Associations of partner emotional abuse and sex role attitudes among college students aged 18-25

The sex roles taken on by people engaged in heterosexual relationships are largely influenced by their emotional relationships.  Members of emotionally abusive relationships may be more likely to report traditional sex role attitudes, but evidence of this association is limited.  This cross-sectional study examines racial and gender differences in associations between partner emotional abuse and sex role attitudes among a college student sample (n=291) in Flint, Michigan who responded to an online survey.  Emotional abuse was characterized by two subscales- isolation (14 items; α = 0.92) and degradation (21 items; α = 0.94).  Sex role attitudes were captured using a 10-item scale (α = 0.81).  The predominantly female sample (75.3%) was 63.9% Caucasian, 18.9% African American, and 17.2% other racial/ethnic groups.  Overall isolation (p=0.08) and degradation (p=0.08) emotional abuse was higher for men than women, but comparable across racial/ethnic groups.  Sex role attitudes were comparable for men and women (p=0.38), but more traditional attitudes were identified for African Americans than Caucasians (p<0.01) and other racial/ethnic groups (p=0.05).   Results of our multivariable linear regression model suggested African Americans (b=-4.26, SE=1.04, p<0.01) had more traditional sex role attitudes than Caucasians, and higher degradation (b=-0.13, SE=0.05, p<0.01) and isolation were associated with less traditional sex role scores (b=-0.23, SE=0.06, p<0.01).  Future research should continue to investigate the perceived role of partner emotional abuse among college students.  Health education efforts should continue to create awareness of the danger associated with emotional abuse and effective ways to promote healthy sexual relationships among young adults.