Childhood Maltreatment Experience Within a Patriarchal and Islamic Religious Context: Impacts on Dependent Self-Image of Salar Muslim Women

Abstract

Women who have experienced maltreatment in childhood may be more susceptible to developing a dependent self-image, which can impede their overall well-being and sense of agency. This issue is particularly prevalent among the Salar Muslim women of China, who belong to a national minority and are subject to gender-based oppression within a patriarchal society, with additional challenges within the context of Islamic society. The aims of the current study are twofold: (a) It aims to examine the relationship between patriarchal and religious beliefs and dependent self-image among this often-overlooked population in China—Salar Muslim women. (b) It aims to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and the dependent self-image among Salar Muslim women. Two hundred one married Salar Muslim women with a probability proportional to the size sampling approach were recruited in the quantitative survey (Mage = 34.46, SD = 9.58). Multilevel random effects regression models were conducted. The findings indicate that patriarchal beliefs and intrinsic religious motivation were significantly associated with dependent self-image. Moreover, experiences of childhood maltreatment are found to be significantly associated with dependent self-images in this group, even after accounting for contextual factors such as patriarchal beliefs, religious motivations, and other relevant covariates. This study enhances our understanding of how childhood maltreatment impacts the development of a dependent self-image among women, particularly within the complexities of a patriarchal and Islamic cultural setting. We recommend that future research adopts a more nuanced perspective on women’s self-image development, considering the interplay of childhood experiences and sociocultural contexts.