Divorced Parents' Conflict Management Styles

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between divorced parents' modes of conflict management and two personality traits: self-differentiation, as defined by Bowen (1990), and narcissistic personality traits, using as its sample 100 Israeli divorcees, consisting of fifty ex-couples, with children. The findings show that the divorced parents' modes of conflict management style were affected both by their own levels of self-differentiation and narcissism and by the levels of these traits in their former spouses. Higher self-differentiation was associated with a lower propensity to use the attack mode among both the fathers and mothers. It was associated with a higher use of the compromise mode among the mothers but not among the fathers. Higher narcissism was associated with a higher level of the attack mode among the fathers but not among the mothers. In addition, the differentiation and narcissism of each of the ex-spouses contributed to the other's modes of conflict management style beyond the contribution made by their ownpersonality traits.