Conflict Resolution in Mexican American Adolescents' Friendships: Links With Culture, Gender and Friendship Quality

• NCJ Number: 223471
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 37 Issue: 7 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 783-797
• Author(s): Shawna M. Thayer; Kimberly A. Updegraff; Melissa Y. Delgado
• Date Published: August 2008
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01HD39666
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study describes the conflict-resolution practices used by Mexican-American adolescents in their friendships, explores the role of cultural orientations and values as well as gender-typed personality qualities in such conflict resolution, and assesses the links between conflict resolution and friendship quality.

Abstract

The findings show that the adolescents in the sample (n=246) used solution-oriented strategies most often, followed by nonconfrontation and controls. Girls were more likely than boys to use solution-oriented strategies and less likely to use control strategies. Family values and gender-typed personality qualities were associated with solution-oriented conflict resolution strategies. The conflict resolution strategies adopted were related to overall friendship quality. Solution-oriented strategies were positively linked to intimacy and negatively associated with friendship negativity; whereas, nonconfrontation and control strategies were associated with greater relationship negativity. Contrary to expectations, the study did not find associations between adolescents' orientations toward Mexican and Anglo culture (language usage, affiliations, etc.) and the strategies they used to resolve their conflict with friends. Future research should examine how conflict-resolution strategies are related to other aspects of friendship quality and social development. The data came from a study of family socialization and adolescent development in Mexican-American families. The 246 participating families were recruited through schools in and around a southwestern metropolitan area. Adolescents were interviewed individually. They identified their best friend as their closest same-sex friend; if they had several best friends, they chose the friend they had known the longest. The Resolving Conflicts in Relationships Scale was used to measure the conflict-resolution procedures used by the adolescents in the sample. Cultural orientations were assessed with the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Other instruments measured perceptions of various family characteristics, gender-typed personality traits, friendship intimacy, and friendship negativity. 3 tables, 1 figure and 60 references