Sri Lankan Adolescents’ Relationships with their Parents, Siblings and Peers: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to explore Sri Lankan adolescents’ relationships with their parents, siblings and peers. To investigate this aspect a semi-structured interview schedule was used to interview 10 adolescents (6 girls and 4 boys aged at 15 to 18 years) from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, belonging to varied communities (sports clubs, plantation sector, urban, rural) . The results conveyed that parents, siblings and peers had an impact on the psychosocial wellbeing of the studied adolescents. However, positive relationships with parents, siblings and peers did not seem to be the only influence on adolescent wellbeing. Adolescents in the study who reported abusive and neglecting experiences from parents also reported well-being and attributed it to multitude of other factors.