Testing the Investment Model to Predict Commitment in Cyber Dating Abuse Victims

In the last few years, a new form of dating violence has been increasingly studied, namely cyber dating abuse. The present study is focused on testing the investment model consisting of relationship satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investment to predict commitment levels in cyber dating abuse victims. This study aims to observe the correlation between victimization and perpetration in cyber dating abuse. Participants were 86 women aged 18–24 years who have been in a relationship for at least 6 months and are categorized as cyber dating abuse victims. Measurements on relationship satisfaction, quality of alternatives, investment, and commitment, used an Indonesian adaptation of the Investment Model Scale (IMS). Through multiple regression analysis, the proposed model was found to be statistically significant. Relationship satisfaction and relationship investment were able to predict commitment levels among cyber dating abuse victims, but quality of alternatives was unable to predict it significantly. Also, this study found a significant correlation between victimization and perpetration. Specifically, participants experience a similar form of cyber dating abuse as a victim and as a perpetrator. Several factors also might influence the findings, such as misinterpretation of partner’s violent behavior and lack of previous relationship experience. Overall, the results partially support previous findings of the investment model in a violent relationship.