Emotional abuse and psychological well-being of college students

Catherine S. Homoroc, Maria Erika N. Lauta & Livien U. Ciabal

Volume 2 Issue 3, September 2022

Abstract

Emotional abused is said to be hard to detect because of its covert nature, but it can cause in developing different psychological problems in later life. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the emotional abuse and the psychological well-being of select college students, specifically those who are enrolled in one of the state universities in Laguna, Philippines. An online survey was distributed through social media platforms comprising 205 respondents, 60 males and 145 females. The findings showed that the level of emotional abuse of respondents as to aggressing, denying, and minimizing are moderate levels while the psychological well-being as to autonomy, environmental mastery, and positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance all with moderate level but personal growth has a high level. Furthermore, test of relationship showed that age is positively correlated to the aggressing and minimizing as well as autonomy, personal growth, and positive relations. All variables of emotional abuse (aggressing, denying, and minimizing) are positively correlated to all indicators of psychological well-being (autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance). Further studies are encouraged to identify the other causes of emotional abuse and its preventative measures, and other factors that affect the psychological well-being of students.

Keywords

Author information & Contribution

Disclosure statement

Funding

Institutional Review Board Statement

AI Declaration

Notes

Acknowledgement

References

Bangalan, S. G. (2013). Emotional Abuse and Depressive Symptoms Among Selected Freshmen High School Students: The Mediating Role of Maladaptive Schemas. Manila: University of Santo Tomas

Brotheridge, C.M. and Lee, R.T. (2010). “Restless and confused: Emotional responses to workplace bullying in men and women”, Career Development International, Vol. 15 No. 7, pp. 687-707. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620431011094087

Brown, R. & Ward, H. (2014). Cumulative jeopardy: How professional responses to evidence of abuse and neglect further jeopardise children’s life chances by being out of kilter with timeframes for early childhood development. Children and Youth Services Review, 47, 260–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.09.017

Dutra-Thomé, L., Marques, L. F., Seidl-de-Moura, M. L., De Oliveira Ramos, D., & Koller, S. (2019). Autonomy Development: Gender and Age Differences from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood. Acta de Investigación Psicológica, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2019.2.259

Fang X, Fry DA, Ji K, Finkelhor D, Chen J, Lannen P, Dunne MP. (2015). The burden of child maltreatment in China: A systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 93: 176-85C

Finkelhor, D. (2012). Characteristics of crimes against juveniles. Durham, NH: Crimes

Ford, B. Q., Lam, P., John, O. P., & Mauss, I. B. (2018). The psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts: Laboratory, diary, and longitudinal evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(6), 1075–1092. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000157

Foster, R. H., Olson-Dorff, D., Reiland, H. M., & Budzak-Garza, A. (2017). Commitment, confidence, and concerns: Assessing health care professionals’ child maltreatment reporting attitudes. Child Abuse and Neglect, 67, 54-63.

Fox, C. B. (2022, May 15). What Is Psychological Well-Being? (with pictures). The Health Board. https://www.thehealthboard.com/what-is-psychological-well-being.htm

‌Gino, F., Wilmuth, C. A., & Brooks, A. W. (2015). Compared to men, women view professional advancement as equally attainable, but less desirable. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(40), 12354-12359

Goodwin, J. (2012). HealthDay. Mental Abuse of Kids Leaves Lifelong Scars. US News & World Report; U.S. News & World Report.

Gordon, S. (2020, September 17). How to Identify and Cope with Emotional Abuse. Verywell Mind.

Holly, K. (2012). Effects of Verbal Abuse on Children, Women and Men. Health Place America’s Mental health Channel. https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/verbal- abuse/effects-of-verbal-abuse-on-children-women-and-men.

Krause, E. D., Mendelson, T., & Lynch, T. R. (2003). Childhood emotional invalidation and adult psychological distress: the mediating role of emotional inhibition. Child abuse & neglect, 27(2), 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0145-2134(02)00536-7

McMaster University. (2013, March 26). Women make better decisions than men, study suggests. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326101616.html

Moylan, C. A., Herrenkohl, T. I., Sousa, C., Tajima, E.A., Herrenkohl, R. C., & Russo, M. J. (2010). The effects of child abuse and exposure to domestic violence on adolescent internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Journal Of Family Violence, 25(1), 53-63.

Nezlek, J. B., Wesselmann, E. D., Wheeler, L., & Williams, K. D. (2012). Ostracism in everyday life. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 16(2), 91.

Robertson, I. (2018, December 16). What is psychological wellbeing? Robertson Cooper. https://www.robertsoncooper.com/blog/what-is-psychological-wellbeing/

Royse, D. (2016) Emotional abuse of children: essential information. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315736402/emotional-abuse-children-david-royse

Ryff, C., & Keyes, C. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727.

Ryff, C. (2021). Carol Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-Being. (2021, October 26). The Corner of Excellence. https://www.thecornerofexcellence.com/en/carol-ryff-model-of-psychological-well-being/

Sasson, R. (n.d.). What Is Personal Growth and Why You Need It. https://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/personal-development/what-is-personal-growth/

Shenk, C. E., & Fruzzetti, A. E. (2011). The Impact of Validating and Invalidating Responses on Emotional Reactivity. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(2), 163–183. doi:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.2.163

Slep, A. M. S., Heyman, R. E., & Snarr, J. D. (2011). Child emotional aggression and abuse: Definitions and prevalence. Child Abuse & Neglect. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.07.002

Tanaka, M., Wekerle, C., Schmuck, M. L., & Paglia-Boak, A. (2011). The linkages among childhood maltreatment, adolescent mental health, and self-compassion in child welfare adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(10), 887–898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.07.003

Tian, C. (2018, December 28). This Is Why Parents Should Stop Comparing Their Child to Other Kids. Parenting.firstcry.com. https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/why-should-parents-stop-comparing-their-child-to-others/

Toyama, M., Fuller, H. R., & Hektner, J. M. (2019). Psychosocial Factors Promoting Personal Growth Throughout Adulthood. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00155-1

Tracy, N. (2019). StackPath. Healthyplace.com. https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/emotional-psychological-abuse/emotional-bullying-and-how-to-deal-with-an-emotional-bully

Ullah, F. (2017). Personality factors as determinants of psychological well-being among university students. Int. J. Indian Psychol, 4, 5-16.

UNICEF (2016). Baseline Study on Violence against Children.

Wahyuni, H., Riyanto, Y., & Atmadja, I. K. (2019, December). The Impacts of Verbal Violence by Family Members on Children’s Social Emotional Aspects. In 3rd International Conference on Education Innovation (ICEI 2019) (pp. 74-78). Atlantis Press, 2019

Whealin, J. (2007, May 22). “Child Sexual Abuse”. National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, US Department of Veterans Affairs.

World Health Organization (2019, June 7). Violence against children. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children

Cite this article:

Homoroc, C.S., Lauta, M.N. & Ciabal, L.U. (2022). Emotional abuse and psychological well-being of college students. International Review of Social Sciences Research, 2(3), 105–123. https://doi.org/10.53378/352924