Filipino Adolescents’ Experiences of Abusive Parent-Child Relationship in Low Socioeconomic Status Families

Abstract

This phenomenological-qualitative study aimed to describe how an abusive parent-child relationship of selected Filipino adolescents from an intact family of low socioeconomic status affects the perceptions of their potential romantic partner, marriage, and family. The study also uncovered their coping mechanisms and support system.  The seven informants were identified using a purposive sampling technique. The researchers devised an open-ended interview guide to elicit information from the informants and were conducted with a guidance counsellor. With the use of content analysis, the study revealed that their abusive experiences with one or both parents have significantly affected their perceptions. Most of them have resorted to using negative coping strategies and that their grandparents stood as their extended family support system with their friends as their non-family support system. The informants displayed a significantly entrenched position on the characteristics of their future marital partner and family. However, they have shown disapproval of marriage due to their experiences. The study also exposed that mothers have been more present in the abusive parent-child experiences than the fathers, which contradicts expectations that fathers act as strict disciplinarians and mothers being the child's protector in Philippine Culture. The study exposed the experiences of children in verbal and physical abuse in their homes from intact families with low socioeconomic status in Metro Manila, wherein expounds on the type of social support these children have been given and the kinds of coping mechanisms that are prevalent in their experiences and how these abusive parent-child experiences reflected with either positive or negative on their perception of marital partner, the concept of marriage, and concept of family, wherein provides substantial knowledge on how these experiences can be handled and faced in terms of treatment.