PERCEIVED PARENTAL CONFLICT, EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND WELLBEING IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Relationships play an indispensable role because they shape our behavior, emotion and thought and have profound effect on mental functioning and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to find the relationship between perceived parental conflict, emotional expression and wellbeing in young adults. This study also examined the gender difference of model variables. A random sample of 512 young adult (256 males and 256 females), age ranging from 18 to 24 years was taken. A self-developed demographic sheet along with Conflict Properties subscale of CPIC (Grych, Seid & Finchman, 1992), Berkley Expressivity Questionnaire (BEQ) (Gross & John, 1995) and Personal Wellbeing Index-Adult (PWI-A) (The International Wellbeing Group, 2013) were administered. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used. Results shows significant positive relationship of perceived parental conflict with negative emotionality (r= .637, **p<0.01) and impulse strength (r= .499, **p<0.01) whereas perceived parental conflict has significant negative relationship with positive emotionality (r= -.409, **p<0.01) and wellbeing (r= -.609, **p<0.01). Further, wellbeing has significant negative relationship with negative emotionality (r= -.567, **p<0.01) and impulse strength (r= -.418, **p<0.01) whereas wellbeing has significant positive relationship with positive emotionality (r= .549, **p<0.01). Results also indicate that males and females have no significant difference in terms of model variables (p>0.05). Findings of this study have positive implication for adults, family researchers and physical and mental health care professionals while dealing with problems of interparental conflict.