MARITAL COPING OF PARENTS, PERCEIVED PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION AND SELFPERCEPTION OF CHILDREN; A CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The present cross-clIl/ural study explores rhe reloliol1shlj) between, mor'-tal coping of parents, perceived parental acceptance rejection and sel/-perception of children. The sall/ple con,l'isled (~f 100 {all/ilies (Paki.l'falli=5fJ, USA -50). Ollly rhU.H' .frllllilics lI'erc cUlllacted who Iwd at Icast olle child fiillillg ill II/e age range (7-13 years) had hOill parents alive, and belonged (0 all inlac/lltltivejomily oj/he counllJl lhey were fiving in Marital coping of parents \IIa.~ measured usillg Marilal Coping Inventory (MCI). For measuring the perceived parental acceptance rejeclion, Parental Acceptance-Rejection/ Control Questionnaire (PARQICOl1lro/) was lIsed. The personality of the children lVas de/ermined by child Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Child PAQJ. The sample consisted oj Jamilies ji'01ll Pakistan (Rawalpindi, Islamabad) and United States (Virginia, Mmyland, Washington D.C). The dala Ulas col/ected /Ising convenience sampling based on inelusion crirerion. The results showed Ihal Pakislani couples were using more posilive approach Jor dealing w;Ih marital problems, while American couples indulged more in self-inleresl, avoidance and cOliflicl. Pakistalli wives IIsed self-blame more Ihan their husbands. American Children perceived their parents to be rejecting as compared 10 Pakislani children, while Pakislani children found (heir molhers to be more wanll and less controlling. Personality assessment showed (hal children o/ul1ired sates have more negative personality allribliles Ihtm Pakislalli children. Children oj United States were found to be more aggressive, emotionally ins/able and had negative view abollt self and the world Pakistani children on the other hand especially females were fOllnd to be more dependent. Correlations showed thai there is high significant reJa/iom'hip between ail the variables, indicating Ihat parents who are coping with marital problems effectively are perceived to be warm and Iheir children have positive personalily traits. The results help in IIl1derslCll1dillg tlie parent child relationship alllong Iwo contrasling clI/lures and (he findings of Ihe presenf study can be usedforfurther researches in the future.