Comparison of Emotional Suppression, Prosocial Behavior and Perceived Competence in Adolescents with and without Childhood Abuse Experience

Asghari, Arezou; Mian Abadi, Haniyeh

doi:10.22055/psy.2023.44038.3059

Comparison of Emotional Suppression, Prosocial Behavior and Perceived Competence in Adolescents with and without Childhood Abuse Experience

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Arezou Asghari ¹

Haniyeh Mian Abadi ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Kosar University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.

² PhD student, Department of Psychology, Go. C,. Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran..

10.22055/psy.2023.44038.3059

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare emotional suppression, prosocial behavior, and perceived competence in adolescents with and without childhood abuse experience. This study was a descriptive causal-comparative study. The study population was all first and second grade female students in Gorgan in the academic year 2022-2023. From the research population, 100 students (50 students with childhood abuse experience and 50 students without childhood abuse experience) were selected as a multi-stage cluster sample. Among the research tools, the following can be mentioned: Emotional Suppression Questionnaire: This questionnaire has 84 items and 10 subscales and is used to measure three different constructs including distress, self-control, and defensiveness. The reliability of the questionnaire in the present study was obtained by Cronbach's alpha method of 0.79. Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire: This questionnaire has 30 items and seven subscales that basically measure two factors: empathy towards others and helping. The reliability of the questionnaire in the present study was obtained by Cronbach's alpha method of 0.93. Competence Perception Questionnaire: This questionnaire has 4 subscales and 27 questions in Likert format, which subscales are: behavioral competence, academic competence, social competence and physical competence. The reliability of the questionnaire in the present study was obtained by Cronbach's alpha method of 0.86. Self-Reported Child Abuse Questionnaire: This questionnaire was developed in 2000 and has 38 items that measure and evaluate a range of child abuse behavior. The reliability of the questionnaire in the present study was obtained by Cronbach's alpha method of 0.91. The findings showed that the components of emotional suppression, prosocial behavior, and perceived competence were significantly different in adolescents with and without experience of harassment (P<0.05). Accordingly, it can be concluded that adolescents who have been harassed are harassed because they think the outside world is unsafe and have a negative view of themselves, others, and the environment. They scored higher on the components of emotional suppression, and lower on the components of social behavior and perceived competence.

Keywords

Emotional suppression

experience of harm

perceived competence

prosocial behavior

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