Parent–adolescent conflicts, conflict resolution types, and adolescent adjustment

Abstract

The current study examined the moderating role of conflict resolution on the association between parent–adolescent conflicts and adolescent problematic adjustment. Participants were 1313 Dutch early and middle adolescents who completed measures on conflict frequency, conflict resolution with parents, and internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems. Using a person-centered approach, five types of adolescents could be distinguished that were characterized by different patterns of conflict resolution. These types meaningfully differed in conflict frequency with parents and adjustment problems. Furthermore, these types moderated the relation between conflict frequency and externalizing problems and internalizing problems. When withdrawal was the only strategy used to resolve conflicts with parents, conflict frequency was more strongly related to externalizing problems, but when withdrawal was used in combination with other styles, conflict frequency was more strongly related to internalizing problems.