Abstract
The study examined association between perceived parent adolescent conflict and social competence and whether gender of the adolescents moderated impact of parent-adolescent conflicts on their social competence. The sample of 120 college students (60 boys and 60 girls) who were living with both biological parents was recruited from the public colleges of Lahore. The Conflict Behavior Questionnaire and Social Competence Scale for Adolescents were administered to the participants. Results revealed that there was statistically significant difference between the mean scores of adolescent boys and girls on their perceived adolescent conflict with father (t = 9.41, p <.001) and with mother (t = 2.66, p <.012) however boys’ conflict with their parents was stronger than that of girls. Interestingly, both boys and girls perceived their relationship with the parent of the opposite sex as more conflicting. Parent-adolescent conflicts negatively predicted social competence and gender moderated the relationship between motheradolescent conflict and social competence of adolescents after statistically controlling for demographic variables i.e., age of adolescents, class and family system, unlike the case of father-adolescents conflict. Furthermore, adolescent girls scored significantly higher on social competence than boys (t =2.45, p < .016). The findings have been discussed in regard to gender roles in the cultural environment /settings of Pakistan where a huge gender disparity exists between the sexes. As a developing country, changing family life-style due to urbanization and spread of education in Pakistan appears to bode well in negotiating gender discrepancies and viewpoints for adaptive parent-adolescent relationship. It can, in turn, boost social competence as well, among adolescents.

Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad PhD, Zunaira Amin. (2019) Perceived Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Social Competence: Moderating Role of Gender, Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 29, issue 2.
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