Intimate partner violence among students: Is there gender symmetry?

Objective - The objective of this descriptive study was twofold. First, to examine, for the first time, some psychometric properties of the French version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), assessing intimate partner violence (IPV), and second, to explore the gender symmetry in IPV among young female students (n = 1856). Method. - Both versions of the CTS2, the CTS2-Victimization and the CTS2-Perpetration, were administered to a sample of female students (n = 1856). Results. - Our results confirmed the validity of the initial factor structure of the CTS2, and showed the good reliability of its scores. Also, our results revealed that: (a) gender symmetry concerned psychological and physical violence: female students reported perpetrating this violence more than experiencing it, and (b) gender asymmetry concerned sexual violence and violence causing injuries: female students reported experiencing this violence more than perpetrating it. Conclusion. - This research provides an insight into a poorly documented, if not ignored, phenomenon. And the extent of some IPV allows recommending the implementation of awareness campaigns against IPV in high schools and campuses as often as possible. (C) 2021 Societe Francaise de Psychologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.