Interpersonal conflict during adolescence

Abstract

Interpersonal conflict is considered within various frameworks of adolescent development. Conflict, defined as behavioral opposition, is distinguished from related constructs. Differences between adolescent relationships and across age groups are reviewed in the incidence and intensity, resolution, and outcome of conflict. Influences of setting on conflict behaviors and effects are emphasized. The evidence does not reveal dramatic shifts in conflict behavior as a function of age or maturation. Consistent differences do emerge, however, when adolescent relationships and conflict settings are considered. It is argued that a social relational model based on principles of interdependence and equity provides an alternative to psychoanalytic, sociobiological, and cognitive-developmental accounts of conflict behavior during adolescence.