Abstract
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of children and adolescents on marital conflict of their parents from a developmental perspective.
Method:
Subjects of the study consisted of 198 children and adolescents between 5-24 ages and their parents. While “Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict" was applied to children and adolescents, “Child Information Form", “Parent Information Form" and “Marital Conflict Scale" were applied to their parents.
Results:
The findings of the study showed that mothers perceived higher marital conflict than fathers. Furthermore, a positive relationship between duration of the marriages and marital conflict was observed. Marital conflict was also found to be higher in arranged marriages. There was also a positive correlation between parents' statements of marital conflict and children’s perceptions about the properties of marital conflict. In children who were older than 13 years, the perception of threat was less than in children aging between 5-7 and 8-12. However, the perception about the properties of marital conflict in these children was higher when compared with children who were 8-12 years. There was no significant difference in terms sex.
Discussion:
The children’s perception of threat decreased with age. This developmental difference can be explained with the fact that older children have more sophisticated levels of reasoning to understand the reason of the conflict and their ability to evaluate the conflict.
Keywords: Parents, children, conflict, children’s perceptions
