Perceived Parent-Child Conflict in Adolescents: The Transition and Duration Models

(4) What variables are important in moderating the transition or duration models of conflict? About 300 adolescents in high schools finished the survey as well as the follow up investigations. The results reveal that high threshold exists for parent-child conflicts to be obviously perceived or reported.

Two global measures of parent-child relationship, feeling of being understood and negative emotion toward parents, are good indicators of the threshold. The perceived conflicts will maintain in the same level or go higher only when the relationship has passed through the threshold, they tend to go down otherwise. Belief of filial piety held by adolescents is identified as an important moderator during the changing processes of the perceived conflicts.

Two major problems have been interfering during this study. The first one, the measurement of perceived parent-child conflicts may be not sensitive enough for detecting the change in 3 or 4 months. The other, most of the subjects do not perceive strong parent-child conflict.

Consequently, it is quite difficult to analyze the change across the time. Better measuring tools or/and larger sample will be in need for further research.