Abstract
Intimate partner violence is a serious issue affecting migrant workers in China. The present study investigated the prevalence of intimate partner violence in a sample of Chinese female migrant workers and examined the moderating role of number of children in the link between intimate partner violence and marital instability within the framework of social exchange theory. A total of 805 married female migrant workers responded to the Conflict Tactics Scales, the Marital Quality Scale, and a demographic data form. The results revealed that 37% of these women experienced intimate partner violence during last year. Regression analyses found a significant association between intimate partner violence and marital instability. More importantly, this association was moderated by their number of children. Intimate partner violence significantly predicted marital instability for childfree or one-child female migrant workers, but not for female migrant workers with two or more children. These results provide new insights on how having children influences female migrants’ suffering IPV decision-making about whether to terminate their relationship. They also offer insights for intervention programs for victimized women.
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A special thank you is to Wenzhou Medical University undergraduates and postgraduates who helped with data collection and data entry. A thank you is also relegated to the study participants for their willingness to participate in the research.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No.15BRK034). The funding body had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of the manuscript.
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Chen, L., Ngoubene-Atioky, A.J. Does Number of Children Moderate the Link between Intimate Partner Violence and Marital Instability among Chinese Female Migrant Workers?. Sex Roles 80, 745–757 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-1017-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-1017-x