Psychological consequences of parental conflicts for adolescents Influences on depression, aggressiveness, and self-esteem

The purpose of this study was to compare the depression, aggression, and self-esteem of adolescents with high-conflict and low-conflict parents. With this purpose in mind, 230 adolescent girls who were studying in high schools of Bahar city of Hamadan province, were selected by cluster sampling method and completed following questionnaires: The Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale(CPIC), Modified Depression Scale, hostility scale of Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), and Hare Area-Specific Self-Esteem Scale. Data analyzed by multivariate analysis. The results showed that there are significant differences between adolescents with high and low conflicted parents in term of level of depression, aggression, and self-esteem. Adolescents who perceived their parents more conflicted had higher levels of depression and aggression and lower levels of self-esteem. In sum, the findings indicate that parent’s conflict resolution style has negative mental health outcomes for their children. Finally, the implications of findings are discussed.