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

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.