Conflict Negotiation and Autonomy Processes in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: An Observational Study of Interdependency in Boyfriend and Girlfriend Effects

• NCJ Number: 225640
• Journal: Journal of Adolescence Volume: 31 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 691-707
• Author(s): Caroline McIsaac; Jennifer Connolly; Katherine S. McKenney; Debra Pepler; Wendy Craig
• Date Published: December 2008
• Length: 17 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Ontario Mental Health Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the association between conflict negotiation (the management of disagreements) and the expression of autonomy (process of differentiating oneself in cognition, behavior, and affect from others) in adolescent romantic partners.

Abstract

The study data suggest that boyfriends and girlfriends work together in distinct, yet complementary, ways in achieving interdependent autonomy processes. The persistent effect of a distinct self, whether expressed uniquely or conjointly with the effect of a romantic partner, was apparent across all of the conflict-autonomy links, regardless of the facilitative or restrictive nature of the conflict response. Also, consistent with researchers’ predictions, the study found that boys and girls functioned differently in the interactive relationship. For both facilitative and restrictive conflict responses, a girl’s autonomy was uniquely associated with her own behavior; whereas, a boy’s autonomy tended to reflect joint contributions from himself and his girlfriend. Girls typically functioned as the bearers of partner influence, and boys typically functioned as the receivers. The presence of this gendered and shared dynamic is perhaps the most meaningful aspect of this study, since it reveals the importance of the romantic context for adolescents’ positive development of autonomy in the management of conflict with a valued partner. Study participants were drawn from a longitudinal, multimethod study of adolescents’ relationships. Thirty-seven couples were recruited from 3 high schools in a large Canadian city when they were in the 11th grade. All couples participated in a globally coded conflict interaction task. Actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) were used to quantify the extent to which boys’ and girls’ autonomy was linked solely to their own negotiation of the conflict or whether it was linked conjointly to their own and their partners’ negotiation style. 4 tables and 43 references