Parental conflicts and their impact on child welfare: a case study of Kira Municipality in Wakiso District

Abstract

Conflict can sometimes be quite damaging when children witness adults who shout loudly argue a lot or perhaps ignore one another frequently or for long periods of time, it can have a negative impact on children’s self-esteem, mental and physical health, behavior and academic achievements and future relationships with others. This study explores the impacts of parental conflicts on child welfare a case study of Wakiso district. Research was conducted on 382 respondents comprising of men(50), women(225) and children(107) between ages 7-18 years. The study was conducted after the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic in 2019/2020 and the analysis revealed that parental conflicts increased during the pandemic compared to the previous year’s thus impacting the welfare of children. The results also revealed that association between parental conflict and child welfare is mediated by the parenting behavior of mothers and fathers indicating that increased parental conflicts hinder parenting mechanisms like communication among parents which ultimately affects the welfare of children. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods and it was a case study research design with a purposive sampling strategy. Questionnaires, interview guides documentary review guide tools were used, primary and secondary data methods were used during the study. Reducing parental conflict may be one of the most important ways of reducing child mental health problems, however, relationship difficulties are often seen as a private matter and couples tend to only seek help when they are in a physical crisis. As a result, it was discovered that parental conflicts remains a common conflict to the community and except for increasing knowledge, nothing has been done to prevent the conflicts from happening and where it has happened the response mechanisms are either weak or ineffective. Children who experience relationships which are positive and productive are more likely to feel more settled and have good social and emotional wellbeing than those that are brought up in unhealthy environment. Parental conflict increases stress on parents, which can result in the decreased use of effective parenting skills over time, with a resulting negative impact on the children. Therefore, Parents must realize how much children suffer when they are embroiled in parental battles and take steps to manage their anger responsibly, shield children from parental conflicts, and work cooperatively in each child’s best interest.