PARENTAL EMOTIONAL ABUSE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING AMONG TEENAGERS IN PAKISTAN: RESILIENCE AS A MODERATOR

Abstract

Background: Parental emotional abuse is a pervasive yet often overlooked form of psychological maltreatment that can significantly disrupt adolescent development. In Pakistan, cultural norms and familial structures often obscure the recognition and reporting of emotional abuse. Although global literature has addressed various forms of abuse, there remains a notable gap in examining parental emotional abuse and its psychological effects within the Pakistani context, particularly regarding the protective role of resilience among teenagers.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental emotional abuse and psychological well-being among Pakistani teenagers, with resilience assessed as a moderating factor.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed using purposive sampling to recruit 374 Pakistani teenagers aged 13 to 19 years (M = 16.12, SD = 2.02), all of whom had a self-reported history of parental emotional abuse. Three standardized tools were administered: the Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (30 items, α = .94), the Brief Resilience Scale (6 items, α = .80–.91), and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (18 items, α = .87–.93). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27, including Pearson correlation and moderation analysis.

Results: Parental emotional abuse was significantly and negatively correlated with both resilience (r = –.10, p < .05) and psychological well-being (r = –.19, p < .01). Resilience was positively associated with psychological well-being (r = .11, p < .05). Moderation analysis revealed that resilience significantly buffered the negative impact of emotional abuse on psychological well-being (β = –.006, p < .001), with the model explaining 7% of variance (R² = .07, F = 10.12).

Conclusion: The study highlights resilience as a critical moderating factor that can mitigate the psychological harm of parental emotional abuse among teenagers. These findings support interventions aimed at promoting emotional resilience and establishing culturally sensitive child protection policies in Pakistan.