Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence, Core Self-Evaluations, and Psychological Adaptation of Chinese Adolescents

Tao Li,Che Tong Nah,Fei Feng

doi:10.32604/ijmhp.2021.014433

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the link between the exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), core self-evaluations (CSE), and psychological adaptation of Chinese adolescents, through analysis of the results from the Survey of Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, Core Self-Evaluations Scale, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, involving a total of 597 Chinese middle school students. It is indicated that the exposure to IPV is positively correlated with lower levels of psychological adaptation and CSE, and CSE is positively correlated with higher levels of psychological adaptation. Mediation analysis revealed that CSE partially mediated the association between the exposure to IPV and psychological adaptation. These results suggest that educators and parents should help adolescents tackle their emotional and behavioral problems by reducing the risk of IPV exposure and increasing their CSE.

Highlights

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to the aggressive or controlling behaviors between partners or spouses who are or used to be in an intimate relationship [1]
Based on the cognitive-contextual framework and previous studies, this study proposes hypotheses as follows: H1: IPV is positively correlated with psychological adaptation problems, and negatively correlated with core self-evaluations (CSE); H2: CSE is negatively related to psychological adaptation problems; H3: CSE plays a mediating role in the relationship between the exposure to IPV and psychological adaptation problems
3.2 The Differences of the Exposure to IPV, CSE, and Psychological Adaptation among Different Types of Adolescents As indicated by Tabs. 2 and 3, adolescents of different genders do not differ in the exposure to IPV and psychological adaptation, but significantly differ in CSE

Summary

Introduction

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to the aggressive or controlling behaviors between partners or spouses who are or used to be in an intimate relationship [1]. These behaviors include physical attacks (such as pushing, assault, and beating), mental violence (such as intimidation, repeated humiliation, etc.), and sexual violence [2]. According to a survey in Hong Kong, China, 26% of children have witnessed their parents being physically assaulted by the spouses or domestic partners, and 73.2% of children have witnessed their parents being subjected to mental violence [6]. IPV puts children in a disadvantageous family environment, triggers children’s negative

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