The Mediating Role of Negative Affect in the Relationships between Parents Conflict Styles with Adolescents, the Satisfaction of Three Basic Psychological Needs, and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has changed the psychological condition of parents due to changes in their place of activity and their increasingly complex roles in terms of work, children’s education, and households. The conditions have facilitated the increase in parents’ aggressive conflict styles with adolescents and the decrease in satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. Increased negative affect with indications of anger and emotional exhaustion was often found in parents during mandatory quarantine at home. Thus, parents’ decreased satisfaction of basic psychological needs, their conflict styles with adolescents, and increased negative affect may reduce their life satisfaction. This study investigated how negative affect mediates the relationship between parent-adolescent conflict styles and parents’ life satisfaction, as well as between satisfaction of basic psychological needs and life satisfaction. A total of 183 parents of adolescents completed questionnaires assessing parent-adolescent conflict styles, negative affect, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and life satisfaction. PLS-SEM was used to test hypotheses concerned with testing a theoretical framework from a prediction perspective when the structural model is complex. The hypothesized model performed excellently, as indicated by its predictive relevance and effect size on a significant path. Negative affect acts as a (1) full mediator in the relationship between satisfaction of basic psychological needs and life satisfaction, and (2) partial mediator between aggressive conflict style parent-child relationship and life satisfaction. The results of this study generally suggest that, to prevent each family member from developing adverse psychological problems, circumstances that necessitate quick changes in the family must be met with the pace of adaptation of family members. In general, the findings of this study imply that in limiting social conditions, family members are prone to committing and experiencing harshness and basic psychological needs frustration, thereby reducing their life satisfaction.