The Effect of Perceived Social Support on Psychological Health among Women Exposed to Psychological Violence

Abstract

Psychological abuse is special type of violence which can shift to physical violence, can be associated with severe psychological symptoms, and escalate the devastating effect of other types of violence. The aim of the present study is to examine the role of perceived social support (PSS) on the relationship between psychological violence and psychological symptoms among women. The sample consisted of 293 women participated through a web-based survey. While the ages of the participants varied between 18 and 66 (M=32.19, SD=9.90), 75.4% of them stated that they are currently in a romantic relationship. In addition, most of the participants have high school or higher education level (%88,8). After the Informed Consent Form, Demographic Information Form, Profile of Psychological Abuse, Brief Symptom Inventory and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were administered respectively. When PSS from different sources were examined, it was detected that PSS from family had a moderator role in psychological violence and anxiety, negative self-concept and hostility relations. However, the protective effect of PSS from family was not found for depression and somatization. PSS from friends and significant others did not moderate the relationship between psychological violence and psychological symptoms. The results of the present study indicated that PSS from family has an important role for the psychological health of women exposed to psychological violence. All social sources having a protective role against psyhological violence which can lead to physical violence in romantic relationships are important for the public policies for preventing violence against women. The findings of the present study were discussed in the context of protective functions of social support for the social problem of violence against women in Turkey. Keywords Psychological violence, psychological symptom, perceived social support