1998 Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 109-123
The purposes of this study are to develop a scale which measures the interparental relationships perceived by their children (The Child's Perception of Interparental Relationships Scale) and to find out how the interparental and parent-child relationships affect the child's mental health.
First, the preliminary questionnaires of The Child's Perception of Interparental Relationships Scale were administered to 162 college students. The revised forms of this test were administered to 259 junior high school students. Consequently, The Child's Perception of Interparental Relationships Scale contains two subscales including 7 items for the affection scales and 7 items for the conflict-solving scales.
Secondly, samples (259 junior high school students, their 245 mothers and 152 fathers) answered the questionnaires and how the interparental and parent-child relationships affect the child's mental health was analyzed based on the perception of children.
The following results were found: (1) When children recognize their parent's relationships as affectionate and good in conflict solving, their mental health cultivates through the closeness toward their parents. However, which parent-child relationship factors (father-child or mother-child relationship) is important vary and depend on children's sex and grade. (2) The direct correlation of interparental relationships to child's mental health was detected in the result of third-year junior high school students. (3) Girls' mental health was more affected by the interparental and parent-child relationships than boys' mental health.
