Abstract:
1. Introduction
Emotional violence (EV) is a major segment of Intimate Partner Violence
(IPV), but past literature has mainly focused on sexual and physical
violence. Emotional violence is psychologically distressing and can
undermine the victim's confidence and self-esteem. Increasing awareness
about EV in Sri Lanka is the primary concern of the authors, so the
objective of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and forms of
emotional violence among married people in Sri Lanka.
2. Research Methodology
The research philosophy was positivist, the approach was deductive, and
the strategy was a survey. The research context is the married population
in Sri Lanka, and the unit of analysis is married individuals. The sample
selection was done through a non-probability sampling technique called
snowball sampling. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire
and were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
3. Findings and Discussion
It was found that EV exists in most marital relationships, but extreme levels
of emotional violence exist within a considerable minority. According to
the results, 1 in 10 married individuals in Sri Lanka are extremely
emotionally violent. The four forms of emotional violence explored are
Restrictive Engulfment, Denigration, Hostile Withdrawal, and Dominance/
Intimidation. The most common form among males is Hostile Withdrawal
(at 30%), followed by Dominance/Intimidation (at 27%). The most
common form among females is Restrictive Engulfment (37%), followed by
Hostile Withdrawal (31%).
4. Conclusion and Implications
The findings show that EV is prevalent among married people in Sri Lanka,
which provides a contextual contribution to the literature while helping
married individuals recognize EV. Relevant education and health
authorities may use these findings to increase awareness about forms of EV
and investigate ways of reducing EV in Sri Lanka.
