Prediction of university students' dating anxiety levels by childhood abuse experiences

Dating anxiety is basically defined as avoidance of the opposite sex and difficulty in finding a partner who can have a long-term relationship. Childhood abuse experiences may affect dating relationships in the future and cause the problem called dating anxiety. Examining the prediction of dating anxiety levels of university students by childhood abuse experiences is important in terms of protecting mental health, organizing experiences, and early intervention. In the literature, dating anxiety has been investigated for groups considered as adolescents and scales for this group have been used, and the prediction of childhood abuse experiences for these groups has been examined in terms of various variables. The aim of this study is to predict the dating anxiety levels of university students by childhood abuse experiences. This study was conducted on 369 university students studying in various departments at a state university in a province in Eastern Anatolia. This research was conducted with a survey design using quantitative method. The research group was formed by simple random sampling method. The Dating Anxiety Scale and Childhood Abuse Experiences Scale Short Form were used as data collection tools. In the study, whether dating anxiety differed in terms of gender, dating status, and parents' relationship status was analyzed with Independent Samples t Test. Whether dating anxiety differs in terms of age, grade level, perceived socioeconomic level, mother's education level, father's education level, and number of siblings was analyzed by One-Way ANOVA. Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted to determine the "Prediction of University Students' Dating Anxiety Levels by Childhood Abuse Experiences". According to the findings of the study, gender, whether there is dating or not, perceived socioeconomic level, and childhood abuse experiences variables together show a high and significant relationship with dating anxiety levels.