Relationship of Generation Z with Separated Parents: Basis for Counseling Intervention Program

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between parent-child communication and romantic relationship satisfaction among Filipino Generation Z individuals from separated families and used the findings as the basis for a counseling intervention program. An explanatory-sequential mixed-method design was employed. The quantitative phase involved 131 college students aged 18–28 from selected educational institutions in Lipa City who met the study criteria of parental separation and past or current romantic relationship experience and were recruited through purposive sampling. The How is Your Family? —Brief Scale for Adolescents and the Relationship Assessment Scale were administered online. Weighted means and Pearson product-moment correlation were computed using SPSS. Six participants with the lowest quantitative scores were subsequently interviewed, and the transcripts were analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. Parent-child and family communication was rated Average, with mean scores of 0.80 for communication with the father, 1.27 with the mother, and 0.76 with the family, yielding a composite mean of 0.96. Romantic relationship satisfaction was High, with a composite score of 27.15. Parent-child/family communication was not significantly related to romantic relationship satisfaction (r = -0.077, p = .382). Qualitative findings nevertheless revealed two recurring coping trajectories: Psychosocial Withdrawal and Overcompensating Relational Patterns. The findings indicate that parental separation did not statistically determine romantic satisfaction in this sample, but it remained meaningful in how participants managed trust, vulnerability, responsibility, and conflict. The SURVIVE-G Program was therefore developed to strengthen resilience, relational boundaries, communication, and healthy intimacy among Generation Z students from separated families.