A study on university students' conflict resolution styles and happiness: the effect of psychological capital (a study in Iran)

Identifying what specific conflict resolution styles are linked to change in marital satisfaction is important because managing conflict is one of the central tasks of maintaining a marriage (Gottman, 1994) and because declines in marital satisfaction herald a series of processes indicative of a deteriorating marriage (Gottman & Levenson, 1992). Findings regarding the concurrent link between conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction have been consistent in indicating that each spouse's marital satisfaction is positively related to the frequency with which each spouse uses constructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as agreement, compromise, and humor) and negatively related both to the frequency with which each spouse uses destructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as conflict engagement, withdrawal, and defensiveness) and to the joint frequency with which the wife uses conflict engagement and the husband uses withdrawal (the demand-withdraw pattern). This pattern of findings has been obtained regardless of whether conflict resolution styles were assessed by means of brief behavioral observations (Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Heavey, Layne, & Christensen, 1993; Noller, Feeney, Bonnell, & Callan, 1994) or by means of self-report and partner-report questionnaire data (Christensen, 1988; Heavey et al., 1993; Huston & Vangelisti, 1991; Noller et al., 1994). Given that the concurrent link between conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction is well-established, researchers have used longitudinal data to assess the plausibility of two causal relations involving conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction. The first causal relation--the assumption that the use of certain conflict resolution styles causes marital satisfaction--is based on interdependence theory (Rusbult, 1983) which posits that perceived rewards to a relationship (such as the frequent use of constructive conflict resolution strategies) and perceived costs to the relationship (such as the frequent experience of negative conflict resolution styles) determine satisfaction with the relationship. The longitudinal data consistent with this causal relation would indicate that the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used at Time 1 predicts change in marital satisfaction. The second causal relation--the assumption that the level of marital satisfaction is causally related to the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used--is based on self-fulfilling prophecy theory (e.g., Snyder, Tanke, & Berscheid, 1977) which posits that one's attitude (e.g., level of satisfaction with the marriage) provides a psychological environment that elicits behavior (e.g., conflict resolution styles) that reinforces and is consistent with the initial attitude. The longitudinal data consistent with this causal relation would indicate that the level of marital satisfaction at Time 1 predicts the degree of change in the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used. Unfortunately, longitudinal findings relevant to the plausibility of either causal relation have been inconsistent (Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Heavey et al., 1993; Huston & Vangelisti, 1991; Noller et al., 1994). In part, this could be due to four methodological and two conceptual limitations of these studies. Regarding the methodological limitations, first, because Gottman and Krokoff (1989) and Heavey et al. (1993) used measures of marital satisfaction that also tapped frequency of conflict and disagreement, the correlations from these measures may have been inflated (see review by Fincham & Bradbury, 1987). Second, only Huston and Vangelisti (1991) reported that marital satisfaction scores changed appreciably over the time interval studied, raising the possibility that, in the other studies, a restriction of range accounted for nonsignificant findings. Third, because the first assessments made by Huston and Vangelisti (1991) and Noller et al. …

زمینه و هدف: از علل و عوامل به وجودآورنده تعارض در سازمان ها، وجود تفاوت هاي فردي و شخصیتی افراد مي باشد. این تحقیق با هدف تعیین رابطه ابعاد شخصیت و سبک های حل تعارض با میانجی گری حمایت اجتماعی در کارمندان فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران انجام شده است. روش و مواد: این مطالعه همبستگی با استفاده از روش مدل سازی معادلات ساختاری انجام شد. جامعه آماری کارمندان فدراسیون فوتبال بودند که 136 نفر از آنها به روش نمونه‌گیری تصادفی انتخاب شدند و به پرسشنامه های ابعاد شخصیت، سبک های حل تعارض و حمایت اجتماعی پاسخ دادند. داده ها با استفاده از مدل سازی معادلات ساختاری (SEM) توسط نرم افزار Amos Graphics-20 و SPSS-23 مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفتند. یافته‌ها: کارمندان مرد 92 (7/67%) نفر و زن 44 (3/32%) نفر بودند. میانگین (انحراف معیار) ابعاد شخصیت (4/0) 6/3، حمایت اجتماعی (7/0) 6/2 و سبک های حل تعارض (5/0) 5/3 بود. نتایج نشان داد که اثرگذاری ابعاد شخصیت بر متغیر سبک های حل تعارض با بار عاملی 34/0 مستقیم و بر حمایت اجتماعی با بار عاملی 37/0 غیرمستقیم بوده است. همچنین اثرگذاری حمایت اجتماعی بر سبک های حل تعارض با بار عاملی 17/0 مستقیم بوده است. در ابعاد شخصیت، بیشترین اثرگذاری، مربوط به مؤلفه سازگاری با بار عاملی 80/0، در حمایت اجتماعی، بیشترین اثرگذاری، مربوط به مؤلفه هیجانی با بار عاملی 94/0 و در سبک های حل تعارض بیشترین اثرگذاری، مربوط به مؤلفه سلطه گرانه با بار عاملی 78/0 بدست آمد. نتیجه گیری: مطالعه نشان داد که ابعاد شخصیت بر سبک های حل تعارض تأثیر مستقیم دارد، بین ابعاد شخصیت و حمایت اجتماعی رابطه معنادار غیرمستقیم دیده شد، همچنین بین حمایت اجتماعی با سبک های حل تعارض رابطه معناداری مشاهده نشد و حمایت اجتماعی در رابطه با ابعاد شخصیت و سبک های حل تعارض، نقش میانجی نداشت.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the conflict resolution styles used by university students in handling conflicts, and to determine the effects (if any) of age, nationality and gender on how students respond to conflicts.Design/methodology/approach– The Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument was adopted to assess the conflict resolution styles (accommodating, avoiding, collaborative, competitive and compromising) of post graduate students in a University in Malaysia. Both ANOVA andt-test analyses were utilized to investigate the relationship between, nationality, gender, age and conflict resolution styles used by students.Findings– Results of this study indicates that female students used competitive style more than male students, while male students are more likely to avoid conflicts. The older students were discovered to use more avoiding, while younger students are more likely to be competitive in nature. The findings did not reveal any significant differences in nationality.Originality/value– This paper expands its focus from gender (which is the most commonly tested category) to other categories such as age and nationality, thereby giving room for these new categories to be tested extensively in future researches. The results reveal that students not only use different conflict resolution styles to address conflicts, but also there exists differences in the styles used by students of different age groups and gender.

BackgroundConflict is inevitable on healthcare teams, yet few professional school curricula teach or assess conflict resolution skills. Little is known about the variation in conflict resolution styles across medical students and how these styles might impact conflict resolution skills.MethodsThis is a prospective, single blinded, group randomized quasi experimental trial to assess the impact of knowing one’s own conflict resolution style on conflict resolution skills in a simulated encounter. Graduating medical students completed a mandatory conflict resolution session with standardized patients acting as nurses during a transition to residency course. Coaches reviewed videotapes of the simulation, focusing on students’ skills with negotiation and emotional intelligence. Retrospectively, we assessed the impact of the students knowing their conflict resolution style prior to simulation, student gender, race, and intended field of practice on conflict resolution skills as judged by coaches.ResultsOne hundred and eight students completed the simulated conflict session. Sixty-seven students completed the TKI before the simulated patient (SP) encounter and 41 after. The most common conflict resolution style was accommodating (n = 40). Knowing one’s conflict resolution style in advance of the simulation and one’s identified race/ethnicity did not impact skill as assessed by faculty coaches. Students pursuing diagnosis-based specialties had higher negotiation (p = 0.04) and emotional quotient (p = 0.006) scores than those pursuing procedural specialties. Females had higher emotional quotient scores (p = 0.02).ConclusionsConflict resolution styles vary among medical students. Male gender and future practice in a procedural specialty impacted conflict resolution skills but knowing conflict resolution style did not.

Preliminary psychometric data are presented for two inventories that assess conflict in couples. The Ineffective Arguing Inventory (IAI) is a self-report measure that assesses a dysfunctional style of couple conflict resolution. The Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (CRSI) has complementary self-report and partner-report versions that assess four personal conflict resolution styles for each member of the couple. Subjects were both partners of 75 gay, 51 lesbian, 108 married non-parent, and 99 married parent couples. Findings for each inventory are presented regarding the factor structure of items, the internal consistency of composite scores, the 1-year stability of composite scores, the relation between couple members' composite scores, and the link between composite scores and relationship satisfaction, change in satisfaction, and relationship dissolution. Generally, results warrant further examination of the IAI and CRSI as measures of conflict for couples. All couples have to deal with conflict. Further, how that conflict is managed is linked to relationship satisfaction, change in relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability (Gottman, 1994; Heavey, Layne, & Christensen, 1993; Markman, Renick, Floyd, Stanley, & Clements, 1993; Noller & White, 1990). To date, perhaps the most productive method for studying relationship conflict has been to code videotapes of partner conversations for small samples of couples in a laboratory setting (e.g., Gottman, 1994). Without denying the value of these behavioral observations--in particular, for assessing sequences of couples' interactional styles during conflict--the present study is based on the premise that self-report and partner-report methodologies are also valuable ways to study couple conflict and may complement observational methodologies. One of the major limitations of observational studies of couple conflict is that they utilize very small, nonrepresentative samples. In fact, some of the inconsistent findings in observational studies regarding the types of conflict resolution strategies that are linked to declines in relationship satisfaction over time have been attributed to biased samples (Gottman, 1993). The availability of psychometrically sound self-report and partner-report measures of conflict resolution would help address this limitation by providing researchers with one method by which the link between conflict resolution and both relationship maintenance and relationship dissolution could be studied in large, representative samples. Some measures of couple conflict are available, including self-report measures of couple conflict resolution patterns (e.g., the Problem-Solving Communication scale of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory; Snyder, 1981), self-report measures of individual conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Marital Coping Inventory, Bowman, 1990), and self-report and partner-report measures of each partner's conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Interpersonal Communication Skills Inventory; Boyd & Roach, 1977) as well as sequences of partners' conflict resolution styles (e.g., the Communication Patterns Questionnaire; Christensen, 1988). However, no measure of couple conflict resolution could be found that was brief, was based on a coherent conceptual framework, and had comprehensively documented psychometric properties. Documenting psychometric properties include validating the measure against the major relationship outcomes used in behavioral observations in this area of study--relationship satisfaction, change in relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Markman et al., 1993). Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to present such preliminary psychometric data for two brief nonobservational measures of couple conflict. The first measure--the Ineffective Arguing Inventory (IAI)--assesses how the couple handles conflict, whereas the second measure the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory (CRSI)--assesses each partner's individual style of handling conflict. …

Perceptual studies are important because of the influence of perception on individual behavior. The behavior of an individual is known to be influenced by activation of traits like stereotypes; behavior of leaders and entrepreneurs is no exception. The leadership role perspectives of entrepreneurs play an important role in the behavior of entrepreneurs as leaders of organizations. One of the important behavioral indicators of entrepreneurs is their conflict resolution styles. There is hardly any empirical research that focuses on Leadership role perspective and conflict resolution styles of an entrepreneur. The present study attempts to bridge this research gap by focusing on the relationship between two leadership role perspectives (Benevolent and Benevolent-Authoritative leadership role perspective) and conflict resolution styles (Cooperative, Competitive and Avoiding Style) of entrepreneurs who are steering small and medium enterprises (SMEs). For the study, data is collected through a self-administered online questionnaire from 238 SME entrepreneurs of Karnataka, who were selected by convenience judgmental sampling method. Descriptive statistics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling were used for analyzing the data. Leadership role perspectives and conflict resolution styles were extracted using factor analysis and thereafter, tested for reliability and validity. The results indicate that the role perception of leaders has an impact on their conflict resolution styles. The study is relevant today because entrepreneurs’/leaders’ conflict resolution style is a major concern in SMEs due to its importance in problem-solving as well as motivating and retaining employees.

BACKGROUND:Crises such as the coronavirus outbreak is associated with a lot of fear and anxiety. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety caused by coronavirus disease (COVID) and marital satisfaction mediated by empathy and conflict resolution styles in married women.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 326 married women referring to a marriage counseling center in Tehran. Data were collected using the questionnaires of marital satisfaction, marital empathy, conflict resolution styles, and the coronavirus disease anxiety scale (CDAS). Data analysis was performed by Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM).RESULTS:The psychological symptoms of coronavirus disease anxiety (CDA) had a positive and significant effect on empathy and conflict resolution styles (P < 0.05) while the physical symptoms of CDA had a negative and significant effect on empathy, conflict resolution styles, and marital satisfaction (P < 0.05). The indirect effect of psychological symptoms of CDA on marital satisfaction due to empathy and conflict resolution styles was positive and significant (P < 0.05). The explained variance of marital satisfaction in terms of psychological and physical symptoms of CDA, empathy, and conflict resolution styles was equal to R2 = 0.42.CONCLUSION:Psychological symptoms of CDA increased marital satisfaction by affecting problem-solving styles and marital empathy. Therefore, empathy skills and conflict resolution styles can be used to reduce coronary anxiety and increase satisfaction levels.

Marriage is an institution formed by men and women coming together for purposes such as living together and raising children. Marriage is a cultural institution that is as much a cultural institution as it is legal, supported by beliefs and traditions. In marriage, the fact that people come from different family histories and have different life practices makes conflicts inevitable. Marital conflict is a process that begins with the perception that the other party is blocking or about to prevent their wishes in the relationship between spouses and includes the perceptions, feelings and behaviors of both parties. This study, it is aimed to investigate the effect of religious coping skills on conflict resolution skills in marriage. A conflict resolution styles scale was used in the research. The sub-headings of the scale addressed four different conflict resolution styles. These; positive conflict resolution style, negative conflict resolution style, submission and withdrawal. There is a relationship between marriage and religion as old as human history. Religions have teachings and practices that regulate and influence marriage and family relationships. For the transmission of religion also, the family environment in which the teachings and practices will be taught is important. This reciprocal relationship affects the resolution skills that couples use in the conflicts they experience in their marital relationships. Another area where the influence of religion is seen is the religious coping strategies in which individuals benefit from religion in the process of coping with situations that stresses the individual. The study discussed religious coping strategies in two dimensions: positive and negative. In dealing with positive religious coping, there is a secure relationship with God, prayer, worship, charity, and trust are from strategies for positive coping. On the other hand, negative religious coping involves strategies such as thinking that the person is being punished by God in coping with stressful situations. When the literature is examined, there is no study that deals with conflict resolution skills and religious coping strategies in marriage together. From this point of view, it is thought that the study will contribute to the literature. This study used a religious coping scale, conflict resolution styles scale, and demographic information form. In the study with 135 female and 115 male participants in Ankara, it was seen that there was a relationship between positive religious coping style and age, education, and gender variables, female participants used positive religious coping style more than male participants, and positive religious coping style was used as age and education level increased. There is no found that economic status is related to religious coping style. As a result of the research, a positive relationship was found between a positive religious coping style and a positive conflict resolution style. It was seen that Female participants used the negative conflict resolution style more than male participants, while the withdrawal and submission styles were used more by male participants, as the education level and age is increasing, positive conflict resolution is used. While there was no relationship between negative religious coping style and submission and withdrawal conflict resolution style, a positive relationship was found between negative religious coping style and negative conflict resolution style.

This study examines the relation between conflict resolution styles in parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent delinquency. Questionnaires about conflict resolution styles were completed by 284 early adolescents (mean age 13.3) and their parents. Adolescents also completed a questionnaire on delinquency. Hierarchical regression analyses show that combinations of adolescents' and parents' conflict resolution styles are significantly related to delinquency. In adolescent-father relationships, the demand-withdraw pattern was found to be related to delinquency, and in adolescent-mother relationships the interaction characterized by mutual hostility was found to be related to delinquency. The results stress the interdependence of adolescents and parents in conflict resolution and demonstrate the need for investigating combinations of adolescents' and parents' conflict resolution styles.

The classical analysis of conflict management assumes that there are 5 main styles of conflict resolution which originate from various combinations of attainment of the self-interest and other-interest. Cooperation is underlain by joint maximization of both interests, Competition means maximization of self-interest at the expense of other-interest, Accommodation means maximization of other-interest at the expense of self-interest, Avoidance means neglect of both interests, while Compromise means a partial realization of the two interests. Although the five styles of conflict resolution are well-supported by empirical research, there is no research directly showing the assumed role of the two interests in the five styles of conflict resolution. The present paper presents an empirical study of 83 employees showing that the two interests (as measured by The Selfand Other Interest Inventory devised by Gerbasi &amp; Prentice) [1] are systematically and predictably related to the five styles of conflict resolution (as measured by the Questionnaire of Five Styles of Conflict Resolution devised by Kłusek) [2].

An individual’s conflict resolution styles can have a large impact on the decision making process of a group. This impact is affected by a variety of factors, such as the group size, the similarity of the group members, and the type of support offered by the recommender system, if the group is using one. Measuring the effect of these factors goes beyond the capability of a live user study. In this article we show that simulation-based experiments can be effectively exploited to analyse the effect of the group members’ conflict resolution styles and to help researchers to formulate additional research hypotheses, which could be individually tested in ad hoc user studies. We therefore propose a group discussion procedure that simulates users’ actions while trying to make a group decision. The simulated users adopt alternative conflict resolution styles derived from the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Model. The simulation procedure is informed by the analysis of real users’ interaction logs with a group discussion support system. Our experiments are conducted on scenarios characterized by four group factors, namely, conflict resolution style, inner-group similarity, interaction length and group size. We demonstrate the effect of these factors on the recommendation quality. This is measured by the loss in the utility obtained by an individual when choosing the recommended group choice rather than his/her individual best choice. We also measure the difference between the highest and lowest utility that the group members obtain, in order to understand the fairness of the group recommendation identified by the system. The experimental results show (among other findings) that if group members have similar tastes then groups composed of users with the competing conflict resolution style obtain the largest utility loss, compared to groups whose members adopt the cooperative styles (accommodating and collaborating), and yet, whatever their conflict resolution styles, there is no distinct difference in their utility for the group choice (they are treated equally). Conversely, when group members have diverse preferences, the average utility loss of competing members is still the largest, but the differences in their utility is the lowest (they all get a similar but lower utility). Some of the findings of our simulation experiments also match observations made in real group discussions and they pave the way for new user studies aimed at further supporting the reported findings.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of interventions conducted to bring a positive change in conflict resolution styles among students of Class XI. Conflict resolution style was measured by Thomas- Kilmann Mode Instrument. Forty five students of Standard XI participated in the study. A pre-test and post-test experimental design was used. A pre-test was carried out in the beginning of the interventions to determine the conflict resolution style used by participants in their inter-personal conflicts. The interventions, in the form of group activities like removing the blocks in communication, effective usage of non-verbal communication, importance of listening, group discussion on anger management, and inculcation of constructive social skills were conducted. A post-test was carried out to measure the effects of interventions on participants’ conflict resolution styles. Results indicated that the conflict resolution style of the group was modified and transformed into a mature and constructive way of dealing with conflicts. Keywords: Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Resolution Styles, Communication. DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-4-04

This research is a case study research that is trying to solve the problem of task conflict that arises within project teams among university students. The research tests the relationship between knowledge sharing climate within the university and conflict resolution styles. This research used interviews with 10 students to explore the research questions and another interview with the head of the quality assurance department in the university that is responsible about the quality of the educational process in the university. Some indicators on the need for such research were collected through the documentation of the university records which was published on its website. A survey also of 102 students revealed that there is positive relationship between the knowledge sharing climate and the middle and high levels of collaboration and assertiveness in solving task conflicts that arise among students’ team members. Avoidance which represents the lowest assertive and the lowest collaborative conflict solution is not related to the knowledge sharing climate at all in this research. This reflects that avoidance may lead to lack of learning unless it is related to dysfunctional conflicts. The research is an exploratory study for predicting the levels of collaboration and assertiveness in conflict resolution styles by the student’s perception of knowledge sharing culture.

This study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory (CRSI) within the context of the university population in Ecuador. The CRSI measures how individuals manage interpersonal conflicts, a critical skill for university students. A sample of 746 university students from various institutions across Ecuador participated in the study. The CRSI, which categorizes conflict resolution styles into five types (competing, avoiding, accommodating, collaborating, and compromising), was translated and culturally adapted for the Ecuadorian context. Psychometric analyses, including factor analysis and reliability testing, were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the inventory. The factor analysis supported the five-factor structure of the CRSI, confirming that the inventory is suitable for measuring distinct conflict resolution styles in this population. The inventory showed good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding 0.70 for all subscales. Additionally, the test–retest reliability indicated stability over time. The validated CRSI provides a robust instrument for understanding and improving conflict resolution skills among university students in Ecuador, contributing to better interpersonal relationships and academic environments.

This study examined the causes of conflict and conflict resolution styles among university students. The participants were 390 (49 female and 341 male) sophomore (87.7%), junior (5.6%), and senior (6.7%) university students. Students identified themselves as Amhara, Oromo, Tigre, and as belonging to other ethnic groups. Results from qualitative analysis indicated that the major sources of conflict were ethnicity, religious diversity, defying rules, and sexual and love affairs, in that order. Students reported that the major conflict resolution styles were compromise, avoiding, third-party mediation, and dominating. Results from quantitative analysis, on other hand, showed that integration, compromise, and obliging were the most frequently used styles of conflict resolution. ANOVA showed that sex differences were found in dominating in favour of males. Ethnic differences were observed in integration and dominating, the Oromo tending to use more of integration than Amhara and Tigre, dominating being used by Amhara and Tigre. Amhara and Tigre students use dominating more recurrently than Oromo and other groups. Discussions on major findings and implications for preventive interventions are included. Ethiopian Journal of Development Research Vol. 29 (1) 2007: pp. 35-70