The Medium and the Message: An Investigation of Mainstream Media Use, Relationship Scripts, and Intimate Partner Violence among Black Adolescents

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) remains a significant social issue among Black American adolescents, as some estimates suggest that upwards of 50% have experienced some form of physical, emotional, or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Further, Black adolescent girls report higher rates of victimization compared to girls of other races. Given that these racial disparities continue into adulthood, understanding the antecedents of such violence is an issue of critical scientific concern. Problematic relationship scripts, as observed in person or via the media, have been identified as a key contributor to acceptance of IPV. Despite the commonplace implementation of educational IPV interventions across the United States, there is little evidence that participation in these programs has lowered adolescent IPV rates. Critical media literacy (CML), skills in understanding, analyzing, and critiquing media codes, representations, and frames, may be an appropriate culturally relevant framework to improve IPV intervention programs. Because IPV acceptance is associated with greater endorsement of racial and gender stereotypes and higher mainstream media use, this dissertation argues that CML may be an appropriate and understudied framework for use in culturally relevant IPV interventions. This interdisciplinary project uses the theoretical frameworks of Simon and Gagnon’s scripting theory, Bandura’s social cognitive theory, Gerbner’s cultivation theory, and Freire’s philosophy of critical consciousness to elucidate how critical media literacy may buffer the associations between mainstream media exposure, sociocultural relationship scripts, and IPV acceptance among Black adolescents. In Study 1, survey data were collected from 450 Black adolescents (aged 15-19) to examine CML as a moderator of the mediated associations between mainstream media exposure (i.e., television viewing and music video viewing), three racial and gender ideologies (i.e., sexual objectification, traditional gender roles, and the Jezebel and Sapphire stereotypes about Black women), and IPV acceptance. Findings from nine moderated mediation models showed that while CML scores did moderate higher media exposure as a predictor of sexual objectification and traditional gender roles, which in turn predicted higher IPV acceptance, counter to the hypothesized direction, average and high CML scores strengthened these associations. These results suggest that critical viewing alone may not shield the effects of media exposure without additional intervention. In Study 2, semi-structured interview data were collected from 10 Black American adolescent girls ages 17-19 to explore how media exposure may interact with their relationship scripts and IPV attitudes. Reflexive thematic analyses produced five themes: mothers provide direct relationship advice and preferences to their daughters; contemporary relationship scripts are less traditional and more egalitarian; scripted media are sources of consternation and beloved relationship models; peer relationships with controlling behaviors are commonplace; and Black women are targeted and blamed for abuse. These data indicate that the participants are aware that racial stereotypes about Black women shape IPV attitudes toward their victimization. The participants also rejected victim-blaming messages and embraced egalitarian relationship scripts. These results contribute to efforts to understand how media literacy education may be leveraged as an anti-violence strategy. Further, this project advances scholarship on sexual script negotiation and societal perceptions of Black womanhood among Black adolescent girls.