Parental Attachment, Self-Esteem, Social Problem-Solving, Intimate Partner Violence Victimization in Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adults can experience conflicts with their dating partner, leading to intimate partner violence (IPV). In order to understand the vulnerability factors involved in IPV victimization, the current study explored a serial multiple mediation model to determine the links between parental attachment (to the father and mother), self-esteem, and social problem solving (SPS) on the three forms of IPV (psychological, physical and sexual). Based on an online survey, 756 emerging adults (84.8% women, mean age = 23.52) completed self-report questionnaires related to parental attachment, self-esteem, SPS (avoidance and impulsive/carelessness style), and IPV during the past year. The study design was cross-sectional and data were analyzed through partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings did not support serial multiple mediation model, as the indirect effects of the two specific mediation models were not significant. However, the total indirect effects were significant, indicating a cascade effect chain of events between the variables; insecure parental attachment was related to lower self-esteem, which was associated with poor SPS skills (especially impulsive/carelessness style), which in turn was associated with both psychological and physical violence victimization. The implications of the findings for promoting the life skills of emerging adults, such as problem solving or self-esteem, to enable them to handle their relationship conflicts are discussed.