Conflict Styles and Outcomes in Families with Adolescent Children

The role of conflict in parent–adolescent relationships is a topic of considerable theoretical debate and empirical investigation; however, limited attention has been devoted to the strategies used by family members to deal with disagreements and their outcomes and how they differ from early to late adolescence. This study explored conflict styles and outcomes in a sample of 302 families with adolescent children (total N = 906), of two age groups (13‐year‐olds and 15‐year‐olds). One hundred sixty‐four adolescents (45.7%) are female. Participants completed the ‘when we disagree’ scales. Results from both adolescents and parents confirmed the intensification of conflict from early to middle adolescence, in terms of conflict style (higher aggression, lower compromise) and outcome (lower intimacy). Age trends differ according to gender; in particular, there is evidence of a more difficult position of older girls, and of the worsening of mother–adolescent relationship from early to middle adolescence.