Al-Hikmah University Journal

The risk of parental conflict on children is usually traumatic and devastating. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the influence of parental conflict on behaviour problems of adolescents as expressed by undergraduates of university of Ilorin, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was employed for this study. The population of this study comprised all undergraduates of university of Ilorin while the target population consisted of students selected from the faculties of Education, Agriculture and Management Sciences. The simple random and proportional sampling technique was used to select 250 students from these faculties. A questionnaire designed by the researchers was used for the collection of data. The questionnaire was validated by experts in the department of Counsellor Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained; yielded a co-efficient R=0.67. The data collected was analysed using mean and t-test at 0.05 alpha level. The findings indicated that low self-esteem, use of abusive language, lack of concentration in school, loneliness, truancy, bulling and frequent lying are the behaviour problems manifested in adolescents experiencing parental conflict. The findings also showed that there were no significant differences in the expression of Undergraduates of University of Ilorin, Nigeria on the influence of parental conflict on behaviour problems based on gender and age. This study, therefore, recommended that couples experiencing marital conflict are encouraged to visit counsellors for guidance and to provide effective conflict resolution and management strategies, in order to minimize the consequences on children.