Perceived Parental Communication, Emotional Regulation and Interpersonal Communication Competence among University Students

Abstract

The quality of parent-child interactions plays a central role in influencing child attachment patterns, emotional regulation abilities, understanding of other perspective, developing trust and empathy, which in turn may impact how effectively they communicate with others, and forms healthy relationships as they grow up. The aim of the current research study was to identify the relationship between Perceived Parental Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Communication Competence among university students. A correlation study was conducted on a total of 300 university students from different public and private sector universities in Islamabad. Out of 300 participants, 52.3% were males and 47.7% were females. A set of three self-reported questionnaire were used to measure study variables, which includes perception scale of parental communication (COMPA-AE), Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (EQR) having subscales i.e. emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal, and Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (ICCS). The relationship between perceived parental communication regarding father, perceived parental communication regarding mother and interpersonal communication competence was found to be positively significant. The emotional regulation is positively correlated with both of its subscales i.e. cognitive reappraisal and emotional suppression. Moreover, emotional suppression was negatively significantly associated with interpersonal communication competence. Findings revealed that emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal significantly predicted interpersonal communication competence. Furthermore, study findings demonstrated there were no significant gender and family system differences on perceived parental communication, emotional regulation, and interpersonal communication competence among university students. Based on the findings, parents can implement strategies that motivate children to communicate well, that may help them in establishing and maintaining fulfilling relationships and navigate social interactions with confidence.