IMPACT OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIO

Introduction 1.1 Parent-Child Relationship Relationships play a significant role in forming and maintaining individual behaviors, attitudes and values. With the existence of many kinds of interpersonal relationships organised around neighbourhoods, friendships, schools and workplaces, familial relationships are most influential. Parent-child relationships are specifically very significant because of their early beginnings in life as well as their intensity across various phases of the life course (Thornton, Orbuch, & Axinn, 1995). The Convention on Rights of the Child given by the United Nations defines the child as "a person below the age of 18 unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood younger" (Beijing Rules: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1985). The legal definition of a child in India follows from the UN Convention itself, referring any person under the age of 18 years as a child. Research literature talks about parent-offspring relationships at the beginning of child¿s life or at the end of parents¿ life (Hagestad, 1987). But, parent-child relationships are equally impactful when the child is moving from the ¿dependent on parents¿ stage to independent adulthood. In their study of parent-offspring relationships during the transition to adulthood, Thornton et al. (1995) collected data from first-, second- and fourth born-white "children" in the age range of 18-23 years. They were referred to as children since the research study aimed to study the relationship between the parent and offspring during transition. Even if the life span brings about changes in living arrangements of the individuals, they are still perceived in the domain of parent-child relationship and is considered to be a highly enduring relationship during the life course (Ha, 2010). The dyadic concept of parent and offspring over the life span is not limited only to psychological studies but also other disciplines are trying to comprehend it through their own field specific lens. For instance, sociological literature has been,