Routes Out of Child Abuse to School Adjustments: A Comparison Between North Korean Adolescent Refugees and Native South Korean Adolescents

This study aimed to examine pathways from child abuse to school adjustment and the roles of self-control and academic stress on the link among North Korean adolescent refugees living in South Korea and native South Korean adolescents. A total of 610 students (adolescents from South Korea = 325 and adolescents from North Korea = 285) living in South Korea, from juniors in middle schools to seniors in high schools, were interviewed in 2017. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to examine differences in the country of origin on the pathways from abuse to school adjustment via self-control and academic stress. North Korean adolescent refugees were less likely to adjust to their school life than South Korean adolescents. Academic stress was found as a significant mediator between self-control and school adjustment in both South Korean and North Korean adolescents. Child abuse was associated with self-control of South Korean adolescents. Childhood abuse from parents can have an overall influence on individual characteristics and school life for adolescents. By paying attention to this process, comprehensive solutions are urgently required not only to intervene in the problem of abusive parenting behaviors but also to block the path of the expanding negative consequences among both groups of adolescents.