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. 2007 Sep;21(3):445-58.
doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.21.3.445.

The correlates of conflict: disagreement is not necessarily detrimental

Ryan E Adams  1 , Brett Laursen
Affiliations

The correlates of conflict: disagreement is not necessarily detrimental

Ryan E Adams et al. J Fam Psychol. 2007 Sep.

Abstract

In this study, the authors examined whether concurrent associations between adolescent outcomes and disagreements with mothers, fathers, and best friends vary as a function of perceived relationship quality. Participants were 469 11- to 18-year-old youths from a culturally diverse community. Negative qualities of parent-adolescent and friend relationships were linked to adjustment problems (aggression, anxiety and depression, delinquency, and withdrawal). Positive qualities of parent-adolescent relationships were linked to school grades and adjustment problems. Nonlinear associations between conflict and adolescent outcomes were moderated by negative qualities of relationships such that increases in conflict from low to moderate levels were linked to (a) higher school grades for adolescents in better but not poorer quality relationships and (b) greater delinquency and withdrawal for adolescents in poorer but not better quality relationships.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regression slopes for concurrent associations between conflict frequency and adolescent delinquency at low, average, and high levels of negativity in friend relationships.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Regression slopes for concurrent associations between conflict frequency and adolescent school grades at low, average, and high levels of negativity in mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Regression slopes for concurrent associations between conflict frequency and adolescent withdrawal at low, average, and high levels of negativity in mother–adolescent, father–adolescent, and friend relationships.
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