The mediating role of well-being at school in the association between family violence and psychosocial problems

Anna L.C. van Loon-Dikkers, Maartje P.C.M. Luijk, Amaranta D. de Haan and Majone J. Steketee

Children and Youth Services Review, 2025, vol. 169, issue C

Abstract: Family violence (i.e. child abuse and neglect, and intimate partner violence) can have a detrimental impact on children’s development. It often leads to psychosocial problems and can also negatively affect children’s well-being at school (i.e. school connectedness, well-being with teachers, and well-being with classmates). Lower well-being at school may further exacerbate the development of psychosocial problems. The current study examines the mediating role of well-being at school in the relationship between exposure to and frequency of family violence and psychosocial problems. Participants were 774 Dutch children aged 8–18 years (M age = 11.95; 53.6 % female), with 270 children exposed to family violence and 504 children not exposed to family violence. Children (and their parents) completed questionnaires on family violence, well-being at school and psychosocial problems. Mediation analyses within a Structural Equation Modeling framework revealed that well-being at school appeared to mediate the association between exposure to family violence and psychosocial problems (β = -0.07, p < 0.001). Well-being at school did not mediate the association between frequency of family violence and psychosocial problems within the group of children exposed to family violence (β = 0.07, p = 0.11). The results suggest that exposure to family violence, regardless of the number of incidents, has a negative impact on children’s well-being at school, which in turn can negatively affect their psychosocial functioning. This study acknowledges the importance of ending family violence and improving children’s well-being at school.

Keywords: Family violence; Well-being; School; Psychosocial problems; Exposure; Frequency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:169:y:2025:i:c:s0190740924006613

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.108089

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