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

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.

Relational aggression in romantic relationship: empirical evidence among young female adults in Malaysia

“…Then, convenience sampling was used to select a study sample from the population to get a sufficient sample from each state where an advertisement was posted in social media. Inclusion criteria: [ 1 ] participants must be Malaysian; [ 2 ] female participants aged between 18 to 30 years old only; [ 3 ] currently in a romantic relationship for more than 3 months; [ 4 ] must answer all questions in relation to the most recent partner or romantic relationship; [ 5 ] informed and voluntary participation in the study. The study sample for this research consists of different races, occupation, and education background so that they will have equal opportunity to be selected as a respondent.…”

“…Physical aggression involves intentionally using physical force to hurt the partner, ranging from mild actions like pushing to severe violence like choking, slapping or weapon use [ 4 ]. Emotional abuse is also a common form of abuse in romantic relationships [ 5 ]. The online dating scam is another alarming form of dating violence that can result in financial loss and severe emotional and psychological suffering ( 6 – 7 ).…”