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The Moderating Effects of Developmental Assets on the Relations Between Domestic Violence and Children’s Interpersonal Problems

박주희 1 Shin Hyeonsook 1

1전남대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The negative effects of exposure to domestic violence on children’s development are well established in theliterature. However, not all of the children who have been exposed to domestic violence are maladjusted butsome are resilient in the face of such adversity. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderatingeffects of external and internal developmental assets on the relations between children’s exposure to domesticviolence and their interpersonal problems. Six-hundred eighty-three 5th- and 6th-graders (351 boys, 332girls) participated in this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire designed to measure theexposure to domestic violence, developmental assets, and interpersonal problems. Correlational analyses andthe structural equation modeling were conducted to test research hypotheses. The results of this study weresummarized as follows. First, the moderating effect of external developmental assets on the relations betweendomestic violence and interpersonal problems was not significant. However, external assets had a positivemain effect on interpersonal problems. That is, regardless of the level of domestic violence, externaldevelopmental assets functioned as assets in decreasing interpersonal problems. Second, the moderating effectof the internal developmental assets was significant. Therefore, the relations between children’s exposure todomestic violence and the level of interpersonal problems differed by the degree to which they have internaldevelopmental assets. Particularly, the moderating effect of internal developmental assets was stronger in thelow domestic violence exposure group than in the high domestic violence exposure group. These resultsimply that internal developmental assets work as protective factors to ease off the negative effects of the riskcalled domestic violence. Prevention and early intervention should be effective when provided before childrenare exposed to domestic violence or immediately after domestic violence exposure occurs. Finally, thelimitations of this study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

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