Conflictoplossingstrategieën van adolescenten en de relatiekwaliteit met moeder

Abstract

Objective: Conflict resolution strategies of parents and adolescents are associated with the quality of the relationship. Given the fact that a good relationship quality between mother and adolescent appears to be important for the psychosocial development of adolescents it is valuable to investigate which conflict resolution strategies may promote or worsen this relationship quality. The present longitudinal study investigates whether the relationship quality between mothers and adolescent depends on the way adolescents handle and resolve their conflicts with mothers and the moderating role of gender. Method: The sample consisted of high SES family’s (N = 92). 55 boys and 37 girls filled out questionnaires, with an average age of 13 year at wave 1 and 18 year at wave 5. The measures used in this study were the Kurdek Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (CRSI), the Network of Relationship Inventory (NRI) and the Specific Affect Coding system (SPAFF). Results: The results showed that the more conflicts between mothers and adolescents are solved by ‘engagement’ on wave 1, the less support adolescents reported in their relationship with mother on wave 5. Further, this study shows that the more girls use the conflict resolution strategy 'problem solving' on wave 1 in conflicts with their mother, the more support they experience in their relationship with mother on wave 5. Finally, the more girls use the engagement’on wave 1, the less negative affect is observed in their interactions with mother on wave 5. The opposite applies for boys. Conclusion: This study is of theoretical interest because the results demonstrate firstly a significant effect of the conflict resolution strategy ‘engagement’ and secondly reveals how this strategy affects the relationship with mother. Keywords: conflict resolution, mother-child relationship, adolescence