Exploring the Relationship Between Exposure to Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment in Childhood and the Impacts on Mental Health Problems in Later Young Adulthood Among Korean College Students

Purpose: Family Violence (FV) including domestic violence and child maltreatment is a pervasive social problem that affects all societies and cultures worldwide and its deteriorating impacts on mental health of children who are exposed to FV are well documented. Such harmful result is referred to as the “double whammy” effect because children have traumatic events twofold, resulting in increased risk for internalized and externalized problems. However, for many Asian countries like Korea which are recognized as being a patriarchal society where men occupy authoritarian roles within the family, studies on FV are still very limited and the long-term impacts of FV exposure in childhood on mental health in later young adulthood still remain unknown. Based on the shattered assumptions theory and the social behavioral perspective, this study explored the extent of childhood experience of FV reported by young adults, and the long-term impacts of such experiences on internalizing (e.g., depressive symptoms) and externalizing (e.g., aggression) mental health outcomes in young adulthood. More specifically, this study sought to answer the following three research questions (RQs): 1.What are the types and extents of FV that Korean college students experienced in their childhood?; 2. Do those students who reported to have experienced the double exposure to FV in childhood show the double whammy effect?; and 3. What are the relationships between the context of exposure to FV in childhood and the mental health problems in later young adulthood, after controlling for demographic and contextual (e.g., social supports) factors?

Methods: By utilizing an exploratory retrospective research design, ninety Korean college students participated in this quantitative survey study.  Out of these 90 students, 86.7% were female, the majority are single (96.7%), and a mean of 22.06 years old (SD= 3.01). FV was measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale for parental violence for domestic violence (7 items) and for child maltreatment history (8 items).  Mental Health (MH) Problems were measured with 50-items Achenbach’s Adult Behavior Check List and Social Support was measured with 30-items Social Support Scale.

Results: Findings of this study reveal that more than half of the participants were exposed to some level of FV: 28.9% child maltreatment only; 10.0% domestic violence only; 17.8% dual exposure (RQ1). The ANOVA test indicates the harmful long-term impacts of FV on MH but the double whammy effect was not detected (RQ2).  The generalized linear model (GLM) results show that the young adults who had exposed to any form of family violence have higher levels of MH problems and a potential positive role of social support was identified (RQ3). 

Discussions and Implications: This study shows the significant detrimental impacts of exposure to FV in childhood on the later young adulthood. The findings suggest a strong need to continue efforts to enforce the family protection laws and more social services in Korea. Also, given the growing demand for recognition of the international aspect of social work, this study contributes to knowledge building and extension regarding FV and its impact on mental health issues with the dimension of international content.