Parental abuse and subjective wellbeing among Egyptian early emerging adults: a gender-moderated analysis

Prolonged co-residence with parents, common in Egyptian early emerging adults (18-21 years), can expose them to continued parental abuse-a phenomenon largely overlooked in current non-western literature. Unlike prior studies focusing on retrospective childhood abuse, this research examines ongoing abuse experiences and their relationship with wellbeing, with particular attention to gender differences.

Using a cross-sectional design, 360 early emerging adults (aged 18-21; 121 men, 239 women) completed validated measures of perceived parental abusive behaviors and subjective wellbeing. Moderation analyses were conducted using Hayes' (2022) PROCESS macro (Model 1), controlling for age, major specialization, and living arrangement.

63.6% of participants reported moderate-to-high levels of parental abuse, with higher prevalence among early emerging adult women (73.7%) compared to early emerging adult men (43.8%), a significant difference. Gender moderated the association between perceived parental abuse and each dimension of subjective wellbeing: life satisfaction (B = 0.12, 95% CI [0.07, 0.16], p < 0.001), positive affect (B = 0.05, 95% CI [0.00, 0.10], p = 0.033), and negative affect (B = 0.07, 95% CI [0.02, 0.11], p = 0.006). Specifically, the association between abuse and life satisfaction was negative among women but positive among men; the negative association between abuse and positive affect was significant among women only; and the positive association between abuse and negative affect was significant in both genders but stronger among men.

These findings highlight the enduring influence of familial dynamics and economic dependence on psychological development during emerging adulthood, revealing how patriarchal norms perpetuate abusive behaviors in Egyptian society. While women showed a broader deterioration in wellbeing, spanning life satisfaction and positive affect, the stronger abuse-negative affect association among men indicates that both genders carry distinct vulnerabilities. The results emphasize the urgent need for culturally sensitive interventions that address both familial dynamics and gender-based vulnerabilities, while promoting the psychological wellbeing of emerging adults in Egypt and similar sociocultural contexts.