Explaining Heterogeneity of Daily Conflict Spillover in the Family: The Role of Dyadic Marital Conflict Patterns

Abstract

In this multi-informant, longitudinal, daily diary study, we investigated whether long-term dyadic patterns of marital conflict resolution explain the heterogeneity in short-term day-to-day cross-lagged associations between marital conflict intensity and mother–adolescent conflict intensity. The sample consisted of 419 adolescents (44.6% girls, Mage = 13.02, SD = 0.44, at T1; Mage = 17.02, SD = 0.44, at T5), their mothers (N = 419, Mage = 44.48, SD = 4.17, at T1), and their fathers (N = 419, Mage = 46.76, SD = 4.99, at T1). Mothers and fathers reported on their marital conflict resolution strategies annually across 5 years. Mother–father daily conflict intensity (mother-reported) and mother–adolescent daily conflict intensity (mother- and adolescent-reported) were assessed for 75 days across 5 years. We hypothesized that long-term marital conflict resolution patterns would moderate the short-term daily dynamics of conflict between the marital and the mother–adolescent dyads. Latent Class Growth Analysis revealed four types of families based on long-term dyadic marital conflict resolution, including families where mostly constructive or mostly destructive conflict resolution was used. Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the daily levels and short-term daily dynamics of conflict, revealing that for most families there were no day-to-day lagged associations between marital conflict and mother–adolescent conflict. Results showed that long-term conflict resolution patterns did not moderate the short-term dynamics of daily conflict. However, differences among long-term marital conflict resolution patterns were found in the levels of daily conflict, such that in families with long-term destructive conflict resolution patterns, daily conflict intensity was higher.