Effects of Psychosocial Factors towards Emotional Abuse among University Students Who Have Been in Romantic Relationships

Pengaruh Faktor Psikososial terhadap Penderaan Emosi dalam Kalangan Pelajar Universiti yang Pernah Menjalinkan Hubungan Romantik

Authors

  • Ch’ng Wen Huey Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, MALAYSIA
  • Amiza Azwani Abdul Aziz Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, MALAYSIA
  • Suzana Mohd Hoesni Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, MALAYSIA
  • Muhammad Ajib Abd Razak Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, MALAYSIA
  • Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin Pusat Kajian Psikologi dan Kesejahteraan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, MALAYSIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37134/ejoss.vol7.2.10.2021

Keywords:

parenting styles, romantic relationship, loneliness, emotional abuse, big five personality traits

Abstract

Emotional abuse is coercive control and expressive aggressive behaviour which involve degrading behaviour such as insults and name-calling between two parties. The issue of emotional abuse in romantic relationship was studied due to limited existing studies and there is a lack of evidence on the occurrence of emotional abuse among students especially in local contexts. This study was conducted to examine the effects of psychosocial factors (five-factor personality traits, loneliness and parenting style) towards emotional abuse among university students in Malaysia who have been in romantic relationships for at least three months. The data of this study was collected through a quantitative method using survey approach. Malay version of Emotional Abuse Quenstionnaire, Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and Scale of Parenting Style were used in this study. A total number of 273 university students had participated in this study. Multiple linear analysis was used to identify the effects of psychosocial factors on emotional abuse. The results showed that the prevalence of university students in Malaysia experiencing emotional abuse is still at low level. Regression analysis showed that two psychosocial factors, conscientiousness personality trait and responsive parenting style had significant relationships with emotional abuse. The results of this study are significant in understanding the underlying psychosocial factors for emotional abuse. Such understanding is vital to inculcate awareness which act as proactive measures in avoiding oneself from being an emotional abuse victim.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acquah, E. O., Topalli, P. Z., Wilson, M. L., Junttila, N. & Niemi, P. M. (2016). Adolescent loneliness and social anxiety as predictors of bullying victimisation. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 21(3), 320–331.

Amponsah-Tawiah, K. & Annor, F. (2017). Do Personality and Organizational Politics Predict Workplace Victimization? A Study among Ghanaian Employees. Safety and health at work, 8(1), 72–76.

Arias, I. & Pape, K. T. (1999). Psychological abuse: implications for adjustment and commitment to leave violent partners. Violence and victims, 14(1), 55–67.

Abowitz, D. A., Knox, D., & Zusman, M. (2010). Emotional Abuse Among Undergraduates in Romantic Relationships. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 36 (2),117-138.

Abdul Adib, A., Agnis, S., & Lailawati, M. E. (2017). Penerimaan Gaya Keibubapaan Dalam Kalangan Remaja Dan Kesannya Terhadap Perkembangan Kecerdasan Emosi. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 31(2), 78 – 89.

Başoğlu, E. (2019). The Role of Child Abuse and Gender on Loneliness Among University Students. Doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University

Baumrind D. (1989). Rearing competent children. In: Damon W, ed. Child Development Today and Tomorrow, 349 –378.

Baumrind, D. (1991). Effective parenting during the early adolescent transition. Family transitions, 2(1), 1.

Black, M., Basile, K., Breiding, M., Smith, S., Walters, M., Merrick, M., Chen, J. & Stevens, M. (2011). National intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report.

Brodski, S.K. & Hutz, C.S. (2012). The Repercussions of Emotional Abuse and Parenting Styles on Self-Esteem, Subjective Well-Being: A Retrospective Study with University Students in Brazil. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21(3), 256–276.

Brown, S., Fite, P. J., Stone, K. & Bortolato, M. (2016). Accounting for the associations between child maltreatment and internalizing problems: The role of alexithymia. Child Abuse & Neglect, 52, 20–28.

Carlson, B. (1987). Dating violence: A research review and comparison with spouse abuse. Social Casework: The Journal of Contemporary Social Work, 68, 16–23.

Chamberland, C., Fallon, B., Black, T. & Trocmé, N. (2011). Emotional maltreatment in Canada: Prevalence, reporting and child welfare responses (CIS2). Child abuse & neglect, 35(10), 841–854.

Chen, C. & Qin, J. (2019). Emotional Abuse and Adolescents’ Social Anxiety: The Roles of Self-Esteem and Loneliness. Journal of Family Violence, 1-11.

Chen, X., Chen, S., Qiu, S., Deng, X., & Tan, X. (2017). Association between Emotional Abuses and Mental Disorder in Women: A Web-based Internet Survey in Southern China. Occup Med Health Aff, 5(2), 263.

Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological bulletin, 113(3), 487-496.

Dwan, T. & Ownsworth, T. (2019). The Big Five personality factors and psychological well-being following stroke: a systematic review. Disability and rehabilitation, 41(10), 1119–1130.

Faizah, A. G., Siti Soraya, L. A. K., & Abd Aziz, A. (2014). The Implication of Parenting Styles on the Akhlak of Muslim Teenagers in the South of Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 114, 761-765.

Gafor, A & Kurukkan, A. (2014). Construction and Validation of Scale of Parenting Style. Online Submission, 2(4), 315–323.

Gierveld, J. de J. (1998). A review of loneliness: concept and definitions, determinants, and consequences. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 8(1), 73–80.

Glasø, L., Matthiesen, S. B., Nielsen, M.B. & Einarsen, S. (2007). Do targets of workplace bullying portray a general victim personality profile? Scandinavian journal of psychology, 48(4), 313–319.

Goldsmith, R. & Freyd, J. (2005). Awareness for Emotional Abuse. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 5(1), 95–123.

Gómez-Ortiz, O., Romera, E. M. & Ortega-Ruiz, R. (2016). Parenting styles and bullying. The mediating role of parental psychological aggression and physical punishment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 132–143.

Harned, M. S. (2002). A multivariate analysis of risk markers for dating violence victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(11), 1179–1197.

Hart, S. N., Brassard, M. R., & Karlson, H. C. (1996). Psychological maltreatment. In J. Briere, L. Berliner, J. A. Bulkley, C. Jenny, & T. Reid (Eds.), The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children handbook on child maltreatment, 72-89.

Holt, M. & Espelage, D. (2007). Perceived Social Support among Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 984–994.

Hovens, J.G.F.M., Giltay, E. J., van Hemert, A. M. & Penninx, B.W.J.H. (2016). Childhood Maltreatment and The Course of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders: The Contribution of Personality Characteristics. Depression and anxiety, 33(1), 27–34.

Jacobson, N. S., & Gottman, J. M. (1998). When men batter women: new insights into ending abusive relationships. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Jones, W. H. (1982). Loneliness and social behavior. Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy. New York: Wiley.

Karakurt, G. & Silver, K. E. (2013). Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: the role of gender and age. Violence and victims, 28(5), 804–821.

Kent, A. & Waller, G. (1998). The impact of childhood emotional abuse: An extension of the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22(5), 393-399.

Lukaszewski, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent- child interaction. Handbook of child psychology. New York: Wiley.

Martínez, I., Murgui, S., Garcia, O.F. & Garcia, F. (2019). Parenting in the digital era: Protective and risk parenting styles for traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 84–92.

Meinck, F., Cluver, L. D., Boyes, M. E. & Loening-Voysey, H. (2016). Physical, emotional and sexual adolescent abuse victimisation in South Africa: prevalence, incidence, perpetrators and locations. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 70(9), 910–916.

Milam, A. C., Spitzmueller, C. & Penney, L. M. (2009). Investigating individual differences among targets of workplace incivility. Journal of occupational health psychology, 14(1), 58–69.

Motevaliyan, S. M., Nor Yaacob, S., Juhari, R., Mansor, M. & Baratvand, M. (2014). Personality trets and severity of wife abuse among Iranian women. Asian Social Science, 10(7), 234–241.

Muñiz-Rivas, M., Vera, M. & Povedano, A. (2019). Parental Style, Dating Violence and Gender. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), 2722.

Norris, C. J., Larsen, J. T. & Cacioppo, J.T. (2007). Neuroticism is associated with larger and more prolonged electrodermal responses to emotionally evocative pictures. Psychophysiology, 44(5), 823–826.

Nooraini, O., & Salasiha, K. (2013). Explorasi Hubungan Antara Personaliti Islamik dan Gaya Keibubapaan. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 4, 49-57.

Noradilah, MD. N., & Mansur, A. T. (2009). Kesunyian dan Kesejahteraan Psikologi di Kalangan Pelajar Universiti di Malaysia. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 23, 27-37.

Office of Women’s Health. Emotional and verbal abuse. https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/other-types/emotional-and-verbal-abuse.

Pallesen, S., Nielsen, M. B., Magerøy, N., Andreassen, C. S. & Einarsen, S. (2017). An Experimental Study on the Attribution of Personality Trets to Bullies and Targets in a Workplace Setting. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1045.

Perron, J. L., Cleverley, K. & Kidd, S. A. (2014). Resilience, loneliness, and psychological distress among homeless youth. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 28(4), 226–229.

Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of research in Personality, 41(1), 203-212.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Organizational Behavior (15th ed.). United of America: Prentice Hall.

Russell, D., Peplau, L. A. & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(9), 472-480.

Soto, C. (2018). Big Five Personality Trets. The SAGE encyclopedia of lifespan human development. United Kingdom: Sage Publications.

Stark, S. (2015). Psychology and Behavioral Health (4th ed.). Canada: Grey House Publishing.

Ulloa, E. C., Hammett, J.F., O’Neal, D. N., Lydston, E. E. & Leon Aramburo, L.F. (2016). The Big Five Personality Trets and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from a Large, Nationally Representative Sample. Violence and victims, 31(6), 1100–1115.

Vidourek, R. A. (2017). Emotional Abuse: Correlates to Abuse Among College Students. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 26(7), 792–803.

Vizzotto A. D. B., de Oliveira A. M., Elkis H., Cordeiro Q., Buchain P. C. (2013). Psychosocial Characteristics. New York: Springer Publications.

WAO. Mental abuse form most common suffer by women. Women's Aid Organisation. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/03/08/wao-mental-abuse-most-common-form-suffered-by-women/

World Health Organization. (2012). Intimate partner violence. World Health Organisation. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77432/WHO_RHR_12.36_eng.pdf;jsessionid=8DCE5460E9A68321445021B62C4C4317?sequence=1

Zaiton, Balan, R., Getrude, C. A. G., & Nazmi, L. (2015). Relationship Anxiety, Emotional Intelligence and Self Appreciation Towards the loneliness of Rural Students in Higher Education Institutions. Journal of social sciences and humanities, 10(2), 057-069.

Zulkufli, I. (2019). Kesunyian dan ekstraversi: kajian kes instrumental tentang personaliti mangsa jenayah cinta siber di Ibu Pejabat Polis Petaling Jaya, Selangor. International Journal of Social Policy and Society, 15, 130-143.

Published

2021-09-11

How to Cite

Wen Huey, C., Abdul Aziz, A. A., Mohd Hoesni, S., Abd Razak, M. A., & Kamaluddin, M. R. (2021). Effects of Psychosocial Factors towards Emotional Abuse among University Students Who Have Been in Romantic Relationships: Pengaruh Faktor Psikososial terhadap Penderaan Emosi dalam Kalangan Pelajar Universiti yang Pernah Menjalinkan Hubungan Romantik. EDUCATUM Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.37134/ejoss.vol7.2.10.2021