Conflict between parents and adolescents: Variation by family constitution (original) (raw)
Related papers
Resolution of parent–child conflicts in the adolescence
European Journal of Psychology of Education, 2013
The aims of the study were: (1) to examine whether adolescents' attachment and the perceived quality of the communication with their parents relate to effective resolution of parent-child conflicts and (2) to determine whether the pattern of associations changes with adolescents' gender and age. The sample consisted of 295 adolescents who filled the questionnaires. Structural Equations Models showed that secure attachment predicted a positive communicative climate, which in turn, predicted a more frequent use of negotiation. Secure attachment was related to the use of withdrawal strategies. Anxious attachment was related to high levels of criticism and disputes with parents, which, in turn, predicted the use of all conflict resolution styles. Avoidant attachment was not related to any of the conflict resolution styles. No differences were found in the pattern of associations by gender and age. The relevance of the findings for the social relational perspective to conflict resolution is discussed. Keywords Attachment. Parent-child communication. Parent-child conflict resolution. Adolescence Resolution of parent-child conflicts in the adolescence An important part of parent-child interactions in the adolescence years takes the form of quarrels, disagreements, and arguments that signal the presence of conflicts (Shantz 1987; Shantz and Hartup 1992). Although conflicts usually involve behavioral opposition, they should not be considered in principle as negative events. Conflicts provide a means for expressing concern and dissatisfaction, for pointing out important topics for discussion, and
Conflict Styles and Outcomes in Families with Adolescent Children
Social Development, 2010
The role of conflict in parent-adolescent relationships is a topic of considerable theoretical debate and empirical investigation; however, limited attention has been devoted to the strategies used by family members to deal with disagreements and their outcomes and how they differ from early to late adolescence. This study explored conflict styles and outcomes in a sample of 302 families with adolescent children (total N = 906), of two age groups (13-year-olds and 15-year-olds). One hundred sixty-four adolescents (45.7%) are female. Participants completed the 'when we disagree' scales. Results from both adolescents and parents confirmed the intensification of conflict from early to middle adolescence, in terms of conflict style (higher aggression, lower compromise) and outcome (lower intimacy). Age trends differ according to gender; in particular, there is evidence of a more difficult position of older girls, and of the worsening of mother-adolescent relationship from early to middle adolescence.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2010
In this study, changes in three conflict resolution styles in parent-adolescent relationships were investigated: positive problem solving, conflict engagement, and withdrawal. Questionnaires about these conflict resolution styles were completed by 314 early adolescents (M = 13.3 years; 50.6% girls) and both parents for four consecutive years. Adolescents' reported use of positive problem solving increased with mothers, but did not change with fathers. Fathers reported an increase of positive problem solving with adolescents, whereas mothers reported no change. Adolescents' use of conflict engagement was found to temporarily increase with mothers, but showed no change with fathers. Mothers and fathers reported a decrease in conflict engagement with adolescents. Adolescents' use of withdrawal with parents increased, although this increase was temporarily with mothers. Mothers reported no change in withdrawal, whereas fathers' use of withdrawal increased. Generally, we found that both adolescents and their parents changed in their use of conflict resolution from early to middle adolescence. These results show that conflict resolution in parent-adolescent relationships gradually change in favor of a more horizontal relationship.
Child Studies in Diverse Contexts, 2013
scholarship in the social sciences (Arnett, 1995; Hall, 1904), though only limited research has been conducted on this topic in many non-Western societies (Barber, 1994; Bush & Peterson, 2013; Fuligni, 1998). Despite these earlier views of adolescence as a period of very difficult parent-adolescent conflict, recent scholarship favors a more balanced view in which either positive or negative outcomes can result, depending upon how conflict is managed. Moderate conflict, in fact, has been viewed increasingly as a normative process that may foster strength and adaptive change within parent-adolescent relationships (Collins, Laursen, Mortenson, & Ferreira, 1997). Constructive outcomes may result, particularly when
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2010
The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the parent version of ''When We Disagree'' scales (WWD), measuring the style of conflict (aggression and compromise) within parent-adolescent relationship. Differences according to adolescent gender and age, and according to perspective (description of self and description of the adolescent) were assessed. Concurrent validity was established by correlations with family communication and parenting self-efficacy. Participants include 302 motherfather dyads with adolescent children (13 and 15 years old; total n ¼ 604). Results confirmed the usefulness of the WWD in assessing conflict styles as perceived by parents. Correlations with family communication and parenting self-efficacy were in the expected direction. There was evidence of a more conflicting relationship between female adolescents and mothers. Adolescents are described by parents as less compromising and more aggressive than self.
Development and Validation of Perceived Inter-Parental Conflict Scale for Adolescents
Volume 36, Issue 3, 2021
The study aimed to develop a culturally relevant scale to assess the perceived inter-parental conflicts in adolescents by using a mixed-method approach. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 adolescents of age range 14-18 years were conducted along with 3 focus groups of parents and teachers that helped to generate a pool of 88 items. Construct validity and psychometric properties were determined on a sample of 500 adolescent with age range 14-18 years (M = 15.28, SD = 1.07). Principal axis factoring through direct oblimin rotation method postulated 60 items with six distinct factors (named as overt conflicts, familial conflicts, conflicts related emotional reactivity, financial conflicts, child related conflicts, and psychological conflicts) that accounted for 38% variance. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for total scale was .94 and ranged from .63 to .92 for six emerged factors. The convergent and discriminant validity of the scale was also satisfactory. Perceived Inter-Par...
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2014
Although conflict is a normative part of parentadolescent relationships, conflicts that are long or highly negative are likely to be detrimental to these relationships and to youths' development. In the present article, sequential analyses of data from 138 parent-adolescent dyads (adolescents' mean age was 13.44, SD = 1.16; 52 % girls, 79 % non-Hispanic White) were used to define conflicts as reciprocal exchanges of negative emotion observed while parents and adolescents were discussing ''hot,'' conflictual issues. Dynamic components of these exchanges, including who started the conflicts, who ended them, and how long they lasted, were identified. Mediation analyses revealed that a high proportion of conflicts ended by adolescents was associated with longer conflicts, which in turn predicted perceptions of the ''hot'' issue as unresolved and adolescent behavior problems. The findings illustrate advantages of using sequential analysis to identify patterns of interactions and, with some certainty, obtain an estimate of the contingent relationship between a pattern of behavior and child and parental outcomes. These interaction patterns are discussed in terms of the roles that parents and children play when in conflict with each other, and the processes through which these roles affect conflict resolution and adolescents' behavior problems.
Parent–adolescent conflicts, conflict resolution types, and adolescent adjustment
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2009
The current study examined the moderating role of conflict resolution on the association between parent-adolescent conflicts and adolescent problematic adjustment. Participants were 1313 Dutch early and middle adolescents who completed measures on conflict frequency, conflict resolution with parents, and internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems. Using a person-centered approach, five types of adolescents could be distinguished that were characterized by different patterns of conflict resolution. These types meaningfully differed in conflict frequency with parents and adjustment problems. Furthermore, these types moderated the relation between conflict frequency and externalizing problems and internalizing problems. When withdrawal was the only strategy used to resolve conflicts with parents, conflict frequency was more strongly related to externalizing problems, but when withdrawal was used in combination with other styles, conflict frequency was more strongly related to internalizing problems.