Conflict Resolution and Emotional Expression in Mother-Preadolescent Dyads: Longitudinal Associations with Children's Socioemotional Development

Dyadic Resistance in Parent-Adolescent Interactions During the Transition to High School

INTRODUCTION

Although prior research has examined adolescents' resistance to parental control, the dyadic level of analysis has been overlooked. This study attended to how a Canadian sample of parents and adolescents engaged in resisting one another by observing moment-to-moment actions as they discussed the upcoming transition to high school.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of data collected from 2010 to 2012 using the Action-Project Method was conducted. The sample of 27 parent-adolescent dyads (23 mothers; 4 fathers); 13 boys, 14 girls (Mean youth age = 13.3) was recruited from two urban centers. Videorecorded self-directed conversations were immediately followed by open-ended video recall interviews. A novel way of analyzing data at the dyadic level of analysis was developed based on critical reflexive thematic analysis guided by social constructionist theory.

RESULTS

Resistance was observed at least once in 23 of the 27 conversations (total = 97, range = 0-9, Mean = 3.63, SD = 2.69). Four distinct themes were developed: Reminding of and then defending the "constant battle" lines, Cautious avoidance, the Nudging match, and No point anymore and minimal responses. Dyads varied in frequency and number of themes in their conversations with 78.56% engaging in more than one theme. Most differences came to a trickling of resistance wherein members did not agree but continued to interact without extending the resistance further.

CONCLUSIONS

A dyad-centric approach to analysis was useful for observing how parents and adolescents engaged in resistance together. Our findings suggest that resistance can be seen as a dyadic concept that reflects a personalized relationship history that has implications for parent and youth identity development.

The Lived Experience of Postpartum Intergenerational Conflict of Vietnamese American Women with their Vietnamese Immigrant Parents: It's A Generational Thing!

PURPOSE

US-born Vietnamese women who are in their childbearing years are more likely to identify with "western" perspectives when compared to their immigrant mothers who were born in Vietnam. Still, a gap in knowledge exists of their intergenerational differences. The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand Vietnamese American women's experiences of postpartum intergenerational conflict.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

van Manen's methodological approach (1997) was used. The purposive sample included 11 US-born Vietnamese women who experienced postpartum intergenerational conflict with their parents. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. The researcher transcended the themes through music. Songs and lyrics were arranged for guitar to bring the phenomenon to life.

RESULTS

Four themes were identified: (1) "It's a Generational Thing!" (Một điều thế hệ): Leaning both ways; (2) "To rebel or not" (Nổi loạn hay không): Weighing the evidence of postpartum cultural practices; (3) "Stand My Ground" (Giữ vững lập trường của tôi): Keeping my newborn safe and healthy; and (4) "See Me" (Nhìn con): My mental health overshadowed by my mother's thoughts. This study revealed that the intergenerational conflict was influenced by the family's understanding over the division of infant care tasks, disagreements over cultural practices, and generational differences such as age, consistent with previous research.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Tailored interventions for Vietnamese American women should consider the family as a whole. Nurses can assess proactively in prenatal care if there are cultural issues such as family hierarchy, gender, and history influencing one's choices or maternal autonomy.

The dimensionality of the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory across age and relationships

Close interpersonal conflicts between parents and children, marital or romantic partners, and between friends are common, and adjustment in youth and adults depends on how these conflicts are managed. While conflict management is important for relationships and adjustment, the structure of conflict management in adults or in youths has rarely been examined. Knowing how conflict management is structured, and whether this structure changes with age and relationships, is important to understanding what factors influence the development of conflict management skills, and how to intervene. In the current study, we explored the unidimensional vs. multidimensional structure of conflict management in family relationships, friendships and romantic relationships across adolescence and adulthood. The sample consisted of 497 Dutch adolescents (57% boys, Mage = 13.03, SD = 0.46, 11-15 years old) who were followed over 11 years in 9 measurement waves, and their parents, siblings, best friends (six waves), and romantic partner (three waves). First-order factor analyses (CFA) showed that the structure of conflict management is similar for adolescents and adults, across relationships. The results of second-order models, including the theoretical higher dimensions positive/negative conflict management and engagement/disengagement, showed no support for these higher dimensions. The results of bifactor models showed differences between adults and youths: while positive problem solving was part of the general factor of conflict management in adults, it was not part of this general factor in adolescents. The general factor was linked to increases in internalizing and externalizing problems, and with decreases in prosocial behavior. Overall, the bifactor models increased the interpretability and validity of the conflict management measure.

Parent-Child Synchrony After Early Childhood: A Systematic Review

Parent-child synchrony, or the coordination of biological and behavioral processes between parent and child, is thought to promote healthy relationships and support youth adjustment. Although extensive work has been conducted on parent-child synchrony during infancy and early childhood, less is known about synchrony in middle childhood and adolescence and the contextual factors that impact synchrony, particularly physiological synchrony. This is a systematic and qualitative review of 37 studies of behavioral and physiological synchrony in parent-child interactions after early childhood (parents with youth ages 5-18). Behavioral and physiological synchrony were typically identified in youth and their parents beyond early childhood and related to positive outcomes; however, research on father-child synchrony is rarer with mixed findings. Multiple factors are associated with synchrony, including parent and youth psychological symptoms and disorders, parenting factors, such as over-controlling parenting, and parent characteristics, such as interparental aggression and conflict. Few studies have examined behavioral and physiological synchrony simultaneously and longitudinally, limiting our ability to understand the relationship between types of synchrony and later adjustment. Available studies suggest that the context, such as presence of psychopathology or exposure to trauma, influences whether synchrony is associated with positive or negative outcomes. This review highlights the need for additional research to understand the relationship between types of synchrony and the long-term effects and contextual factors that impact youth outcomes.

Conflict Resolution and Emotional Expression in Sibling and Mother-Adolescent Dyads: Within-Family and Across-Context Similarities

Early adolescents (aged 12-15) were observed during dyadic conflict discussions with their siblings ( n = 23) and mothers ( n = 32) in their homes. The verbal conflict behaviors and affect of family members were coded continuously. Sequential analyses identified temporal associations between individuals’ affect and their own and their partners’ verbal conflict behaviors. In addition, within-family and across-context similarities in behavior were examined. Results revealed that while many links between emotion and behavior were consistent with previous research (e.g., attack/assert when frowning/upset, withdraw/concede when sad), several differences emerged depending on the relationship (sibling vs. mother-adolescent) and position in the family (e.g., adolescent vs. mother). Furthermore, many within-family similarities were observed in responses to emotion, while adolescents showed few similarities in their behavior across contexts. Results are discussed in relation to the developmental context of early adolescence and family systems theory.