Exploring the relationship between exposure to interparental violence and child physical abuse in childhood and the impacts on mental health problems in later young adulthood among South Korean college students

Abstract

Family violence including interparental violence and child maltreatment is a pervasive social problem that affects all societies worldwide, and its detrimental impacts on people’s mental health are well documented. However, studies on family violence in South Korea are still limited. By utilizing an exploratory retrospective research design, this study explored the extent of childhood experience of family violence and the long-term impacts on mental health outcomes. A total of 90 college students in South Korea participated, and findings reveal that more than half of the participants were exposed to family violence as children, resulting in harmful long-term impacts on their mental health in young adulthood.