Conflict Resolution in Families With Adolescents

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Abstract
Conflict resolution was examined in a 26-min seminaturalistic Family Social Interaction Task in 93 families with 5th through 12th graders. Families were consistent in their success in resolving conflicts but not in the particular solutions achieved. Adolescent concession declined from preadolescence to mid-adolescence, and conflicts were left unresolved more in families with boys than girls. Families compromised more over regulating the adolescent's behavior than over the adolescents' personal style (appearances, personality, health, and hygiene) and homework; conflicts over chores and interpersonal relations were more difficult to resolve than conflicts over personal style. In families with boys, compromise was predicted by less constraining interactions, whereas in families with girls, compromise was predicted by low ratings of the importance of the conflictual issues and fewer maternal conventional justifications for disputes. Findings are discussed in terms of research on adolescent development and family interaction.