Verbal Conflict Research Articles

The characteristics of romantic relationships associated with teen dating violence

Studies of teen dating violence have focused heavily on family and peer influences, but little research has been conducted on the relationship contexts within which violence occurs. The present study explores specific features of adolescent romantic relationships associated with the perpetration of physical violence. Relying on personal interviews with a sample of 956 adolescents, results indicate that respondents who self-report violence perpetration are significantly more likely than their non-violent counterparts to report higher levels of other problematic relationship dynamics and behaviors such as jealousy, verbal conflict, and cheating. However, we find no significant differences in levels of love, intimate self-disclosure, or perceived partner caring, and violent relationships are, on average, characterized by longer duration, more frequent contact, sexual intimacy and higher scores on the provision and receipt of instrumental support. Finally, violence is associated with the perception of a relatively less favorable power balance, particularly among male respondents. These findings complicate traditional views of the dynamics within violent relationships, add to our understanding of risk factors, and may also shed light on why some adolescents remain in physically abusive relationships.

The Throwaway: An Experiential Technique to Reduce Tension and Resistance

Trauma-related symptoms of adolescent girls in a day treatment program include labile emotions, poor impulse control, anger, distrust, and aggression, among others. This article presents a creative therapeutic technique that addresses many of these issues. By incorporating various therapeutic strategies, the throwaway seems to permit the reduction of both resistance and tension, while facilitating new perspectives and changed behaviors. After regular utilization of this technique, not only did students begin asking for help where they had previously refused it they also demonstrated increased self-monitoring, reduced verbal and physical conflicts, and a more consistent ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand. The throwaway is suitable for use with both groups and individuals.

Research on Public Sphere in Cyberspace: Dominance, Verbal Conflict and Interaction Processes of China’s Online Forum

Many studies demonstrated that use of Internet could profoundly affect the balance of liberty and democracy in Western society, which has high level of Internet penetration. For the developing countries, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have huge potential to influence societies. This study is set in the context of China, a country which is undergoing economic and political development. Using Habermas’s theory of the public sphere as an analytical framework, this study identifies features of the public sphere and uses them as criterion to examine whether the sampled online forum can be viewed as public sphere. This research was conducted in a certain period of time when a new cultural policy was issued in China to ban online dissemination of unlicensed TV programs (especially overseas programs). The objectives of this research are to measure the real discussion process about a new policy and what are participants’ main views about this policy. A lot of studies about public sphere focus on discussion about political issues. The study chooses another angle to look into the cultural public sphere (MuGuigan, 2005) and aims to stress the value of public opinions formed among cultural consumers. In order to answer research questions in this study, both qualitative and qualitative methods are used to examine research questions, including content analysis, social network analysis and discourse analysis. A limited public sphere is found, which can provide a safe online space for participants to express voice freely, but at the same contains some potential challenges such as lack of rationality and speech responsibility. The implication for policy-makers is provided that participants of online forum are speaking to the power but in a one-way communication paradigm, and policy-makers should pay attention to their voice. This paper contributes to the study about cultural public sphere and social network analysis for online forum.

A Study of the Verbal Conflict between Mother and Daughter-in-law in Desperate Housewives

Ting-Toomey proposed face-negotiation theory in the 1980s. For years, face-negotiation theory has been used to explain conflict in communication and cultural differences related to communication. As we know, conflict is a very natural phenomenon in the conversation of different cultures. However, people have different ways to solve the conflict. This paper studies the conflict between mother and daughter-in-law in TV series. The extracts come from the American TV series Desperate Housewives. The paper aims to answer the two research questions: (1) does the conflict style between family members like mother and daughter-in-law in American TV series Desperate Housewives is also dominating? (2) If it is, how the conversation proceeds under the dominating style? After analyzing the materials, we find that the conflict style between mother and daughter-in-law in American TV series Desperate Housewives is dominating. In addition, although the conflict style between mother and daughter-in-law in American TV series Desperate Housewives is dominating, people also emphasize on the social harmony among family members. Key words: conflict, face-negation theory, mother and daughter-in-law Resume: Ting-Toomey propose la theorie de la negation de face dans les annees 1980. Depuis des annees, la theorie de la negociation de face a ete utilisee pour expliquer les conflits dans la communication et les differences culturelles relatives a la communication. Comme nous le savons, le conflit est un phenomene naturel dans la conversation des cultures differentes. Cependant, les gens ont de differents moyens pour resoudre le conflit. Le present article traite le conflit entre la mere et la belle-fille dans les feuilletons televisuels. Les extraits viennent d’un feuilleton americain- Maitresses de maison desesperees. L’article vise a repondre deux questions : (1) Est-ce que le style conflictif entre les membres familiales, comme la mere et la belle-fille dans les Maitresses de maison desesperees, est encore dominant ? (2) Si oui, comment la conversation s’engage sous le style dominant ? Apres avoir analyse les materiels, nous trouvons que le style conflictif entre le mere et la belle-fille dans les Maitresses de maison desesperees est dominant. Mais malgre cela, on insiste aussi sur l’harmonie sociale entre les membres familiales. Mots-Cles: conflit, theorie de la negociation de face, mere et belle-fille 摘 要：Ting-Toomey在十九世紀八十年代提出了面子磋商理論。多年來，該理論被用來解釋交際中的衝突和有關交際的文化差異。正如我們所瞭解的，不同文化間的言語對話中產生衝突是很自然的現象，然而人們總是有不同的方法去解決這些衝突。本文致力於研究電視劇中婆媳之間的言語衝突，目的是想回答兩個問題：（1）美國電視劇《絕望主婦》中像婆媳這種家庭成員間的衝突類型是屬於支配型嗎？（2）如果是的話，談話在這種衝突類型下是怎麼進行的？通過對材料的分析，我們發現美國電視劇《絕望主婦》中婆媳之間的衝突類型是支配型。另外，雖然這種衝突是支配型，他們也重視家庭成員之間的和諧相處。 關鍵詞：衝突；面子磋商理論；婆媳

P01-207 - Obsessive compulsive disorder- a defence from a possible psychosis

IntroductionObsessive compulsive disorder is a separate diagnostic entity, but it occurs in a number of other psychopathological entities.ObjectivesWe will present 22-years old adolescent. Early psychomotoric development was ordinary. Because of father's insisting, and against his own will, the patient has intensively played tennis since the age of six until his seventeenth. He was achieving good results but the father was constantly objecting that he is not showing enough fight spirit. When he was seventeen, after verbal conflict with father, he broke his racket and he stopped playing tennis.His father continued to play tennis and “everything is infected with earth from tennis court”. He hasn’t achieved emotional relationship, social contacts with peers are insufficient. At the age of twenty he has looked for psychiatric help, in order to get acknowledgment that he needs “peace for study” which he couldn’t get from his parents because he has constantly needed to clean.AimOf this case report is to show obsessive compulsive actions as a defense from psychotic decompensation.MethodsPsychiatric interview, mental status examination, psychological testing, EEG.ResultsIn the April, 2008 he has been hospitalized because his mental condition was worse due to suicidality. In clinical picture compulsions were dominant (throughout the nights he was cleaning the house, he has given away all the cloths in orange color, he has even “get rid of” his hamster because it was orange). He was tense, elevated mood, outdistanced and erotized.ConclusionObsessive compulsive actions helped our patient to delay psychotic decompensation.

Language control and parallel recovery of language in individuals with aphasia

Background: The causal basis of the different patterns of language recovery following stroke in bilingual speakers is not well understood. Our approach distinguishes the representation of language from the mechanisms involved in its control. Previous studies have suggested that difficulties in language control can explain selective aphasia in one language as well as pathological switching between languages. Here we test the hypothesis that difficulties in managing and resolving competition will also be observed in those who are equally impaired in both their languages even in the absence of pathological switching. Aims: To examine difficulties in language control in bilingual individuals with parallel recovery in aphasia and to compare their performance on different types of conflict task. Methods & Procedures: Two right-handed, non-native English-speaking participants who showed parallel recovery of two languages after stroke and a group of non-native English-speaking, bilingual controls described a scene in English and in their first language and completed three explicit conflict tasks. Two of these were verbal conflict tasks: a lexical decision task in English, in which individuals distinguished English words from non-words, and a Stroop task, in English and in their first language. The third conflict task was a non-verbal flanker task. Outcomes & Results: Both participants with aphasia were impaired in the picture description task in English and in their first language but showed different patterns of impairment on the conflict tasks. For the participant with left subcortical damage, conflict was abnormally high during the verbal tasks (lexical decision and Stroop) but not during the non-verbal flanker task. In contrast, for the participant with extensive left parietal damage, conflict was less abnormal during the Stroop task than the flanker or lexical decision task. Conclusions: Our data reveal two distinct control impairments associated with parallel recovery. We stress the need to explore the precise nature of control problems and how control is implemented in order to develop fuller causal accounts of language recovery patterns in bilingual aphasia.

Novel violence: a narratography of Victorian fiction

Victorian novels, Garrett Stewart argues, hurtle forward in prose as violent as the brutal human existence they chronicle. In Novel Violence, he explains how such language assaults the norms of written expression and how, in doing so, it counteracts the narratives it simultaneously propels. Immersing himself in the troubling plots of Charles Dickens, Anne Bronte, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy, Stewart uses his brilliant new method of narratography to trace the microplots of language as they unfold syllable by syllable. By pinpointing where these linguistic narratives collide with the stories that give them context, he makes a powerful case for the centrality of verbal conflict to the experience of reading Victorian novels. He also maps his finely wrought argument on the spectrum of influential theories of the novel - including those of Georg Lukacs and Ian Watt - and tests it against Edgar Allan Poe's antinovelistic techniques. In the process, Stewart shifts critical focus toward the grain of narrative and away from more abstract analyses of structure or cultural context, revealing how novels achieve their semantic and psychic effects and unearthing, in prose, something akin to poetry.

Verbal conflicts in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Burney’s The Wanderer

Both Pride and Prejudice and The Wanderer offer a revision of the traditional image of woman as the domestic peacemaker: not only do female characters take part in verbal conflicts, going against the traditional reserve expected from them, but they actively provoke verbal warfare, which becomes a means to achieve some degree of power. Studying the verbal conflicts with the modern tools of conversational patterns in interpersonal conflicts brings to the fore the tendency of those characters to resort to some strategies belonging to what has been defined as a masculine argumentation style. But the temptation to parrot men is discarded, not to come back to a more personal and emotional perspective, but to favour a third approach, a more indirect ironical or playful style which proves to be much more efficient in women’s quest for empowerment.

Cultural practices in Italian family conversations: Verbal conflict between parents and preadolescents

This work studies verbal conflict between parents and preadolescents through analysis of family dinnertime conversations. We move from the assumption that verbal conflict is an educational instrument of interaction and a tool of socialization. The aim of the research is to analyze the participants' strategies in situations of conflict and to highlight the relations between parents and preadolescents in these specific situations. The data collection methodology is mainly ethnographical: videotape recordings of Italian middle class family dinners (the families were selected as being dual career ones with two children) were fully transcribed and codified following the approach of Conversation Analysis. The results of the quantitative (by the use of the log-linear models) and qualitative analyses confirm the importance of verbal conflict in family context as a particular cultural strategy of relationships between parents and preadolescents. The analytical data underline the relations between different aspects of conflict and the pragmatic implications for all family members at dinnertime conversations.

Long-Term Impact of Family Arguments and Physical Violence on Adult Functioning at Age 30 Years: Findings From the Simmons Longitudinal Study

ObjectiveTo prospectively examine the extent to which an increase in family arguments by age 15 years and the occurrence of family physical violence by age 18 years are related to deficits in key domains of adult functioning at age 30 years. MethodThe 346 participants were part of a single-age cohort from a predominately white working-class community whose psychosocial development has been traced since age 5 years. Family arguments and violence were assessed through self-reports during adolescence. Developmentally relevant areas of current adult functioning were measured by self-reports, structured diagnostic interviews, and clinical interviewer ratings. ResultsBoth family arguments and physical violence were significantly related to compromised functioning across multiple areas of adult functioning. Although many associations were somewhat attenuated after controlling for sex, other early family adversities, and family history of disorder, most relations retained statistical significance. Both risk factors were linked with later mental health problems and deficits in psychological and occupational/career functioning. Family violence was also linked to poorer physical health at age 30 years. ConclusionsFindings underscore the potential long-term impact of troubled family interactions and highlight the critical importance of early intervention programs for youths experiencing either verbal conflict or physical violence in the home.

"Such Prompt Eloquence:" Language as Agency and Character in Milton's Epics

This work traces in Milton's epics the characters' uses of words and analyzes the ways in which language leads the reader to a very precise understanding of the agents in the poems. Through discussion of the verbal conflicts, it demonstrates how Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are of a piece.

Physical and Sexual Covictimization From Dating Partners

Covictimized women experience both physical and sexual forms of abuse. The purpose of the present research was to compare covictimized women to those who experienced physical violence only or unwanted sexual activity only from dating partners. Data were collected from two samples of female undergraduates in heterosexual relationships. Covictimization was associated with less general satisfaction (Study 1) and sexual satisfaction (Study 2), more arguing (Study 1) and verbal conflict (Study 2), and more partner psychological aggression (Studies 1 and 2). Overall, findings suggest that dating partner covictimization may be a distinct type of interpersonal abuse that warrants further research.

The Congressional Debate on Partial-Birth Abortion: Constitutional Gravitas and Moral Passion

Automated content analysis is employed to measure the dimensionality of Senate debates on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and compare these results with the final vote. The underlying verbal conflict leading up to the final roll-call vote contains two important dimensions: (1) an emotive battle over the abortion procedure itself, and (2) the battle over the constitutionality of the bill. Surprisingly, senators appear not to have voted along the first dimension of the verbal conflict, but rather along the second dimension. The analysis of the deliberations of senators not only enables us to understand the complexity of the arguments that is not captured in the vote, but it also uncovers (and measures empirically) the strategies employed by legislators to shape the relevant lines of conflict, and ultimately, the final content of the bill.

T09-O-30 Unconsumed marriages and sexuality

Introduction and objectives The present study investigated the aspects of the relationship and sexuality of couples in unconsummated marriages. Materials and methods 32 couples between the ages of 28 and 40 were (average age 34) were recruited, having been married for at least seven years and having known each other or been engaged beforehand for one to two years. Each partner was administered the following: MMS-3G, CTS, SSS, CPQ, QER. Afterwards there was and individual check-up interview and one as a couple. Results The couples were homogenous never having had sexual experiences other than with the partner. The trend is to exclude open verbal conflicts for fear of being abandoned or of assertion (more often than not physical) by the other partner. They exclude passionate erotic impulses and sensations as they are associated with violent acts. Sexual teachings and the creative aspects of sexual games is entrusted to one partner. Disagreement on times and ways of spending time together is also due to the timing and ways intimacy is desired, sought and experienced. Mainly romantic and affectionate in the couple and erotically transgressive in autoeroticism. Conclusions The sexological counselling to bring to life unconsummated marriages foresees a psycho-educational space were each partner is free to ask for information and redefine prejudices an fears on sexuality. 11 couples out of 32 have had a child.

Social correlates of cigarette smoking among Icelandic adolescents: A population-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundPrevious research has shown that between 80 and 90 percent of adult smokers report having started smoking before 18 years of age. Several studies have revealed that multiple social factors influence the likelihood of smoking during adolescence, the period during which the onset of smoking usually occurs. To better understand the social mechanisms that influence adolescent smoking, we analyzed the relationship and relative importance of a broad spectrum of social variables in adolescent smoking in Iceland, a Nordic country with high per-capita income.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from 7,430 14- to 16 year-old students (approximately 81% of all Icelanders in these age cohorts) in the 2006 Youth in Iceland study. The Youth in Iceland studies are designed to investigate the role of several cognitive, behavioral, and social factors in the lives of adolescents, and the data collected are used to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of substance use prevention programs that are being developed by Icelandic social scientists, policy makers, and practitioners.ResultsOur analysis revealed that friends' smoking behavior and attitude toward smoking were strongly associated with adolescent smoking and other tobacco use, as well as alcohol consumption during the previous 30 days. Main protective factors were parent's perceived attitude toward smoking, the quantity of time spent with parents, absence of serious verbal conflict between parents and adolescents, and participation in physical activity. Family structure was related to adolescent smoking to a small extent, but other background factors were not.ConclusionWe conclude that multiple social factors are related to adolescent smoking. Parents and other primary preventive agents need to be informed about the complicated nature of the adolescent social world in order to maximize their impact.

Beyond flight or fight: developmental changes in young children’s coping with peer conflict

This research provides a summary of an observational study of children’s spontaneous reactions to peer-initiated conflict. Drawing from sociolinguistics analyses of family disputes, we sought to isolate children’s styles of coping with peer provocations. More than 900 episodes of spontaneous conflict were observed in eight preschool groups of children from 3 to 5 years of age (78 girls and 72 boys). Reactions to physical attacks, object struggles, as well as verbal and disruptive conflict were coded in five categories: counter-attack, flight, emotional display, negotiate, and seek help. Theoretically driven cluster analyses of reactions to provocation revealed four distinct modes of coping: fight, flight, standoff, and mediate. Differences in coping were systematically related to observer evaluations of individual differences in psychosocial adjustment and to teacher reports on children’s conflict management. Findings support a developmental model with both quantitative and qualitative changes in reactions to peer conflict.

Perceived Conflict Patterns and Relationship Quality Associated With Verbal Sexual Coercion by Male Dating Partners

The study of verbal sexual coercion in heterosexual relationships is controversial because nonphysical coercive tactics are often viewed as socially acceptable. It was hypothesized that, within couples, verbal sexual coercion will occur within a larger context of destructive conflict tactics and diminished relationship quality. Female undergraduates in consensually sexual dating relationships (N = 193) provided self-report data on male partner verbal sexual coercion perceived conflict behaviors, and relationship quality. About 21% reported current partner verbal sexual coercion. Results reveal positive associations between feeling pressured into unwanted sex and perceptions of partner psychological abuse and destructive verbal conflict patterns. Also as expected, partner verbal sexual coercion is negatively associated with relationship satisfaction and sexual functioning. The authors conclude that women's experiences of verbal sexual coercion in heterosexual relationships may reflect broader problems in the dyadic context.

The alcohol–aggression link: children's aggression expectancies in marital arguments as a function of the sobriety or intoxication of the arguing couple

Children's expectancies of man-woman and woman-man aggression during arguments between individuals who were either intoxicated or sober were examined. The role of child and familial characteristics in influencing these expectancies was assessed. We examined children's expectations of interadult verbal/psychological and physical aggression during simulated arguments presented to children on videotapes. A community sample (N = 156) of children and young adolescents (6-14-year olds) participated. Children expected higher levels of aggression during conflict when they thought that one or both participants in conflict were intoxicated versus sober. Further, higher levels of verbal versus physical interadult conflict were expected during the disputes. These findings build on the literature by demonstrating that elementary school age children and young adolescents exhibit expectancies that link the consumption of alcohol with increased verbal and physical aggression in marital arguments. These alcohol-aggression expectancies were robust and were evident in relation to either the man's or woman's perpetration of aggression against the spouse. Elucidation of factors that can influence associations between aggression and alcohol consumption are of importance and have broad implications for family functioning.

The Portrayal of Interpersonal Conflict Management in Popular G and PG-Rated Animated Films

Researchers have focused on the portrayal of violence in G-rated animated films and the possible effects on the viewers. These studies largely disregard the total communicative behaviours of characters when in situations of conflict. This study analyses the verbal and non verbal conflict management strategies used by characters experiencing interpersonal conflict through a quantitative content analysis of sixteen of the most popular animated films to date. It also seeks to extend its attention to both G and PG Rated animated films. The latter of which are largely under researched, yet they are continually growing in popularity among viewers both young and old. As a result of the noted differences between male's and female's conflict management styles (Sheldon, 1993; Tannen, 1991); particular attention has also been paid to the portrayal of the two sexes when engaged in interpersonal conflict. This extended abstract reports on the preliminary findings based on a pilot study conducted on two purposively selected animated films.

Infant exposure to domestic violence predicts heightened sensitivity to adult verbal conflict.

The current study examined whether one-year-old infants whose mothers had been victims of domestic violence during the infant's lifetime (exposed; n = 30), compared to those who had not (not exposed; n = 59), would be more likely to experience distress in response to a simulated verbal conflict and whether amount of distress expressed would be influenced by infant temperament. Infants were videotaped during and for five minutes after an experimenter pretended to have a telephone argument. Exposure to domestic violence was related to infant distress following the episode of simulated adult verbal conflict. Temperamental activity, adaptability, and negative mood predicted greater distress only among non-exposed infants. Findings suggest that while only temperamentally more reactive infants would typically display distress in response to verbal conflict, infants exposed to domestic violence may be likely to display distress in response to verbal conflict regardless of temperament.