The relations between college student's conflict styles, their perceptions of interparental conflict and psychological symptoms

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between conflict styles, perceptions of interparental conflict and psychological symptoms of university students. The sample of the study consisted of 320 university students (160 female and 160 male). The mean age of the participants was 22,22. Conflict Communication Scale, Children's Perceptions of Interparental Conflict Scale and Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90R) were applied to the participants. According to the findings of the study, gender-based differences in conflict styles of university students were found; boys are more likely to approach conflict than girls, while girls express more emotion during conflict than boys. When gender-based differences in the perception of parental conflict were examined, men were more likely to blame themselves for parental conflict. Psychological symptoms did not differ according to gender. Significant relationships were found between between conflict styles, perceptions of interparental conflict and psychological symptoms of university students. Conflict styles predicted perceptions of interparental conflict and psychological symptoms; parental conflict was found to be effective on psychological symptoms. The mediator role of the perceptions of interparental conflict in the relationship between conflict styles and psychological symptoms was examined. The relationship between emotional expression and sub-scales of psychological symptoms is mediated by perceived threat and self blame. And the perceived threat is seen as a mediator in the relationship between the total scores of conflict styles and the sub-scales of psychological symptoms.