Exposure to Parental Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence Across Cultures: The Mediating Effects of Self-Conscious Emotions

• In Event: Trajectories of Violence Exposure: Risk, Contact, and Consequences

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects men and women globally. Although childhood exposure to parental violence and conflict are well-established risk factors for IPV perpetration, limited research exists on how this mechanism operates in diverse cultural contexts. Self-conscious emotions are experienced and expressed differently across cultures. Consequently, the current study investigates the mediating effects of self-conscious emotions on the relationship between exposure to parental conflict and IPV perpetration across three cultural contexts. Survey data were collected from convenience samples of 724 male and female college students in three cultural contexts: the USA, South Korea, and the Philippines. Structural equation modellings were employed to analyze the mediation effects of self-conscious emotions in the relationship between parental conflict and IPV. The findings suggest that the mechanisms differ among the three cultures. Parental conflict in the United States only has direct effect on IPV. It is not mediated by self-conscious emotions and parental conflict does not affect self-conscious emotions. In South Korea, parental conflict indirectly affects dating aggression through shame and blame. In the Philippines, the effect of parental conflict on IPV perpetration is mostly mediated by shame. These findings will inform prevention and intervention programs on IPV perpetration that are culturally nuanced.

Authors

• Carrie K. W. Li, The University of Hong Kong

• Sheila Royo Maxwell, Michigan State University