Conflict Negotiation Tactics in Romantic Relationships in High School Students

One-sided and mutually aggressive couples: Differences in attachment, conflict prevalence, and coping

“…Thus, in the context of early romantic relationships, it is critical for adolescents to learn and practice constructive strategies for coping with and resolving interpersonal conflicts. Romantic experiences are associated with a number of stressors and conflicts because they alter existing relationships with parents and friends and may introduce conflicts of loyalty between a friend and a romantic partner (Feldman & Gowen, 1998;Schad, Szwedo, Antonishak, Hare, & Allen, 2008). A frequent source of conflict concerns how partners allocate their time: As romantic partners become increasingly important, the amount of time spent with best friends usually decreases.…”

Anger or Compromise? Adolescents' Conflict Resolution Strategies in Relation to Gender and Type of Peer Relationship

“…Adams and Laursen (2001) also found differences in the dynamics of conflict between parents and friends, interpreting this is terms of interpersonal conflict "scripts" that vary with the type of relationship. Feldman and Gowen's (1998) failure to find clear gender differences in conflict resolution is perhaps attributable to the 58 fact that they were specifically examining romantic relationships (which are mainly, though not all, cross-gender); this contrasts with most research, which has examined same-gender adolescent conflicts. Johnson (2003) showed that adolescent males and females have different perceptions and goals in conflict resolution within same-gender compared with cross-gender friendships, and speculated that these differences might influence conflict resolution behaviours.…”

“…Other studies have produced mixed results (e.g., Bird and Harris, 1990;Feldman and Gowen, 1998;Owens, Daly and Slee, 2005) or reported no gender differences in conflict resolution (Haar and Krahe, 1999;Kurdek, 1987).…”

“…Researchers have often suggested that preferred conflict resolution styles are related to gender, and yet clear gender differences do not always emerge (Feldman and Gowen, 1998). One would predict the occurrence of gender differences on the basis of gender schema theory, whereby individuals process information in a manner that is consistent with socially constructed gender stereotypes (Bern, 1981;1984).…”

“…One would predict the occurrence of gender differences on the basis of gender schema theory, whereby individuals process information in a manner that is consistent with socially constructed gender stereotypes (Bern, 1981;1984). Of the various styles identified in the literature, two that are especially relevant in considering gender differences are compromise and overt anger; these styles are also the most reliably measured, based on evidence presented by Charlton (2001), Feldman and Gowen (1998) and Owens, Daly and Slee (2005).…”