Emotional Abuse and Social Isolation as Predictors of Trust in Relationships in Undergraduate Students
Keywords:
Emotional Abuse, Social Isolation, Trust in Relationships, Undergraduate Students, PredictorsAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate emotional abuse and social isolation as predictors of trust in interpersonal relationships among undergraduate students.
Methods and Materials: The present study employed a descriptive correlational design. The sample consisted of 400 undergraduate students (216 females and 184 males) selected through convenience sampling from various universities in Turkey, with the sample size determined according to Morgan and Krejcie’s table. Participants completed the Rempel Trust Scale (1985) to assess trust in relationships, the Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (EAQ; Jacobson & Gottman, 1998) to measure emotional abuse, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3; Russell, 1996) to assess social isolation. Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS-27 software to analyze relationships between variables and examine their predictive power on relational trust.
Findings: Descriptive statistics indicated moderate levels of emotional abuse (M = 3.12, SD = 0.87), social isolation (M = 2.88, SD = 0.91), and trust in relationships (M = 4.75, SD = 1.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between trust and emotional abuse (r = -0.56, p < 0.01), and trust and social isolation (r = -0.44, p < 0.01). Regression analysis revealed emotional abuse and social isolation significantly predicted trust (F(2, 397) = 55.34, p < 0.01), explaining 22% of variance (Adjusted R² = 0.21). Emotional abuse emerged as a stronger negative predictor (β = -0.39, p < 0.01) compared to social isolation (β = -0.30, p < 0.01).
Conclusion: These results underscore the importance of addressing emotional maltreatment and social isolation through targeted psychological interventions and support programs aimed at improving relationship quality among university students.
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