Influence Of Child-Parent Relations On The Conflict Behavior Of Teenagers Of 14-15

Abstract

Parent-child relationships undergo – during a period when children reach the age of 14–15 years – a tendency in the behavior of children to independence and a tendency in the behavior of parents to maintain interpersonal relationships with adolescents. Therefore, the specifics of conflict behavior, the laws of its development and formation during adolescence, which lays the foundations for communication of a growing personality, are of particular importance. However, studies on the influence of parent-child relationships on the conflict behavior of adolescents are still not enough. The purpose of this study is to theoretically substantiate and identify the relationship between the parameter "assessment of parent-child relationships" and the level of conflict behavior of adolescents. The study of the influence of parent-child relations on the conflict behavior of adolescents took place in three stages: search-preparatory, experimental, control-generalizing; both theoretical methods (analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, synthesis, generalization, goal-setting, modeling) and empirical methods (testing, diagnostic examination methods, determination of the significance level using the Pearson coefficient) were used. In the course of the study. 45 teenagers and 72 parents were examined. The study confirms the theoretical conclusions that in adolescence there is a manifestation of conflict, including in the relationship of parents and children. This is due to a change in the psychological status of the teenager and the lack of mobility on the part of the parents when taking an adult child. A direct relationship between the parameter “assessment of parent-child relations” is revealed.

Keywords: Parent-child relationshipsadolescentsinteractionconflictconflict behaviorcorrelation

Introduction

The relevance of the study is due to those factors that are specifics of conflict behavior ( Dolgova et al., 2019; Mast et al., 2015; Tang et al., 2015), the patterns of its development and formation during adolescence ( Anestis et al., 2014; Garber et al., 2016; Kleiman et al., 2016), which lays the foundations for the communication of a growing personality, are of particular importance.

At this stage of life, a teenager is freed from parental care and builds a new system of relationships for entering into an adult environment ( Chevalier, 2015; Harreveld et al., 2015). The success of this task reduces the level of conflict, and the problems of joining the society contribute to the development of conflict behavior in the future ( Hirsh & Kang, 2016; Wynn, 2016).

During this period, parent-child relationships undergo a tendency toward independence and a tendency to maintain interpersonal relations between parents and adolescents ( Dolgova et al., 2018; Jones et al., 2015). With the psychological acceptance by parents of older adolescents, a lack of a tendency to leadership dominates, as they seek to reach the location and respect for their authority without resorting to force.

Children, on the other hand, show a positive interest in cases where parents strive to achieve their favor and respect for parental authority without resorting to declarations and dogmas.

Autonomy is based on a despotic "blind" power that does not tolerate indulgence, however, mothers notice an emphasis on the absence of prohibition requirements for adolescents, and on fathers a fence. Inconsistency in the line of parenting is equally appreciated by adolescents as a tendency to extremely contradictory forms of behavior with a maximum amplitude of expression. Moreover, for mothers, the opposite of strength and distrust is compliance and hyperprojectivity, and for fathers, trustfulness and conformism. All this affects the increase in conflict in adolescence between parents and children.

Research hypothesis: it was suggested that a significant influence of child-parent relations on the conflict behavior of adolescents of 14–15 years old will be revealed. The correlation between estimates of parent-child relationships is considered significant if it is greater than the critical value of the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Problem Statement

Parent-child relationships undergo – during a period when children reach the age of 14–15 years – a tendency in the behavior of children to independence and a tendency in the behavior of parents to maintain interpersonal relationships with adolescents. Therefore, the specifics of conflict behavior, the laws of its development and formation during adolescence, which lays the foundations for communication of a growing personality, are of particular importance. However, studies on the influence of parent-child relationships on the conflict behavior of adolescents are still not enough.

Research Questions

Research questions are related:

• with the analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the problem and identifying the characteristics of the influence of child-parent relations on the conflict behavior of adolescents 14–15 years old;

• with the definition of the stages, methods and techniques of research;

• with the carrying out of an experimental study of the conflict behavior of adolescents of 14–15 years old and the influence of parent-child relationships on it.

Purpose of the Study

Theoretically substantiate and identify the relationship between the parameter "assessment of parent-child relations" and the level of conflict behavior of adolescents 14–15 years old.

Research Methods

The study of the influence of parent-child relationships on the conflict behavior of adolescents took place in three stages: search-preparatory, experimental, control-generalizing. In the study of the influence of relationships between parents and children on the conflict behavior of adolescents aged 14–15, both theoretical methods (analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, synthesis, generalization, goal setting, modeling) and empirical methods (testing, diagnostic examination methods, determination of significance level) were used using the Pearson coefficient). Four methods were used to analyze interactions with children: “Parent Behavior and Adolescent Attitude”, questionnaire “Parent-child interaction” (PCI). To determine the impact of the relationship between parents and children on the conflict behavior of adolescents aged 14–15, we selected the Methodology for assessing the level of conflict. This technique allows assessing the degree of conflict or tact of a person (tactful and peaceful, conflicting, arguing and conflicting). To determine the strategy of behavior in the conflict, the “Methodology of socio-psychological diagnosis of conflicts of K. Thomas” was used. The selected methods are valid, standardized, and regarded as classical methods for studying conflict behavior, correspond to age norms and research objectives ( Zabrodin & Pakhalyan, 2015). 45 adolescents and 72 parents were examined.

Findings

The study was conducted on the basis of the Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School, and students of grade 9 (25 people) and their parents took part in it.

The data obtained during the study are presented in tables and diagrams processed using qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The analysis of the diagnostic results by the survey “Parent Behavior and Adolescent Attitude” revealed the attitude of parents to adolescents and vice versa, the attitude of adolescents to parents.

Characteristic differences in the relationship between children and parents were identified earlier ( Dreisbach & Fischer, 2015; Heerey, 2015).

To compare the relations of parents and adolescents, a graph is presented, presented in Figure 1 .

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Figure 1 shows that the relationship of parents to adolescents and vice versa, almost coincide, from this we can conclude that in families there is an influence of parents on children.

From the figure we see that basically hostility and inconsistency in relations between children and parents varies, at the same there are time hostile relations in one third (30 %) of children and inconsistency in 30 % of parents. Both should not even have a tendency to patronage, although fathers may, as an exception, break away from business and heed the requests of a teenager. We examined the assessment of the interaction of parents with children using the methodology of the Questionnaire “Parent-Child Interaction” (PCI). It is designed to analyze parent-child interactions (Table 01 ).

Analysis of the results obtained for certain categories of the questionnaire “Parent-child interaction” (PCI) led to the following generalizations:

• the prevailing level of conflict above the average is observed in 24 % (6 people), which indicates some instability of these adolescents in a conflict situation with a predominance of conflict of personality;

• 36 % of adolescents have an average level of conflict, which is considered to be the location of conflict within the normal range, such people tend to resolve emerging conflict situations, but do not provoke their occurrence on their own, without any special need;

• in 28 %, the level of conflict is below average; representatives of this group seek to avoid conflict situations; in solving a conflict situation, they choose the fastest way to resolve it;

• 12 % have a low level of conflict, which may indicate a reluctance to enter into conflict situations and a desire to avoid them.

The group is dominated by an average level of conflict, while adolescents demonstrate independence, remoteness from parents, autonomy, alienation.

An analysis of the data obtained in assessing the answers of parents revealed high scores in the assessment of interaction on the scales of “softness–rigor”, “rejection–acceptance”, “lack of cooperation–cooperation”, “disagreement–consent”, “inconsistency–consistency”.

According to the results of the test Table 2 was compiled.

Generalization of the results of the questionnaire confirms that 8% of students do not like conflicts, even if they can smooth them out, they can easily avoid critical situations. They strive to be pleasant to others, but when help is needed, they do not always dare to provide it.

The vast majority of subjects (72 %) are too principled or even conflicting personalities. They insistently uphold their opinion, no matter how it affects their business or personal relationships, and they respect them for this.

There are also teenagers in our class (20 %) who are looking for reasons to argue, like to criticize, but only when it is beneficial to them; impose their opinion, even if they are not right; too petty and picky.

Research interest is caused by the distribution of conflict levels of adolescents, presented in Figure  2 .

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In Figure 2 , the modal value of the arguing and conflicting types is clearly distinguished.

The refinement of the results was further carried out by the “Methodology of socio-psychological diagnosis of conflicts of K. Thomas”. The two strategies of behavior in the conflict were most pronounced: rivalry (40 %) and adaptation (24 %). Thus, we can conclude that 64 % of adolescents exhibit unstable behavior, they are often labeled, that is, behavior in adolescence is ambiguous.

Using the Pearson correlation coefficient, we determined that the correlation is considered statistically significant. As a result of the calculations, a direct relationship was found between the parameter “assessment of child-parent relations” and the level of conflict behavior of a teenager, which amounted to 0.811. This value is higher than the Pearson criterion and at a 0.01 significance level, i.e. P > 0.36. Thus, the hypothesis of the study that there is an adequate significant effect of parent-child relationships on the conflict behavior of adolescents aged 14–15 was confirmed.

Conclusion

The study confirms the theoretical conclusions that in adolescence there is a manifestation of conflict, including in the relationship of parents and children. This is due to a change in the psychological status of the teenager and the lack of mobility on the part of the parents when accepting an adult child. A direct relationship between the parameter “assessment of parent-child relations” and the level of conflict behavior of a teenager is revealed. To improve the interaction, it is necessary to know the methods of influencing the emotional attitude of the parent to the child, especially the educational position of the parent, the consistency and satisfaction of the participants;

Acknowledgments

The research is conducted in the framework of the Scientific and Methodological Foundations of Psychology and Management Technology of Innovative Educational Processes in the Changing World project supervised by the South Ural research center of Russian Academy of Education in the South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University. Grant from the Mordovia State Pedagogical Institute named after M. E. Evsevyev (head Dolgova V.I.). The authors would like to express their gratitude to a postgraduate student of the Department of Psychology of the South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University A. Lyakhova for conducting an ascertaining experiment under their supervision.

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