Impact of Parental Interpersonal Violence Experienced in Childhood on the Emotional, Social, and Behavioral Problems Among College Students in China

Purpose: Marital or couple relationship wellbeing is important to family harmony, stability, and security. Violence between parental figures is a global problem with serious life-long consequences. Recent research indicates that adults who experienced interparental violence (IPV) as children are more likely to suffer from various problems such as anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use, general psychological distress, aggression, poor social adjustment, and ineffective conflict resolution skills. However, research on the long-term effects of IPV in childhood for young adults has been limited to western countries, restricting the available information about this relationship in Asian countries, including mainland China. Potential adverse immediate and long-term outcomes associated with IPV have been identified; however, researchers have also examined how protective factors, such as social support, may mediate these effects. Studies suggest that the validation effect of social support acts as a buffer and may offset deleterious IPV outcomes. This mainland China study uses an exploratory retrospective design to answer the following three research questions (RQs): 1. what types and extent of IPV did Chinese college students experience in their childhoods, 2. are young adults who were exposed to IPV during childhood at a greater risk for emotional, social, and behavioral functioning issues as young adults, and 3. does social support buffer the negative impact of IPV in childhood on individuals’ ability to function in later life.

Methods: A retrospective exploratory research design was used, and 227 college students in Beijing, China were recruited for this study. The gender distribution was relatively even (48% female and 52% male), and the participants’ mean age was 20.89 years (SD=1.44). IPV was measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale (10 physical violence items and 6 emotional violence between parents items). Internal and external mental health problems were measured using 39 Achenbach Adult Behavior Check List items (10 emotional functioning problem items, 10 social functioning problem items, and 9 behavioral functioning problem items), and peer social support was measured using 9 Social Support Scale items.

Results: More than half of the participants had been exposed to some level of IPV (RQ1). The correlation test indicated the harmful long-term impacts of IPV on emotional (r= .12, p<0.05), social (r= .18, p<0.01), and behavioral functioning (r= .26, p<0.001) (RQ2). The multivariate analysis indicated that IPV predicted poor social (β =0.29, p<0.01) and behavioral (β =0.13, p<0.01) functioning, but social support mediated these challenges (β = -0.22, p<0.01 and β = -0.16, p<0.05, respectively) (RQ3). No statistically significant relationship was found between IPV and emotional functioning.  

Discussions and Implications:  This study shows that IPV exists throughout the global community (China in this case), and exposure to IPV in childhood has negative long-term impacts on social and behavioral functioning in later life. Therefore China needs additional intervention and community education about IPV and its impact on children’s wellbeing. Further global attention and action are necessary to build and nourish violence-free, healthy family environments.