Relationship Conflict Research Articles

Exploring Links Between Social Competence, Immigrant Background, and Children’s Preschool Adjustment

ABSTRACT Research Findings: In the present study, we investigated the roles of children’s social competence and immigrant background in the prediction of the quality of children’s relationships with peers and teachers and school adjustment. Participants were N = 212 children (M age = 58.32 months, SD = 10.72; n = 98 with an immigrant background) and their teachers (two per class). One teacher in each class assessed children’s social competence and behavior problems, whereas the other rated the quality of their attachment relationships with the children and their adaptation to school. Social acceptance was assessed via peer sociometric nominations. Among the results, children with an immigrant background evidenced greater conflict and dependence in their relationships with teachers, poorer social acceptance, and less pleasure in school. Among children with an immigrant background, externalizing behaviors were associated with conflict in relationships with teachers, whereas internalizing behaviors were associated with dependence. Practice or Policy: The study highlights how social behaviors and immigrant background can affect the quality of attachment relationships with teachers in the preschool classroom.

Fostering intergenerational harmony: Can good quality contact between older and younger employees reduce workplace conflict?

AbstractThis study examines how workplace conflict between multigenerational co‐workers arises and can be reduced. Utilizing social categorization and intergroup contact theories, we hypothesized that good quality contact between older and younger employees decreases task and relationship conflict by reducing perceived age discrimination (PAD), above and beyond trust as a typical social exchange mechanism prevalent in relationships between co‐workers. Furthermore, we predicted that task interdependence would exacerbate the relationships between PAD with task and relationship conflict. We applied structural equation modelling using a sample of 567 older and younger British employees to test our hypotheses while controlling for trust as an alternative mechanism. In line with our predictions, we found that good quality contact between older and younger employees reduced employees' PAD, which in turn reduced task conflict and relationship conflict (above and beyond trust as a control mechanism). The indirect effects of intergroup contact on workplace conflict via PAD were further enhanced when cross‐age co‐workers were highly interdependent in conducting their work tasks. Our findings suggest that organizations should create practices to improve cross‐age contact in the workplace.

Age disparity in couples and the sexual and general health of the male partner.

Several robust epidemiological studies suggest that men are often engaged in sexual relationships with younger women with a variable, age-dependent age difference. However, the ageing process determines a significant worsening of the andrological status, which favors the onset of erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism. To analyze the effects of differences in age between the partners [delta (Δ) age (M - F)] on patients referring to the Andrology Unit of Careggi University Hospital for male sexual dysfunction. A monocentre cohort of 4055 male subjects was evaluated by SIEDY structured interview. The cross-sectional analysis assessed the psychobiological and relational correlates. The rate of forthcoming major cardiovascular events (MACE) was investigated in the longitudinal analysis. All the models have been adjusted for age, education, lifestyle, and chronic disease score. ∆ age (M-F) shows a stepwise increase, according to the increasing age bands of the male partner. ∆ age (M-F) was associated with a greater number of children, at the cost of more conflictual relationships within the family. The phenotype of these relationships is characterized by the report of a partner with a higher sexual desire and a higher ability to reach climax. Men seeking a younger partner show more often a histrionic personality (p=0.023) and higher testosterone levels (p=0.032). However, having a younger partner doesn't improve the ability to obtain a full erection. Kaplan-Maier analysis of a longitudinal subgroup of patients followed longitudinally (N=1402) for 4.3±2,59 years, showed that patients in the fourth quartile had a higher rate of forthcoming MACE versus those in the first quartile (p=0.005). In subjects with sexual dysfunctions (as in the general population) age-different relationships increase as a function of male ageing. A greater Δ age (M-F) is associated with specific men and relationship features and a higher risk of MACE.

ANALYSIS OF UZBEKISTAN'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, AND SOUTH KOREA: UTILIZING TEXT MINING BASED ON GDELT BIG DATA

GDELT (Global Dataset on Events, Language, and Tone), a comprehensive event dataset developed in 2013, provides quantifiable data on cooperative and conflictual relations between countries, as well as events related to specific phenomena. Its utility has been widely recognized, and it is actively used in international relations and foreign policy research. This study also utilizes GDELT data to introduce a method for analyzing the relationships between Uzbekistan and China, Russia, and South Korea through keyword correlation indicators derived from text mining, and to present the actual analysis results. By conducting a keyword correlation analysis based on event data between Uzbekistan and the three analyzed countries—China, Russia, and South Korea—it was possible to identify diplomatic action patterns through the correlation of core keywords such as "engage," "express intent," and "make" with keywords indicating specific actions. Uzbekistan’s foreign policy under the Mirziyoyev government has shown a diplomatic action pattern of seeking or participating in negotiations, expressing intentions for negotiation or cooperation, and pursuing meetings for negotiation and cooperation with the analyzed countries, while inviting or visiting counterpart countries as part of these processes. This demonstrates that Uzbekistan has actively worked towards establishing cooperative relations, which were set as the goal or direction of its foreign relations, named the “Good Neighbor Policy” by President Mirziyoyev. Such keyword correlation indicator analysis facilitates the explanation of cooperative relationships.

Relational conflicts during COVID-19: Impact of loss and reduction of employment due to prevention measures and the influence of sex and stress (in the iCARE study).

This study explored the association between pandemic-related loss/reduction of employment, sex, COVID-19-related stress and relational conflicts. A sample of 5103 Canadians from the iCARE study were recruited through an online polling firm between October 29, 2020, and March 23, 2021. Logistic regressions revealed that participants with loss/reduction of employment were 3.6 times more likely to report increased relational conflicts compared to those with stable employment (OR = 3.60; 95% CIs = 3.03-4.26). There was a significant interaction between employment status and sex (x2 = 10.16; p < 0.005), where loss/reduction of employment was associated with more relational conflicts in males compared to females. There was a main effect of COVID-19-related stress levels on relational conflicts (increased stress vs no stress : OR = 9.54; 95% CIs = 6.70-13.60), but no interaction with loss/reduction of employment (x2 = 0.46, p = 0.50).

Interpersonal emotion regulation during relationship conflict: Daily and longitudinal associations with couples' sexual well-being.

Relationship conflicts, which are common among committed couples, provoke negative emotions with implications for sexual well-being (i.e., satisfaction, desire, low distress). Couples might manage these emotions through extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation (IER; attempting to influence the emotions of a romantic partner). In a preregistered dyadic, daily diary, and longitudinal study, we examined how four distinct IER strategies-responsiveness, cognitive support, physical presence, hostility-perceived by a romantic partner during relationship conflict related to both partners' sexual well-being. Over 28 days, community couples (N = 122; recruited between 2022 and 2023) completed brief measures of IER and sexual satisfaction, desire, and distress on days of relationship conflict and full versions of these measures 4 months later. Results may be generalizable to community couples in North America; however, improving the diversity of samples in future research would extend generalizability. Generally, greater perceived responsiveness, cognitive support, and physical presence IER on conflict days were each associated with higher daily sexual satisfaction and desire for couples, while greater perceived hostility was associated with lower daily satisfaction and desire. Greater perceived physical presence averaged across diaries was associated with one's own increased desire 4 months later. Most effects were similar for men and women; however, on days when women perceived greater responsiveness and cognitive support from partners, their partners reported more sexual distress, but there was no association between men's perceived IER and partners' distress. Findings expand models of IER to include sexual well-being and support IER as a target for interventions aimed at promoting sexual well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Soft Systems Methodology in Standardizing the Method for Applying Dolphin-Assisted Therapies in Neurodivergent Patients: Case Study of Delfiniti Mexico

Dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) currently lacks a standard for their application, making it difficult to collect the consistent data necessary for comparative studies and the development of new evidence-based therapeutic strategies. Due to their high social component, DAT requires a standardized method that identifies the elements that affect them, understands their complex situations, and proposes solutions to the challenges. This study aims to establish the first steps towards standardizing DAT, using the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as the central approach. SSM is suitable for addressing complex and ambiguous problems that involve multiple actors and perspectives. Through SSM, the study seeks to visualize problems, clarify conflict relationships that hinder standardization, and propose effective solutions. To establish an initial standard method, a time and motion study is performed to identify activities that disrupt the sequence of operations and the capture of EEG signals collected before, during, and after DAT. SSM allows for summarizing the current system situation, identifying and analyzing problems, clarifying challenges, and proposing pertinent solutions to achieve the standardization of this therapy. This methodology facilitates the identification of critical points and the development of intervention strategies that could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the therapeutic process, establishing a more coherent framework for the implementation of DAT. Thus, the contribution of this work is based on systems thinking to strategic management, as it demonstrates the potential role of systems thinking, specifically SSM, in analyzing complex problems, improving strategy mapping, fostering strategic decision making, and planning for the future in the context of strategic management.

Do Demand-Withdrawal Communication Patterns During Sexual Conflict Predict Couples’ Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Satisfaction, and Sexual Distress? An Observational and Prospective Study

ABSTRACT Sexual conflict is common, yet it is one of the most challenging topics for couples because it provokes more negative emotions relative to other conflicts. Such challenges might prompt couples to rely on less adaptive sexual communication styles. Communication patterns during sexual conflict – such as demand-withdrawal – have received little attention, and studies that do exist relied on self-report measures. Demand-withdrawal communication refers to when one partner exerts pressure to talk about a problem while the other withdraws, and is associated with poorer psychological and relationship well-being. In an observational dyadic study, we examined associations between demand-withdrawal patterns during a sexual conflict and sexual and relationship outcomes concurrently and over time. Couples (N = 151, M age = 31.92, SD age = 9.07) in long-term relationships completed measures of relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and sexual distress at baseline (T1) and 12 months later (T2). One week after T1, they engaged in an in-lab discussion of an important sexual conflict, coded by trained observers for degree of demand-withdrawal. Individuals in a couple who were observed to display higher demand-withdrawal reported lower relationship and sexual satisfaction and higher sexual distress at T1, as well as lower relationship satisfaction at T2. Effects were not moderated by gender. Findings demonstrate the relevance of demand-withdrawal patterns during sexual conflict.

Young Women's Silencing-Type Behaviors in Heterosexual Relationships.

Feminist researchers have demonstrated that engagement in silencing of the self (i.e., self-restrictive and sacrificial behaviors reflecting how women "should" be in relationships) remains a prevalent strategy for relationship maintenance. However, little is known about (young) women silencing themselves in relationships where abuse is present. Young women's experiences of silencing and other partner-focused behaviors (e.g., sexual compliance) within their relationships were thus explored. Young, partnered women (Mage = 21; N = 146) completed an online survey and open-ended questions about their current intimate relationships. Comparing between groups (abuse, n = 108; non-abuse, n = 38), the former scored higher on measures of total self-silencing, sexual compliance, and non-constructive communication and lower on measures of constructive communication (all p < .001). A mixed inductive and deductive content analysis found that while the importance of communicating with their partner was a preferred strategy for conflict management, multiple participants still emphasized self-suppression as an important part of their experience of relational conflict. Also, most participants indicated feeling as though they could be their authentic selves in their relationships, which suggests that their silencing may be situational and strategic in nature. These findings nuance previous understandings of self-silencing as inherently harmful and instead frame it as something sporadic and done strategically. They also bring forth questions about the extent to which young women's emphasis on communication and insistence that they can be authentic are a product of changing societal expectations of women in today's society compared to the 1980s/1990s when much of the foundational work on self-silencing was being done.

Channel diversity, constructive and destructive conflicts: the moderating role of network centrality

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of channel diversity on constructive and destructive conflicts in manufacturer-distributor relationships, as well as the mediating role of distributor opportunism and the moderating role of distributor network centrality. Design/methodology/approach This paper collected channel dual data to represent channel behavior in manufacturer-distributor relationships accurately. Using 208 matched manufacturer distributor bilateral data from Chinese B2B firms validate the conceptual model. This paper tested the proposed hypothesis using AMOS 24.0 software. Findings Channel diversity strengthens constructive conflict and weakens destructive conflict between manufacturers and distributors. Distributor opportunism plays a mediating role between channel diversity and constructive conflict. Distributor network centrality reinforces the positive impact of channel diversity on constructive conflict and the impact of channel diversity on destructive conflict. Originality/value This research contributes significantly to developing channel diversity and conflict theory by expanding the dyadic view to a network view. It also provides valuable insights for managers, highlighting the importance of maintaining a good relationship with distributors with high network centrality. The research results allow the constructive aspects of channel conflict to manifest fully and enhance the effectiveness of channel management. Distributor firms should prioritize communication and contact with network members to increase their network centrality, enabling them to take more initiative, exert influence and establish advantageous cooperative partnerships with manufacturers.

Parental strategies for handling sibling conflict and sibling relationships: Parent–child relationships as a mediator

This study examined the mediating effect of parent–child relationships in the link between parental strategies for handling sibling conflict and sibling relationships. We conducted a survey of the parents of 1,368 children who had siblings and were enrolled in kindergarten, using the Child-Centered Scale, the Control Scale, the Nonintervention Scale, the Sibling Relationship Scale, and the Parent–Child Relationship Scale. The results showed that control, childcentered, and nonintervention strategies for handling sibling conflict each predicted sibling relationships, and parent–child relationships partially mediated the impact that the strategies had on sibling relationships. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Child temperament and trajectories of student-teacher relationships quality.

This study aimed to examine the associations between child temperament and trajectories of the three dimensions of the student-teacher relationship (Closeness, Conflict, and Dependency) during elementary school. Latent class growth analyses conducted among 744 French-Canadian students recruited between 2008 and 2010 (46.8% girls; Mage = 8.39; 90.9% White; 49.7% with externalizing behavior problems) revealed four Closeness trajectories and three Conflict trajectories, but no significant variability between children in mean levels of change in Dependency. Surgency-Extraversion and Effortful control were associated with specific trajectories of Closeness and Conflict. Effortful control was also associated with cross-sectional assessments of Dependency. These results suggest that temperament is a useful construct in understanding developmental patterns of the student-teacher relationship across the elementary school years.

You-talk in young adult couples’ conflict: Family-of-origin roots and adult relational aggression sequelae

The present study examines greater use of the word “you” (i.e., you-talk) during couple’s conflict as linked to conflict behaviors and relational aggression. The way couples navigate relationship conflict is a key risk factor for relational aggression, and investigating conflict microprocesses can inform intervention efforts. In this study, 184 target participants (86 men, 98 women; 58% White, 29% African American, 8% mixed race/ethnicity, 5% other groups) were observed interacting with their parents at age 13 and with romantic partners at ages 20 and 27 to examine origins of you-talk usage and its links to romantic relationship dysfunction. Links were explored in a series of hierarchical linear regressions. Adverse conflict navigation behaviors established in one’s family-of-origin during adolescence (i.e., autonomy-relatedness undermining behavior) predicted target’s use of you-talk during conflict with their romantic partners at age 20. You-talk was concurrently associated with autonomy-relatedness undermining behavior and relational aggression, and you-talk in turn predicted a relative increase in both undermining behavior and relational aggression at age 27. Use of you-talk is discussed as disrupting key features of conflict navigation and having potential developmental origins which may serve as targets in efforts to reduce relational aggression.

Perceived cultural humility in supervision group and trainees' cultural responsiveness self-efficacy.

Trainees often express anxieties when working with clients from different sociocultural backgrounds. Group supervision can provide a space to address such concerns, including managing culturally related countertransference and understanding sociocultural factors in issues faced by clients. This process requires critical consciousness and discussion of trainees' and clients' cultural identities. This study built on research highlighting the positive role of cultural humility in individual supervision and group therapy to examine cultural humility in group supervision and its contribution to trainees' self-efficacy in adapting therapy and managing relationship conflicts with a range of clients (i.e., cultural responsiveness self-efficacy), via sociocultural awareness and minimal cultural concealment about themselves and their clients. Ninety-one master's level counseling trainees in Hong Kong from 18 supervision groups in two training programs completed measures of cultural humility, cultural concealment, sociocultural awareness, and cultural responsiveness self-efficacy. Multilevel modeling indicated that, at the within-trainee level, higher group cultural humility was associated with higher sociocultural awareness and lower cultural concealment about themselves and their clients. Greater sociocultural awareness, but not cultural concealment, was, in turn, linked to higher cultural responsiveness self-efficacy. At the between-trainee level, higher group cultural humility correlated with lower trainee cultural concealment, but not sociocultural awareness, which was associated with cultural responsiveness self-efficacy, although no mediation was observed. This study underscores the value of cultural humility in the context of group supervision. Implications for multicultural group supervision are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Managing Relationship Conflict at Work: The Effect of Emotion Regulation and Social Interactions

Managing Relationship Conflict at Work: The Effect of Emotion Regulation and Social Interactions

Resolving the conflictive phylogenetic relationships of Oceanites (Oceanitidae: Procellariiformes) with the description of a new species

The family Oceanitidae, formerly considered a subfamily of Hydrobatidae, includes all the small storm-petrels of the southern hemisphere. The ancestor-descendent relationships and evolutionary history of one of its genera, Oceanites, have been partially studied, yielding contrasting results. We revised the phylogenetic relationships of this group using Bayesian inference (BI) based on new sequence data of the mitochondrial gene Cytb and linear morphological measurements of all species and five subspecies-level taxa in Oceanites, including a new taxon from the Chilean Andes. Our BI results show that the Oceanites genus is monophyletic and composed of four well-supported clades (posterior probability &gt; 0.95): (1) chilensis; (2) exasperatus; (3) gracilis, pincoyae, and barrosi sp. nov.; and (4) oceanicus and galapagoensis. The species O. chilensis is a basal clade within Oceanites. According to our time-calibrated tree, the split between Oceanites and the other genera in Family Oceanitidae is estimated to be ~35.9 Mya, and the oldest divergence within Oceanites (the split between O. chilensis and other Oceanites) was dated to the early Miocene, around c. 21.3 Mya. The most probable geographic origin of Oceanites is the Southern Ocean. The morphological data suggest continuous size variation between Oceanites taxa, ranging from smallest in gracilis to largest in exasperatus. Based on our phylogenetic hypothesis, and morphological analyses, we suggest elevating to species status the taxa galapagoensis, chilensis, and exasperatus, and we describe a new taxon barrosi sp. nov., thus recognizing a total of seven species within the genus Oceanites.

Overcoming socioeconomic adversity: Academic resilience in mathematics achievement among children and adolescents in Ireland.

Although socioeconomic disadvantage is linked with academic underachievement, many children from low-income backgrounds perform well in school. Which modifiable factors predict this academic resilience? We examine between- and within-person predictors of one important academic metric - mathematics performance - across adolescence in 1715 (796 male, 919 female) youth living in poverty in Ireland, using data from three waves (9, 13, and 17/18 years) of the Growing Up in Ireland study. Using linear mixed models, math performance was worse when adolescents had more socioemotional and behavioural difficulties, more child-parent relationship conflict, parents had lower expectations of the adolescent's educational achievement, and when primary caregivers had less education. Adolescents who had better intellectual self-concept and attended a non-disadvantaged school had greater math performance. This research adds to the growing body of work suggesting academic resilience is dynamic and multisystemic; it provides potential targets at multiple levels to promote such resilience.

Social-based learning and leadership in school: conflict management training for holistic, relational conflict resolution

Social-based learning and leadership in school: conflict management training for holistic, relational conflict resolution

Globalization - ilegal minig - poverity, a conflictive relationship in Peru

Globalization - ilegal minig - poverity, a conflictive relationship in Peru

Does ESG Affect Mental Health of Employees? Focusing on the Moderating Effects of Job Crafting and Relationship Conflict

This study examines the dark side of ESG, which has emerged as a new paradigm in that the con-cept is broad and must respond to stakeholder pressure. This study aims to conceptualize Envi-ronmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) stress, or the stress experienced by employees due to ESG, and empirically analyze its impact on mental health. We also examined the moderating effects of job crafting and relationship conflict using the job demand-resource model. Based on a survey of 228 ESG managers with at least five years of work experience, the results of the regres-sion analysis are as follows. First, ESG stress (ESG complexity and ESG uncertainty) was found to cause depression, a negative mental health outcome. Second, job creation was found to moderate depression caused by ESG stress (ESG complexity and ESG uncertainty). Third, relationship conflict was found to reinforce depression caused by ESG stress (ESG complexity and ESG uncertainty). This study is significant because it identifies the relationship between ESG stress and mental health, as ESG has become a requirement for corporate sustainability. Additionally, this study is expected to extend ESG research by examining the moderating effects of job crafting and relationship con-flict from the JD-R on ESG stress and mental health.