Invisible Family Violence: A Study of Accompanying Mothers’ Identity Construction and Authority Transition Among Family Interaction in High-Pressure Educational Contexts

This study examines the phenomenon of ‘invisible family violence ’ in Chinese families, specifically focusing on the experiences of accompanying mothers who provide full-time support to their children during critical academic periods. Drawing on Randall Collins ’ theory of micro-violence, the research explores how intense academic pressure, particularly surrounding the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao), reshapes parent-child power dynamics and enables subtle, non-physical forms of verbal and emotional violence from children toward their mothers. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with 17 participants in China’s Anhui Province. The study identifies four forms of invisible violence: verbal aggression, psychological withdrawal, asymmetry in emotional communication, and accumulated physical and mental harm. The invisible family violence does not arise randomly but is situationally triggered and gradually escalates under three specific contexts: (1) high educational pressure as a triggering context, (2) shifting family power dynamics and a lack of external support, and (3) accumulated emotional energy and micro-escalations. However, it was found that when facing invisible family violence, accompanying mothers consistently lose their maternal authority and sense of self-worth; although they attempt to regulate their emotions through silent endurance and avoidance of responsibility to reduce pressure, they remain vulnerable. The findings highlight the significant emotional work mothers perform to maintain family harmony amid escalating tension and fear, which often leads to emotional and physical exhaustion. This research contributes to the understanding of family violence by foregrounding culturally embedded, low-intensity emotional harm, with important implications for maternal mental health and family education policies in high-pressure academic environments.