The Styles of Encountering Conflict among Parents of Psychologically Normal-Abnormal Adolescents

The current research intended to investigate the parent's conflict tactics and their adolescent child's normal-abnormal behavior. This research was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population included all male and female high school students with normal-abnormal behavior and their parents in Tehran, Iran. The sample included 208 female students and 193 male students who were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. To collect data, Conflict Tactics Scale(CTS)and Symptom Checklist-90-R(SCL-90-R) were utilized. Findings showed that, as compared to the parents of adolescents with abnormal behavior, the parents of adolescents with normal behavior employ more constructive tactics which are based on negotiation and reasoning. Additionally, as compared to the parents of adolescents with abnormal behavior, the parents of adolescents with normal behavior less likely resort to destructive tactics which are based on verbal aggressiveness and physical violence. Therefore, it seems that those children whose parents employ more suitable strategies in conflicts are more likely good-behaved and behaviorally normal.