Jealousy or Abuse? Dispositional Mindfulness Helps Chinese College Students Understand and Save From Cyber Dating Abuse

Technology advances lead to a high prevalence of cyber dating abuse among youth. Previous studies had demonstrated its detrimental outcomes and predictors, but neglected the characters in Eastern countries. Therefore, exploring the comprehensive mechanisms of cyber dating abuse in different cultures and mitigating it are necessary. The current study first recruited 242 participants (65.7% women, Mage = 20.79 years, SD = 1.89) through social media to revise a localized Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire. Then, we conducted a moderated mediation model with 300 participants (60.0% women, Mage = 20.92 years, SD = 1.86) recruited through snowball sampling to examine the utilities of anxious attachment, jealousy, and dispositional mindfulness on cyber dating abuse perpetration. The two samples were integrated to examine the prevalence of cyber dating abuse, including 542 Chinese college students who were in heterosexual relationships the past year. The results showed that both perpetrators and victims of cyber dating abuse were 48.5% respectively. Women reported more perpetration behaviors (men = 40.9%; women = 53.1%) and less victimization (men = 56.2%; women = 44.0%) than men. Jealousy mediated the association between anxious attachment and cyber dating abuse perpetration. Moreover, dispositional mindfulness, particularly its non-judgment facet, could be a protective factor. These findings underscored the commonalities and expanded theories in understanding cyber dating abuse, facilitating the development of preventive and interventive strategies. Future studies should focus on this phenomenon and provide more comprehensive protection and psychosocial education for youth and adolescents.