Middle and Late Adolescents' Conflict Resolution Skills with Siblings: Associations with Interparental and Parent–Adolescent Conflict Resolution

Abstract

The present study examined whether conflict resolution skills utilized in the interparental and parent–adolescent relationships were related to adolescents' conflict resolution skills with siblings. The associations between interparental, parent–adolescent, and sibling conflict resolution skills were compared for middle and late adolescents. Middle adolescents (N = 89) and late adolescents (N = 90) reported their perceptions of attack and compromise conflict resolution styles for both family members within a dyadic relationship. Differences were found between middle and late adolescents regarding their perceptions of attack and compromise resolution styles utilized in family dyadic relationships. Path analysis results indicated that the influence of interparental conflict resolution on sibling conflict resolution was mediated by mom–adolescent and dad–adolescent resolution for both middle and late adolescents. Theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed here.