Conflict resolution in adolescent relationships

Abstract

Conflict is an inevitable feature of social relationships. When people interact, disagreements may arise. Especially in close relationships, people sometimes disagree. Although conflict might jeopardize relationships, conflict is not necessarily detrimental. The way conflicts are handled is important in determining whether conflicts are functional or dysfunctional. Moreover, the way conflicts are handled might reveal information about the nature of relationships and their developmental status. In the current dissertation, the role of conflict resolution in adolescents’ relationships with their parents and friends was investigated in four empirical studies. Data of 323 adolescents and their both parents –that participated in the longitudinal project called CONAMORE (CONflict And Management Of RElationships) – are used. In the first study, we demonstrated the importance of investigating combinations of conflict resolution styles by parents and adolescents. We found that adolescents who used an aggressive conflict resolution style with parents reported higher levels of delinquency, but only when their mothers also used this aggressive conflict resolution style or when their fathers withdrew from conflicts. In the second study, we showed that parents and adolescents change the way they handle conflicts with each other over time towards more positive conflict resolution and less negative conflict resolution, reflecting a realignment of these relationships towards greater egalitarianism. In addition, we found two types of parent-adolescent dyads, one characterized by positive conflict resolution and one characterized by negative conflict resolution by both parents and adolescents. These either positive or negative pathways of conflict resolution were maintained by both parents and adolescents. The third study examined whether transmission of conflict resolution styles from the marital relationship to the adolescent-parent relationship occurred and we indeed found that conflict resolution styles in the marital relationships predicted conflict resolution styles in the adolescent-parent relationship two years later. Finally, in our fourth study, we were able to investigate the daily dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution in adolescent relationships with parents and friends by means of a daily diary method. We demonstrated that perceived relationship satisfaction was highest in a particular relationship on days on which no conflict occurred, second highest on days on which constructive conflict occurred and lowest on days on which unconstructive conflict occurred. Moreover, we demonstrated that whereas unconstructively handled conflict with best friends was related to higher relationship satisfaction the next day, conflict with parents was not related to relationship satisfaction the next day.