SummaryCon¯ict management in¯uences individual wellbeing, group performance and organizational effectiveness. This research examined the psychometric qualities of two versions of the newly developed test for con¯ict handling. The lean version (Study 1 and 2) included problem solving, forcing, yielding and avoiding as distinct con¯ict management strategies, and the expanded version (Study 3) also included compromising. A negotiation study (Study 1) showed substantial convergence between self-reports, opponent-reports and observer rated behavior for problem solving, forcing and yielding, but not for avoiding. In Study 2 and Study 3 the psychometric properties were examined of the lean and the expanded version, respectively. Con®rmatory factor analyses revealed good to excellent psychometric qualities of both versions of the scale. We conclude that the scale is a parsimonious,¯exible and valid instrument to assess con¯ict management strategies at work.

The present research addresses the question of when and why forgiving might enhance psychological well-being. The authors predict that forgiving is associated with enhanced well-being but that this association should be more pronounced in relationships of strong rather than weak commitment. This hypothesis received good support in Studies 1-3. Studies 2 and 3 addressed the issue of why forgiving might be associated with psychological well-being, revealing that this association was reduced after controlling for psychological tension (i.e., a psychological state of discomfort due to conflicting cognitions and feelings). Study 4 revealed that in the context of marital relationships, tendencies toward forgiving one's spouse exhibited a more pronounced association with psychological well-being than did tendencies to forgive others in general.

The transition to parenthood is generally seen as one of the most challenging events in the early stages of marriage. But is it really that detrimental for marriage and do all couples go through the same changes? This article provides a state‐of‐the‐art review of research on marital change across the transition to parenthood. I first address to what extent the transition to parenthood affects the partner relationship. I then consider factors that explain why some couples fare better or worse than others across the transition to parenthood. Two factors that play a central role are (1) adaptive processes and (2) personal and situational characteristics. Finally, this article builds an evidence‐based case for an integrative model of the transition to parenthood.

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner’s ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person’s own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships.

Longitudinal data from 293 Dutch couples were used to examine the association between conflict frequency and relationship quality across the transition to parenthood, which is known as one of the most challenging events in the early stages of marriage. More frequent conflict during pregnancy was related to lower levels of relationship quality across the transition to parenthood, and lower levels of relationship quality during pregnancy were associated with more frequent conflict across the transition to parenthood. A comparison of two models showed that frequent conflict is more likely to be a determinant than a consequence of lower relationship quality. The results suggest a complicated but identifiable association between conflict frequency and relationship quality that may inform the development and modification of primary interventions targeting new parents.

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Using multiwave survey data collected among 251 financial sales professionals, we tested whether involuntarily working more from home (teleworking) was related to higher time-based and strain-based work-tofamily conflict (WFC). Employees' boundary management strategy (integration vs. segmentation) and work-family balance self-efficacy were considered as moderators of these relationships. Data were collected one month before, three months after, and 12 months after the implementation of a new cost-saving policy that eliminated employees' access to office space in a centralized work location. The policy resulted in employees being forced to work more from home. A voluntary telework program had been in effect before the new policy, implying that working more from home as a result of the new policy was involuntary in nature. Results revealed that involuntarily working more from home was associated with higher strain-based WFC but not higher time-based WFC. However, moderator analyses revealed that the positive association between involuntarily working more from home and both types of WFC was significantly stronger among employees with weaker self-efficacy in balancing work and family. Boundary management strategy had no detectable moderating effect.