Red Flags of Dating Violence Among College Students: From the Perspective of Campus Service Providers in Costa Rica

• Published in: Global qualitative nursing research Vol. 9
• Main Authors: Munoz-Rojas, Derby, Ching-Alvarez, Cristobal, Gonzalez-Pons, Kwynn M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: College students; Colleges & universities; Domestic violence; Qualitative research; Risk factors; Young adults; Costa Rica; adultos jóvenes; domestic abuse; young adults; abuso doméstico; investigación cualitativa; qualitative research; healthcare professionals; profesionales de la salud; Costa Rica
• ISSN: 2333-3936; 2333-3936
• DOI: 10.1177/23333936211035750

Dating violence has negative consequences on the well-being of college students. Thus, it is imperative that providers of student-oriented services can detect and respond to dating violence. Although many universities worldwide have implemented dating violence screenings protocols, they are not yet common practice in Costa Rica. As a result, there is inadequate recognition of this problem, so it remains unaddressed. Therefore, this qualitative descriptive study explored the perceptions of professionals working in student-oriented services in Costa Rica about dating violence warning signs exhibited by college students. 29 providers from four public universities were interviewed, and three main areas were identified from a content analysis: the process that providers follow to identify dating violence, the visible signs that victims display, and the self-protective strategies that victims employ to hide their abuse. These findings are important for researchers and practitioners wanting to improve dating violence screening instruments for the Central American context.