Introduction

    Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most challenging issues in our society. Most studies in IPV have focused on marital relationships; however, over the last decades, a growing interest arose around teen dating violence (TDV) \cite{Shorey2013}. This type of violence presents certain peculiarities. First, in TDV it is uncommon for the couple to cohabitate, to have children, or to be financially independent of their partner, elements commonly used to manipulate the victim in IPV \cite{Arenas-Arroyo2021,Postmus2020}. Second, TDV has been described as bidirectional, that is, both members of the couple receive and perpetrate abusive behaviors \cite{Spencer2020}.  Reciprocity in TDV requires special attention, as it may reflect the normalization of abuse within romantic relationships. Although TDV has been described as a predictor of marital violence, it is unclear what produces TDV \cite{Borges_2020}, but the acceptance of the myths of romantic love may play a key role in its development.
    TDV is estimated to affect around 20% of adolescents \cite{Tomaszewska2021}, but numbers could be higher due to a number of reasons. Since TDV has been equated to IPV, research has focused on women as victims. As a result, little is known about how TDV affects young boys. Although most research on TDV supports that women represent the largest proportion of victims, evidence suggests that men also experience abuse in teen dating relationships. Some studies in the Anglo-Western context have analyzed the role of men and women as victims and as perpetrators\cite{Kaura2004}. However, it has been less explored in other countries such as Spain. Second, psychological and relational violence are the most common types of abuse in TDV, but they are difficult for victims to recognize as abuse. Adolescents are aware of IPV and can recognize it, but only when it involves physical violence. Conversely, when composed of covert forms of abuse (i.e., economic abuse, control, psychological), their ability diminishes \cite{m2003}. The lack of formal knowledge of violence in intimate relationships leads to distorted beliefs based on stereotypes (i.e., “only women suffer abuse,” “sexual violence within a relationship does not exist”,” there is no violence without physical aggression”). Therefore, not experiencing prototypical forms of violence could hinder self-labeling as a victim and thus reporting the abuse \cite{Hamby2000}. Minimizing the severity of abuse within intimate relationships has been associated with a greater idealization of the myths of romantic love \cite{Mart_n_Salvador_2021}.
    Myths are a set of socially shared beliefs about the true nature of love, including the existence of a soulmate, the omnipotence of love, or the idea that love engenders pain, suffering, and sacrifice \cite{Cubells_Serra_2021}. These myths are consistent with the media representation of romantic love, where tragedy, pain, and the abnegation for the loved one are idealized, promoting the romanticization of tempestuous relationships \cite{Standley_2022}. For example, 40% of adolescents consider jealousy a proof of love, and 70% believe that love and maltreatment are compatible \cite{mujeres2011}. The acceptance of the myths of romantic love may lead to a higher tolerance of covert abuse (e.g., controlling behavior, verbal abuse, isolation), as adolescents interpret them as demonstrations of love instead of violence. For instance, one in three adolescents consider it is inevitable to control their partner’s time under certain circumstances and to impede them from seeing their friends and family \cite{gnero2015}.
    The idealization of romantic love has been associated with a greater difficulty in recognizing abusive experiences. Hamby and Gray-Little (2000) found that women victims of IPV recognized abuse in other relationships, but not on their own. Similarly, the National Survey on Violence Against Women \cite{2021} distinguished between technical abuse (i.e., detected by objective indicators) and self-declared abuse (i.e., described by the victim). The results indicated that while 9.6% of women were classified as victims according to technical indicators, only 3.6% labeled themselves as victims. The relationship between the myths of romantic love and the commission of abusive behavior has been thoroughly explored. However, less is known about the relationship between the myths and greater acceptance of abusive behavior, as it may reflect the normalization of certain types of violence.
    This paper aimed to explore the association between the acceptance of the myths and TDV (committed and experienced). It was hypothesized that because the origin of distorted beliefs about romantic relationships lies in socialization, the myths equally affect boys and girls, promoting toxic relational models where covert abuse is justified by the mythification of romantic love.