The Predictors of Mother Abuse in Male Students: Domestic Violence, Marital Conflict, Family Coherence, Parenting Styles, and Self-Esteem

Domestic violence, including child abuse, spousal abuse, elder abuse, and parent abuse, is a common issue in the modern world. Parent abuse is one of the phenomena that has been the focus of attention in recent decades due to its negative effects on the family system.

This study aimed to investigate the predictors of parent abuse in boy students.

This present study was a correlational study. The statistical population was all second-grade boy high school students and their mothers in Kuhdasht-Iran in 2020. In this regard, 380 students were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Instruments were the parent abuse scale (boy version), child exposure to domestic violence (CEDV), parent marital conflict, parenting style inventory (PSI), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Samani Family Cohesion Questionnaire. The students and their mothers completed the instruments. The data were analyzed with Pearson correlation and regression.

The findings showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between domestic violence, marital conflict, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles with parent abuse, and there was a significant negative relationship between family coherence, authoritative parenting style, and students' self-esteem with parent abuse. The results from stepwise regression showed that domestic violence, authoritative and permissive parenting styles, and self-esteem were the strongest predictors of parent abuse.

According to our findings, the negative interactions and the children’s exposure to violence within the family are basic triggers for the occurrence of mother abuse.