A longitudinal study examined the developmental progression of mother/child conflict and conflict resolution strategies spanning the toddler to preschool years. Emphasizing verbal negotiations, the study showed that mother/child conflicts peak at 30 months, and, although toddlers tend to rely on refusing, preschoolers rely increasingly on…

Reviews the articles on peer and intrafamily conflict in this issue, focusing on ways in which conflict in these two different settings might be related to one another. Notes that although conflict-resolution styles may carry over to some extent from conflict among family members to conflict among peers, there are some important differences. (MDM)

Examined the endorsement of interpersonal conflict resolution tactics and links to personality and teacher-related school adjustment. Subjects were 162 African, Mexican, and European American sixth through eighth graders. Across all three ethnic groups and both sexes, negotiation was consistently rated the best choice for dealing with…

Examined effects among kindergartners of friend/nonfriend groupings on early literacy. Predicted that friend, compared to nonfriend, conditions elicit more conflicts/resolutions, emotional terms, and literate language; that friendship condition is particularly supportive for girls' exhibition of literate language and emotion terms; and that…

Assessed the relation between goals and strategies for conflict resolution of children in 4th through 6th grades. Found that prosocial strategies positively correlated with relationship and equality goals, whereas physically or relationally aggressive strategies related to self-interest, control, and revenge goals. Discovered gender differences in…

Attempted to identify behavioral precursors of conflict outcomes and to isolate unique characteristics of important conflicts. Results suggest that conflict components were interrelated. Resolutions were associated with outcomes and affective intensity, and affective intensity was linked to lessons learned. Apparently, the salience of an…

Examined the responses of 24 children (7- to 9-year olds) and 24 adolescents (13- to 15-year olds) to analogs of marital conflict scenarios varying in initial conflict themes and the emotionality of endings. Found that explicit verbal resolution of conflict issues was not necessary for reducing children's emotional insecurity; changes in the…

Examines the nature and significance of peer relations among children, focusing on social psychological theories of close relationships, a social relational model of social development, research on conflict management, and progress toward understanding peer conflict. (MDM)

Investigated associations between parents' reported coercion and negotiation with their children, children's self-reported conflict strategies with peers, and their behavioral competence rated by both parents. Results obtained through observation, interviews, and questionnaires included a concurrent correlation between parents' use of coercion and…

Most observed conflicts were: (1) brief and lacked aggression; (2) resolved without adult intervention by children's insistence; (3) resulted in winner/loser outcomes; (4) concluded with children remaining together after the conflict. Social interaction before conflicts was unrelated to conflict behaviors other than aggression. (RH)

Research on how mother-child conflict can contribute to knowledge about development is described. Research on discipline and compliance is reviewed to show how important skills demonstrated by children during conflict negotiation, which imply implicit understanding of social rules, have been overlooked. Contains 59 references. (Author/LB)

Examined whether children's goals in peer conflict situations were related to the strategies they proposed for resolving conflicts, and how these strategies were related to acceptance by peers. Subjects were 142 fourth through sixth graders. Found that peer acceptance was negatively related to hostile/coercive strategies for girls, and negatively…

Tested a process model for the impact of children's exposure to marital conflict on their behavior adjustment with a sample of 28 couples and their 6-year-old children. Found that maternal conflict behavior and children's negative emotional reactions to fathers independently predicted children's behavioral adjustment. (MDM)

Examined whether generalization about prosocial style of well-accepted children applies to conflicts involving rights infraction. Interviewed fourth- and fifth-graders about strategies for handling situations in which a peer infringes on their rights. Found that well-accepted children were neither aggressive nor particularly prosocial in conflict…

Cultural stereotypes that interpret girls as less forceful or less assertive than boys in pursuing their own agendas, particularly during conflict episodes, are questioned. A theory of double-voice discourse is proposed to characterize a type of conflict talk that has a dual orientation, and examples for three- and four-year-old girls' talk are…