Longitudinal Transmission of Conflict Management Styles Across Inter‐Parental and Adolescent Relationships

Abstract

This study longitudinally investigated transmission of conflict management styles across inter‐parental, adolescent–parent, adolescent–friend, and adolescent–partner relationships. During four waves, 799 middle‐to‐late adolescents (Mage‐t1 = 15.80; 54% boys) and their parents completed the Conflict Resolution Style Inventory. Cross‐lagged path analyses indicated transmission of adolescent conflict management styles in relationships with parents to relationships with friends and romantic partners: Positive problem solving and conflict engagement utilized by adolescents in conflicts with parents were significantly, positively related to, respectively, adolescent positive problem solving and conflict engagement in relationships with friends 1 year later and relationships with partners 2 years later. Thus, the study showed that the way adolescents manage conflicts with parents predicts how they handle conflicts later in relationships outside the family.

Personal Sense of Uniqueness Mediates the Relationship Between Compassion for Others and Subjective Well-Being

“…Soenens et al (2007) found evidence suggesting that intergenerational transmission of empathy-related responding, a construct which is closely tied to CfO and suggests that CfO might also be transmitted between generations. Furthermore, Staats et al (2017) found evidence in a longitudinal study for intergenerational transmission of conflict management styles, such that adolescents' conflict resolution strategies with their parents predicted their conflict resolution strategies with friends and romantic partners. As conflict resolution strategies have been shown to be closely related to CfO (Feher 2016), it is plausible that CfO is also developed via intergenerational transmission and that it could have significant effects on close relationships in an individual's life.…”

Parent–Child Recurring Conflict: A Mediator between Parental Anger Management and Adolescent Behavior

“…Parent–child recurring conflict refers to frequent, serious arguments between parents and children on the same topics with no resolution (Conger et al., 2011). From a social learning perspective, children learn behaviors through observation and interaction with parents, which later generalizes to their interactions with others (Bandura & National Institute of Mental Health, 1986; Staats et al., 2017). In contexts of high parent–child recurring conflict, children may learn and engage in maladaptive conflict resolution skills such as more deviant (e.g., breaking an item) and less problem‐solving (e.g., considering consequences; Staats et al., 2017; Van Doorn, Branje, & Meeus, 2011) behaviors.…”

“…From a social learning perspective, children learn behaviors through observation and interaction with parents, which later generalizes to their interactions with others (Bandura & National Institute of Mental Health, 1986; Staats et al., 2017). In contexts of high parent–child recurring conflict, children may learn and engage in maladaptive conflict resolution skills such as more deviant (e.g., breaking an item) and less problem‐solving (e.g., considering consequences; Staats et al., 2017; Van Doorn, Branje, & Meeus, 2011) behaviors. Adolescents who experience low parent–child conflict may observe and model parents' conflict resolution or problem‐solving strategies such as compromising (Conger et al., 2011; Goddard et al., 2004).…”

“…An understudied antecedent to parent–child recurring conflict is parental anger management. Research suggests that parents who have difficulty managing their anger often engage in conflict with adolescents who then model poor conflict resolution strategies (Staats et al., 2017; Van Doorn, Branje, & Meeus, 2011). Parental anger management differs from parent emotion regulation in that research on the latter has included a wide range of both positive (e.g., excitement) and negative (e.g., sadness) emotions (Gross & John, 2003).…”

Adolescent Delinquency and Family Conflict as Precursors of Romantic Relationships in Early Adulthood

“…There is a large body of literature indeed suggesting that especially in the early developmental stages children may observe the relational behavior of their parents, and subsequently these experiences are assumed to form the basis for relationships with siblings and peers (Conger et al, 2000; Cui & Fincham, 2010; De Goede, Branje, van Duin, VanderValk, & Meeus, 2012). Later in life, these experiences provide a basis for the quality of relationships with intimate partners (e.g., Staats, van der Valk, Meeus, & Branje, 2017), and (mal)functioning in a variety of other life domains (see, for example, Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Dirks et al, 2015; Kim et al, 1999).…”