Investigation And Analysis On Parent-child Conflicts In Junior Middle School Students' Families In Shanghai

The main purpose of the study is to investigate parent-child conflicts in junior middle school students' families in Shanghai. There are six impact factors:child's gender, child's grade, and child's school ranking, parent's gender, parent's education, and parent's career satisfaction. Besides, appropriate conflict coping strategies and effective parenting education were considered helpful to conflict adjustment.On the basis of the literatures and the pre-survey results, a series of parent-child relationship questionnaires were prepared, which included "Mother-child relationship questionnaire for child", "Mother-child relationship questionnaire for mother", "Father-child relationship questionnaire for child", and "Father-child relationship questionnaire for father". Both children and parents were required to complete four-part surveys:basic information, conflict issues, conflict coping strategies, degree of conflict resolution. In addition to this, parents were required to report parenting status.By using the stratified random cluster sampling method, a sample of 920 pairs of parent-child drawn from 7 junior middle schools located in different districts in Shanghai. Then a questionnaire survey was conducted among them.362 mother-child pairs and 353 father-child pairs submitted valid questionnaires.During the investigation, parent and child were asked to score on the same topics. By comparing the two scores, intensity of parent-child conflicts was calculated. AHP was used in order to quantize the conflict intensity.Statistics were performed using SPSS software. Frequency analysis, character analysis, spearman rank correlation analysis, and Mann-Whitney U test were used.The following conclusions were drawn from the study.1. The parent-child conflict intensity is moderate. According to the conflict intensity (from strongest to weakest), the groups are aligned to mother-boy conflict, father-boy conflict, mother-girl conflict, father-girl conflict. There are significantly negative correlations among parent-child conflict intensity and parents' education, parents' career satisfaction. Mother-child conflict intensity has negative correlation with children's school ranking.2. According to the conflict intensity (from strongest to weakest), conflict contents are aligned to household chores, learning and entertainment, personal hobbies, communication and emotion, consumption, parental support, privacy, and etiquette. The intensity of mother-boy conflicts over entertainment, making friends, and household chores is significantly stronger than other groups. The intensity of father-boy conflicts over study, etiquette, and consumption is significantly stronger than other groups. The intensity of mother-girl conflicts over communication, emotion, and privacy is significantly stronger than other groups. The intensity of father-girl conflicts over most disputes is weaker than other groups.3. The majority of conflicts had not been properly resolved. Conflict solution level is correlated positively with parents'education, parents'career satisfaction, and has negative correlation with children's grade.4. Cooperation and compromise strategies help resolve parent-child conflicts. If child's school ranking is great, his mother inclines to use cooperation strategies. The higher grade child studies in, the more competition strategies he uses. Mother whose education level or career satisfaction is higher uses more cooperation strategies. Father whose education level is higher uses less avoiding strategies.5. According to the survey, parenting efficacy and parenting capacity are great. Parenting pressure class is moderate. Parenting efficacy is correlated positively with parents'education, career satisfaction. Mothers'parenting efficacy is higher than fathers', which is very significant in caring their children. Parenting capacity is correlated positively with parents'education, career satisfaction. Parenting pressure is correlated negatively with parents'education, career satisfaction. No significant difference is noted between mothers'parenting pressure and fathers'parenting pressure. But more mothers reported that they lost a lot of opportunities for free choice in order to raise their children.6. Parent-child conflict intensity is correlated negatively with parenting efficacy, parenting capacity, and has positive correlation with parenting pressure. Parent-child conflict resolution is correlated negatively with parenting pressure, and has no correlation with parenting efficacy, parenting capacity. 7. According to the analysis results, following conclusions can be inferred. Firstly, there are considerable implicit conflicts. Secondly, parents and their children have not mastered effective coping strategies of conflict. Thirdly, Parental status is not optimistic. Parental authority is universal, and many parents have poor democratic consciousness. Finally, appropriate coping strategies will help resolve parent-child conflicts effectively. To carry out parenting education can lower the intensity level of parent-child conflict. Conflict interventions should depend on the specific people and specific disputes.