards Controlling Behaviour (Offline) 

• In a relationship, guys have a right to say who their girlfriends can and can’t talk to.
• If a guy suspects his girlfriend is cheating, then it’s okay for him to stop her from using social media.
• Girls should accept that their boyfriends have a right to say who they can and can’t spend time with.
• It’s okay for a guy to stop his girlfriend from wearing something he doesn’t approve of – they’re in a relationship after all.
• It’s okay for a guy to have his girlfriend’s social media passwords to check who she is talking to online.
• In a relationship, it’s okay for a guy to control how his girlfriend spends her money.
• Girls complain too much these days about their boyfriends being too controlling when usually it’s just them being protective.
• In a relationship, a guy has the right to control some parts of his girlfriend’s life.

Responses

Items used a 5 point Likert-type scale, 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree

Scoring

Not reported

Citations

Kirkman, G., Willmott, D., Boduszek, D., & Debowska, A. (2025). Introduction and validation of the modern adolescent dating violence attitude (MADVA) scale: A contemporary tool for assessing adolescent attitudes towards dating violence in offline and online environments. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 80, 100705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2024.100705