Emotional Abuse and Psychological Well Being of College Students

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.


About the authors:
1 Student.Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Laguna State Polytechnic University, San Pablo City Campus. 2 Instructor, Laguna State Polytechnic University -San Pablo City Campus

Introduction
In the Philippines, punishment among children is a kind of discipline that is believed to help them be a better person in the future.Aside from the corporal, the verbal punishment is also seen as a way to instill discipline during childhood.At early life stages, if this happens, it leaves marks within a child's mind but still it would be interpreted as discipline.However, if this happens too frequent and already causes deep marks then, may be a child is already experiencing what is called emotional abuse.One of the hardest forms of abuse to recognize is emotional abuse (Gordon, 2020).It can be insidious and quiet, or deceptive and explicit.Either way, it chips away at the victim's self-esteem and they begin to question their perceptions and reality.It was also stress that by discrediting, isolating, and silencing, the underlying aim of emotional violence is to manipulate the victim.
The majority of parents and caregivers are unaware of emotional abuse and its devastating consequences (Al-Shail, et al., 2012;Hart & Glaser, 2011;Palusci & Ondersma, 2012).This explains why child maltreatment is a universal problem that can have negative long-lasting effects on the psychological well-being of children (Altafim & Linhares, 2016;Usakli, 2012).Despite this, existing research indicates that emotional abuse is the most common form of abuse (Foster et al., 2017).According to Nezlek et al. (2012), people who regularly feel ignored also report lower levels of self-esteem, belonging, and meaning in their lives.The emotional violence was discovered to be associated to high school college students growing depressive signs leading to developing introversion and missing self-control (Bangalan, 2013).Similarly, Tanaka et al. (2011) found that emotional abuse in childhood was uniquely linked with lower self-compassion in late adolescence.In addition, according to Fang et al. (2015), 26 percentage of self-harming behaviours amongst guys and 28 percentage amongst girls have been attributed to emotional violence at some stage in adolescence.
According to Slep et al. (2011), child age is one of the factors that does not significantly predict the parent-child emotional aggression or child emotional abuse.This is reflected in the study of Krause et al. (2003) indicating that a history of emotion invalidation was (i.e., a history of childhood psychological abuse and parental punishment, minimization, and distress in response to negative emotion) significantly associated with emotion inhibition.Further, emotion inhibition significantly predicted psychological distress, including depression and anxiety symptoms.Hence, Tracy (2012) explains that emotional bullying can have negative effects on a person's mental health.As such, victims frequently experience feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and fear.In effect, the presence of belittlement and work being undermined were present at the workplace (Brotheridge & Lee, 2010).
With these premises, this study aimed to assess the effects of the emotional abuse to the psychological well-being of university students in the Philippines.Psychological well-being refers to "inter-and intra-individual levels of positive functioning that can include one's relationship with others and self-referential attitudes that include one's sense of mastery and personal growth" (Burns, 2017).Robertson (2018) characterizes psychological well-being as pleasant mental states like happiness or satisfaction, and subtle distinctions between these phrases aren't necessary or beneficial in many cases.In this research, the model created by Carol Ryff (1995) was used to determine the level of the respondents' well-being at the current state.

Emotional Abuse
According to the University of Tennessee (n.d.), there are three forms of emotional abuse: aggressing, denying, and minimizing.Aggressing is aggressive styles of abuse consisting of callcalling, accusing, blaming, threatening, and ordering.Aggressing behaviors are usually direct and apparent.Denying, on the other hand, is about invalidating that seeks to distort or undermine the recipient's perceptions in their world.Invalidating takes place whilst the abuser refuses or fails to well-known reality.It also has two sub-forms; withholding that is occasionally known as "silent treatment", and countering which denies any viewpoints or emotions which range from their very own.Moreover, denying is much less form of denial; the abuser might not deny that a selected occasion occurred, however, they query the recipient's emotional revel in or response to an occasion.It also has a sub-form which is trivializing that means the abuser shows what got completed or communicated is inconsequential or unimportant.
Emotional abuse essentially involves a failure on the part of a parent or caregiver in the provision of basic psychological and emotional necessities which includes affection, love, family support and encouragement which in turn is detrimental to the child's development (Brown & Ward, 2014).In addition, parents and caretakers who show rejecting attitudes towards their children most at times unconsciously allow them to know, that the child is unwanted by been dismissive of the child's importance (Moylan et al., 2010).The National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children withinside the Philippines showed that this type of abuse is prevalent in the Philippines.Based on the study, the lifetime occurrence of mental violence at some stage in adolescence become predicted at 59.2 percentage.
According to the World Health Organization (2016), psychological abuse in opposition to kids has been allocated even much less interest globally than bodily and sexual abuse.Cultural elements seem strong to steer the non-bodily strategies that mother and father pick to field their kids, a number of which appeared through human beings from different cultural backgrounds as psychologically harmful.Emotional abuse is about one person maintaining power or control over another person (Health Direct, n.d.).It frequently occurs between intimate couples or between parents and children.It can also occur in settings like schools or businesses.The study of Finkelhor (2012) found that approximately 90% of children who experienced abuse know their abuser, and about 30% of those children were abused by a family member (Whealin, 2007).
The study of Wahyuni et. al. (2019) showed that one of the verbal violence being experienced at home was children being compared with objects or to other children.As to Goodwin (2012), "constantly belittling, threatening or ignoring children can be as damaging to their mental health as physical or sexual abuse."Parents compare their children to other kids with the intention of motivating them to excel (Tian, 2018).However, comparing a child with other kids can result to an opposite effect, and they may feel hurt and have a low self-esteem.It also causes deep-set emotional bruises which are difficult to heal and can result in aggression, antagonism, and resentment.
Calleja and Restubog, (2011) explored the styles of verbally violent behavior utilized by fathers and mothers, which the maximum common shape become put-downs and shaming, observed via way of means of rejection.Other kinds of parental verbal violence encompass blaming, fault exaggeration, threat, invoking harm, regret, an unfair comparison, and terrible prediction.As a result, abuse can have a harmful impact on a person not only in the moment, but also over the course of their lives (Tuscic et al., 2012).This explains why, parents or caretakers who experienced emotional abuse as children may believe it is the usual and hence fail to recognize that they are emotionally abusing their own children (Royse, 2016).
According to Chitiyo et al. (2019), the psychological impacts of maltreatment on a child's well-being might vary depending on the type of abuse.For instance, Nezlek et al. (2012) found that people who regularly feel ignored also report lower levels of self-esteem, belonging, and meaning in their lives while Hornor (2012) found that children subjected to emotional abuse then loses access to protective elements such as healthy relationships, friends, or other family members, major negative results are quite likely.Hence, children who have been abused are more likely to develop melancholy, anxiety, stress-related disorders, and post-traumatic disorders (Lambie, 2005;Tillman et al., 2015;Usakli, 2012).Similarly, emotional violence has been associated to high school and college students growing depressive signs consisting of turning into an introvert and missing self-control (Bangalan, 2013).Burns (2019) found that emotional abuse was the strongest predictor of emotion dysregulation.Shenk and Fruzzetti (2011) found that invalidated responses result to an increased emotional reactivity during a stressful situation.

Psychological Well Being
Psychological well-being pertains to pleasant mental states like happiness or satisfaction, and subtle distinctions between these phrases aren't necessary or beneficial in many cases (Robertson, 2018).Psychologically healthy people are free of mental illnesses and have learned to control their stress so that it does not interfere with their capacity to enjoy life and contribute to society.Though most people's lives have periods when they are not mentally or emotionally at their best, being in a condition of psychological well-being means that they can effectively deal with their difficulties.This state of being also has an impact on one's physical health (Fox, 2022).
On the factors affecting psychological well-being, Kumcagiz and Gündüz (2016) perceived economic status has an influence on psychological well-being, as well as academic achievement has a positive correlation to the psychological wellbeing of a person.Moreover, personality factors such as neuroticism, contentiousness, openness, and extraversion, turns out to be significant predictors of psychological wellbeing (Ullah, 2017).
Caroll Ryff (1995), known for her psychological well-being and psychological resilience studies, developed one of the first comprehensive theories of psychological well-being and a questionnaire to score each factor.Her concept of psychological well-being has elements that are linked to increased subjective well-being and life satisfaction.The "Six-Factor Model of Psychological Well-being" determines six factors that contribute to an individual's psychological well-being, contentment, and happiness.As identified by Ryff and Keyes (2021), the following are the dimensions of the six dimensions.
Self-acceptance means to have a realistic perception of the self, including both good and bad qualities, and still be able to accept oneself.High scorers in this dimension suggests that the person has a positive demeanor toward the self, recognizes and acknowledges different viewpoints Positive relations with others includes the warm, caring relationships with others, and the capability to develop intimacy and show empathy with others.High scorers are considered having warm, fulfilling, trusting connections with others, concerned almost the welfare of others, able of solid compassion, warmth, and closeness and provide and take human relationships.On the other hand, low scorers have few near, trusting connections with others, find it troublesome to be warm, open, and concerned around others, separated and disappointed in interpersonal connections and not willing to form compromises to maintain critical ties with others.
Autonomy pertains to the ability to make one's own decisions without relying on, or waiting for, the approval of other and the ability to measure oneself according to one's own beliefs and not the beliefs of others.High scorers are self-determining and free, able to stand up to social weights to think and act in certain ways, direct behavior from inside, and assess self by individual standards.Meanwhile, low scorers concerned approximately the desires and assessments of others, depend on judgments of others to form imperative choices and adjust to social weights to think and act in certain ways.
Environmental mastery refers to the ability to manage the environment and to mould environments, or to choose environments, which align with one's needs and values.For high scorers, they are considered having a sense of authority and competence in overseeing the environment, control complex cluster of outside exercises, make viable utilization of encompassing openings, and able to select or make settings reasonable to individual needs and values.Low scorers have trouble overseeing regular undertakings, feel incapable to alter or move forward encompassing setting, unconscious of encompassing openings and need sense of control over outside world.
Purpose in life relates to having goals in life and a sense that one's life has purpose and meaning and living intentionally and with clear direction.High scorers have objectives in life and a sense of directedness, feel there's meaning to show and past life, hold convictions that grant life reason and have points and goals for living while low scorers lack a sense of meaning in life, have  2010) that as a person grows older, they get happier, less stressed, and have a greater psychological well-being.The results showed that increased 'wisdom' and emotional intelligence in older adults has a greater ability to self-regulate their emotions.Similarly, Toyama et al. (2019) suggest positive connections between age and higher personal growth.Lavis (2016) explains that as children develop, their capacity to create and maintain connectionsbe that with peers, guardians, instructors etc. is significant.Moreover, there is an increased thought process for emotional harmony, older people are particularly likely to incline toward reliable people and such.As to gender, Gino et al. (2015) found that women have more life goals than men and tend to have "improving mindset" as they age.Dermott (2019) describes ladies that utilize other people's opinions to assist make their own decision, while men use other people's decisions to assist them form their own opinion.As such, McMaster University (2013) found women better decision makers than men.

Methodology
In determining the relationship between emotional abuse and psychological well-being, a descriptive correlation design was utilized.It refers to a sort of study in which data is gathered without the study subject being changed.This study is descriptive in nature since it deals with the investigation of the emotional abuse of university students.In addition, it is correlational in nature since it correlated emotional abuse and psychological well-being of the students.The correlational design study is the key to understand the kinds of relationships between the two naturally occurring variables.Correlational research design is the way to figure out if the two variables are related to each other and in what way are they related.
The participants of the study were 205 university students currently enrolled in a government-owned university in Laguna, Philippines.The participants were selected through purposive sampling technique employed using a pre-survey to select students who experienced emotional abuse.After the pre-survey, 60 males and 145 females, aged between 18-25 years old served as the study participants.
The instruments used was a researcher-made questionnaire along with adapted Psychological Well Being (PWB) questionnaire to correlate the variables to each other.Demographic characteristics such as sex, age, number of siblings, parent's marital status, and source of abuse were collected.The survey form was encoded in Google form and distributed online.The questionnaire includes a confidentiality clause for the assurance of students' anonymity, giving them authority on the privacy concerns with ease on answering questions truthfully.
There were two research instruments used: survey tool on emotional abuse (researchermade) and psychological wellbeing scale (adapted from Ryff and Keyes).The instruments were pilot tested for internal consistency.Internal consistency is a metric based on correlations between test items (or the same subscale on a larger test).It determines whether many items claiming to measure the same general construct yield similar results.Results showed an internal consistency of 0.098 for emotional abuse questionnaire and 0.746 for psychological well-being, which was interpreted having a high level of internal consistency.Both tests were evaluated and validated by the professionals in the field of study and human behavior.
The gathered data were summarized and analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as frequency count, percentage distribution, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation.Similarly, to test the significant relationship among variables being considered, Pearson Product Moment of Correlation coefficient, or Pearson-r, was also administered.In addition to the primary data, the researchers relied on the secondary resources to back up the findings of the study.Thereupon, the conclusion and recommendation about the study were made.In terms of emotional abuse, the result implies that the respondents felt abused from time to time caused by either name calling, accusing, blaming, threatening, and ordering may be from their homes or within the community itself.They suffer from abusers failing to acknowledge the reality at some degree and their emotional response to a certain topic were sometimes being questioned by other people.As explained by Wahyuni et al. (2019), one of the verbal violence being experienced at home was being compared with objects or to other children although the intention is to motivate them (Tian, 2018).Although parents and caretakers who show rejecting attitudes towards their children most at times are unconscious (Moylan et al., 2010), it adds to to the history of emotion invalidation (Krause et al., 2003) leading to increased emotional reactivity during a stressful situation (Shenk & Fruzzetti, 2011).Although moderate level, the findings clearly indicate signs and symptoms of emotional abuse among the university students.Table 2 presents the correlation between the profile of the respondents and their emotional abuse as to aggressing, denying, and minimizing.Data revealed that only the age has significant correlation to the emotional abuse as to aggressing and minimizing.Thus, the other demographic factors do not influence respondents' experiencing emotional abuse.

Findings and Discussion
Data shows an r value of 0.21 and a p-value of 0.04 for aggressing.The r value is low, meaning there is relatively low correlation between age and experiencing aggressing in a person's life, but it is positively significant with the emotional abuse as to aggressing.This implies that experiencing aggression can vary in level at any ages in life.Someone may experience at childhood, and not in the present, while others may experience it at adulthood but not in childhood.
According to Holly (2012), the stronger the parent's verbal aggression, the more obvious the problem, and the relationship between these problems and verbal aggression does not depend on the child's age, gender, or financial status.Similarly, Slep et al. (2011) found that child's age is not a significant predictor of parent-child emotional aggression or child emotional abuse.
However, Holen (2020) argued that one third of the abused became abuser themselves.The victims of abuse who have become abusive themselves are usually completely unaware that they've switched roles, so deeply do they see themselves as victimized, disempowered, small, abandoned and unloved.This explains the reason why age is not a predictor of abuse a person is experiencing.
Meanwhile, an r value of 0.23 and p value of 0.04 reflect the results for minimizing.Though there is statistical significance, the r value shows that there is a relatively low correlation between them.This means that despite of age, a person can experience minimizing.Similarly, there are circumstances where a person experiences emotional abuse not from the family but from the community a person socializes.Based on the study of Brotheridge and Lee (2010), there is a presence of belittlement in the workplace.
Table 3 shows the relationship between the profile of the respondents and psychological wellbeing.It depicts that only age and sex are statistically significant to the measured variables of psychological well-being -autonomy, personal growth and positive relations.
Relationship between age and autonomy shows an r value of 0.29 and p value of 0.00 implying low significant correlation between the variables.Age does not highly dictate when a person will start creating decisions for themselves.For instance, even children can already make choices that may result in good or bad decisions.Decisions at an early stage of life reflect the practice of autonomy.However, as person ages, they become reliant on personal decisions.
According to Dutra-Thomé et al. (2019), the age of 18 to 29, adulthood includes expecting duty for oneself, and making autonomous choice.This is supported by Arnett (2011) that adulthood centers on getting self-sufficiency, freedom and autonomy.
The results further show that sex is also significantly correlated to autonomy.With an r value of 0.31 and p value of 0.00, this means low correlation between the two variables.This implies that both male and female participants are capable of making own decisions.This expresses the freedom of choice and decision people are practicing in their lives.According to Dermott (2019), ladies utilize other people's opinions to assist make their own decision, while men use other people's decisions to assist them form their own opinion.As to personal growth, age depicted a r value of 0.33 and p value of 0.00, which means that there is also little correlation between the two variables, but is significant to each other.This implies that age does not define the personal growth of an individual.In life, there are many challenges that a person faces, and as this serves as a lesson, a new learning and growth happens.
Some may be mature enough at a young age due to his/her situation or experience, meanwhile, some may still be immature even though the person is in the adulthood already.The reason behind this is how the person accept the changes in life and how they apply it in their lives.According to Sasson (n.d.), personal growth starts from an early age and it's an ongoing process.It is mostly shaped by the environment, as well as teachers, and parents.
In addition, the sex is positively significant to personal growth showing a r value of 0.27 and p value of 0.00.But this also shows that there is little correlation between the variables.This implies that regardless of sex, people were working towards optimizing their full potential.In life, most people train themselves to achieve the best version of themselves especially when talking about careers in life.To survive from any challenges a person faced also helps in realizing that a person have is still growing and can have a better version of oneself.However, based on the research of Gino et al. (2015), women have more life goals than men and they tend to have "improving mindset" as they age.Older men are too more likely to have an "improving" attitude than more youthful men, in spite of the fact that the alter isn't as extraordinary.
Moreover, as to positive relations, age got a r value of 0.43 and p value of 0.00 showing a moderate correlation a positive significance between the variables.This indicates that people are able to build more positive relationships as they grow older.As a person ages, they learn to realize that people come and go.Based on the article of Lavis (2016), as children develop their capacity to create and maintain connectionsbe that with peers, guardians, instructors etc. is significant.
Most children will normally secure these abilities as they create.Moreover, there is an increased thought process for emotional harmony, older people are particularly likely to incline toward reliable people and such.
Lastly, sex is positively significant to positive relations, portraying a r value of 0.29 and p value 0.00.This shows that there is little correlation between the variables.This means that regardless of a person's sex, both can create positive relationship towards other people.Men and women have different criteria of choosing people whom they will interact with.Because of this, both can have positive relations with others, it just differs on how they treat their social group and what are they doing to maintain the peace within it.Men tend to be more challenge-and-conquer emotional abuse does not highly indicate an increase in psychological well-being as well.Research has discovered that persons who accept negative emotion experiences rather than condemning them may attain a far better mental state, in part because acceptance reduces negative feelings in response to stressors (Mauss & Ford, et al., 2018).This also explains the findings of Stone et al.
(2010) that as a person grows older, they get happier, less stressed, and have a greater psychological well-being.

Conclusion
This study was conducted to identify how emotional abuse relates to the psychological well-being of the university students.Results of the study 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.The test of relationship between profile of the respondents and emotional abuse showed that age is positively significant to the emotional abuse as to aggressing and minimizing.The test of relationship between profile of the respondents and psychological wellbeing depicted that age and sex are positively correlated to the variables of psychological wellbeing as to autonomy, personal growth, and positive relations.In terms of autonomy and personal growth, both age and sex do not relatively define the level of wellbeing of a person.Furthermore, correlation between emotional abuse and psychological abuse showed all variables of emotional abuse (aggressing, denying, and minimizing) as positively significant to all indicators of psychological well-being (autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance).
This study rejects all the hypotheses signifying no significant relationship between profile of the respondents and emotional abuse, no significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their psychological well-being, and no significant relationship between emotional abuse and psychological well-being of the respondents.
In the light of the analysis, the study has some limitations.The study was constrained by the metrics used, and so is the case with most empirical investigations.It was restricted to the relationship between emotional maltreatment and psychological well-being.Moreover, the research did not look at the causes or preventative actions.Other experiences, such as various of self, counting great and terrible qualities and feels positive approximately past life.Meanwhile, low scorers are tending to feel disappointed with self, baffled with what has happened with past life, disturbed almost certain individual qualities and wished to be distinctive than what he or she is.
points, need sense of heading, do not see reason of past life and have no viewpoint or convictions that grant life meaning.Personal growth refers to continuous growth and development as a person while working towards optimizing one's full potential.High scorers feel proceeded advancement, see self as developing and extending, open to unused encounters, have sense of realizing his or her potential, see change in self and behavior over time and change ways that reflect more self-knowledge and effectiveness.The low scorers have a sense of individual stagnation, need sense of advancement or development over time, feel bored and uninterested with life and feel incapable to create unused states of mind or behaviors.As to demographics, several studies found correlation with demographic characteristics and psychological well-being.For instance, Erylmaz and Ercan (2011) found a substantial relationship between psychological well-being and gender.This is explained further by the findings of Stone et al. (

Table 1
Perceived Level of Emotional Abuse and Psychological Well-Being Table1shows the students' level of emotional abuse and psychological well-being.The emotional abuse is described by aggressing with an overall mean of 3.43 and 1.16 standard deviation, interpreted as Sometimes or at a Moderate level, denying with an overall mean of 3.40 and 1.18 standard deviation, interpreted as Sometimes or at a Moderate level, and minimizing with an overall mean of 3.39 and 1.19 standard deviation, interpreted as Sometimes or at a Moderate level.

Table 2
Test of Relationship Between Profile and Emotional Abuse

Table 3
Relationship Between Profile and Psychological Well Being