Investigation of the relationship between dating violence, depression and self-esteem in university students

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between dating violence, depression and self-esteem among university students.The research was carried out with the participation of 300 students between the ages of 19 and 23 who study in different departments of various state and foundation universities in Istanbul. In collecting the data, Socio-demographic Information Form, Attitude Towards Violence in Flirting (FISCT), Coopersmith Self-Esteem Scale and Beck Depression Scale (BDI) were used.According to our research findings; There was a significant, negative and moderate relationship between depression and self-esteem scores of individuals (p <0.001.) As people's self-esteem decreases, they are more likely to experience depression. A significant, positive and weak relationship was found between the depression scores of the individuals and the attitudes of men towards psychological violence in flirting (p <0.001). As the depression level of male participants increases, their supportive attitudes towards psychological violence increase in dating. According to another finding, a significant, negative and weak correlation was found between the self-esteem scores of individuals and the attitudes of men towards psychological violence in dating (p <.001). As the self-esteem level of male participants increases, their supportive attitudes towards psychological violence decrease. When the results are evaluated within the scope of the research, the self-esteem of the participants and the attitudes of the male towards the psychological violence in the flirting together predicted the depression levels of the students. The depression levels of the participants and the attitudes of the male towards the psychological violence in the flirting predicted the self-esteem of the students together.In line with these findings, it was observed that, as the attitude points of university students towards dating violence increased, their depression scores increased and their self-esteem levels decreased. In addition, as the victimization of individuals increases, their depression levels increase and their selfesteem levels decrease. Keywords: Dating violence, attitude towards dating violence, depression, selfesteem