MARITAL DISCORD OF PARENTS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ADOLESCENTS’ SELF ESTEEM, ANXIETY AND COPING STRATEGIES-AN INTERVENTION STUDY

We are aware that human beings are different from each other in more ways than one. Even like minded and similar thinking personalities tend to differ with each other at some time or the other and the same is true in the case of married couples which may result in discord if not resolved amicably. This discord may manifest in to aggressive bevahiour and adversely impact their children who are shaping their personalities as they grow up. Thus parental discord has brought about certain predictable adverse manifestations in the personalities of the siblings. The broad objective of the study was to understand the Marital Discord of parents and understand its influence on the adolescents' Self Esteem, Anxiety and Coping. For this study, data was collected from various Family Counselling Centres in and around Hyderabad. Using a definite methodology, Marital Discord of parents was assessed. The study further examined adolescents of these parents. A total of 104 adolescents were filtered and assessed for Self Esteem, Anxiety and Coping Strategies. The results indicated that a total of 23 were identified with low Self Esteem, 19 with high Anxiety and 22 for low Coping Strategies. These adolescents were subjected to an Intervention Programme and the impact was assessed to be positive.