Portrayal of Parent- Children Relationship in Television Drama Serials of Pakistan

Purpose: The current research investigates the portrayal of the parent- children relationship in prime-time entertainment television dramas of Pakistan. Relationship between parenting style and socio-economic status of the parents has been analyzed. Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative Content Analysis has been applied to measure the portrayal of parents in Drama serials. Top three entertainment channels ARY Digital, Hum TV and Geo TV were the targeted channels and parent-children based episodes were selected through purposive sampling. Out of 147 episodes, 308 scenes were selected. Scenes were coded on the predefined categories found in existing literature. Findings: The results showed that there was not much significant relationship found between socio-economic status of the parents and their parenting style. However, generation raised by parents with high socio-economic status showed submissive behavior towards their parents while the children raised by parents with low socio-economic status showed disrespectful behavior to their parents. Implications/Originality/Value: The findings suggest policy consideration to Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority regarding parents’ portrayal in drama serials. As respecting parents is our cultural value without any difference in socio economic status. But more materialistic approach is being projected in TV channels which need a second thought as the social norms.