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Conflict Resolution in Mexican American Adolescents’ Friendships: Links with Culture, Gender and Friendship Quality

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Abstract

This study was designed to describe the conflict resolution practices used in Mexican American adolescents’ friendships, to explore the role of cultural orientations and values and gender-typed personality qualities in conflict resolution use, and to assess the connections between conflict resolution and friendship quality. Participants were 246 Mexican American adolescents (M = 12.77 years of age) and their older siblings (M = 15.70 years of age). Results indicated that adolescents used solution-oriented strategies most frequently, followed by nonconfrontation and control strategies. Girls were more likely than boys to use solution-oriented strategies and less likely to use control strategies. Familistic values and gender-typed personality qualities were associated with solution-oriented conflict resolution strategies. Finally, conflict resolution strategies were related to overall friendship quality: solution-oriented strategies were positively linked to intimacy and negatively associated with friendship negativity, whereas nonconfrontation and control strategies were associated with greater relationship negativity.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the families and youth who participated in this project, and to the following schools and districts who collaborated: Osborn, Mesa, and Gilbert school districts, Willis Junior High School, Supai and Ingleside Middle Schools, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Gregory, St. Francis Xavier, St. Mary-Basha, and St. John Bosco. We thank Susan McHale, Ann Crouter, Mark Roosa, Nancy Gonzales, Roger Millsap, Jennifer Kennedy, Lorey Wheeler, Devon Hageman, and Lilly Shanahan for their assistance in conducting this investigation and Ann Crouter and Susan McHale for their comments on this paper. Funding was provided by NICHD grant R01HD39666 (Kimberly Updegraff, Principal Investigator, Ann C. Crouter and Susan M. McHale, co-principal investigators, Mark Roosa, Nancy Gonzales, and Roger Millsap, co-investigators) and the Cowden Fund to the School of Social and Family Dynamics at ASU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Family and Human Development, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, PO Box 873701, Tempe, AZ, 85287-3701, USA

    Shawna M. Thayer, Kimberly A. Updegraff & Melissa Y. Delgado

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  1. Shawna M. Thayer
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  2. Kimberly A. Updegraff
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  3. Melissa Y. Delgado
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Correspondence to Kimberly A. Updegraff.

Appendix

Appendix

Goal 1 Models: Exploring the Links Between Culture and Conflict Resolution

Level 1:

  • CR ij  = β 0j  + β 1j (Age ij ) + β 2j (Birth Order ij ) + β 3j (Gender ij ) + β 4j (Anglo Cultural Orientation ij ) + β 5j (Mexican Cultural Orientation ij ) + β 6j (Familism ij ) + β 7j (Anglo Cultural Orientation ij  × Birth Order ij ) + β 8j (Mexican Cultural Orientation ij  × Birth Order ij ) + β 9j (Familism ij  × Birth Order ij ) + r ij

Level 2:

  • β 0j  = γ 00 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 0j

  • β 1j  = γ 10 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 1j

  • β 2j  = γ 20 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 2j

  • β 3j  = γ 30 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 3j

  • β 4j  = γ 40 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 4j

  • β 5j  = γ 50 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 5j

  • β 6j  = γ 60 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 6j

  • β 7j  = γ 70 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 7j

  • β 8j  = γ 80 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 8j

  • β 9j  = γ 90 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 9j

Where for member i in family j, CR ij  = Conflict Resolution (Solution-orientation, Control, or Nonconfrontation).

Goal 2 Models: Exploring the Links Between Gender and Conflict Resolution

Level 1:

  • CR ij = β 0j  + β 1j (Age ij ) + β 2j (Birth Order ij ) + β 3j (Gender ij ) + β 4j (Expressivity ij ) + β 5j (Instrumentality ij ) + β 6j (Expressivity ij  × Birth Order ij ) + β 7j (Instrumentatlity ij  × Birth Order ij ) + r ij

Level 2:

  • β 0j  = γ 00 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 0j

  • β 1j  = γ 10 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 1j

  • β 2j  = γ 20 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 2j

  • β 3j  = γ 30 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 3j

  • β 4j  = γ 40 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 4j

  • β 5j  = γ 50 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 5j

  • β 6j  = γ 60 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 6j

  • β 7j  = γ 70 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 7j

Where for member i in family j, CR ij  = Conflict Resolution (Solution-orientation, Control, or Nonconfrontation).

Goal 3 Models: Exploring the Links Between Conflict Resolution and Friendship Quality

Level 1:

  • FQ ij  = β 0j  + β 1j (Age ij ) + β 2j (Birth Order ij ) + β 3j (Gender ij ) + β 4j (Solution-Orientation ij ) + β 5j (Nonconfrontation ij ) + β 6j (Control ij ) + β 7j (Solution-Orientation ij  × Birth Order ij ) + β 8j (Nonconfrontation ij  × Birth Order ij ) + β 9j (Control ij  × Birth Order ij ) + r ij

Level 2:

  • β 0j = γ 00 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 0j

  • β 1j  = γ 10 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 1j

  • β 2j  = γ 20 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 2j

  • β 3j  = γ 30 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 3j

  • β 4j  = γ 40 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 4j

  • β 5j  = γ 50 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 5j

  • β 6j  = γ 60 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 6j

  • β 7j  = γ 70 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 7j

  • β 8j  = γ 80 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 8j

  • β 9j  = γ 90 + γ 01(Parent Educationj) + μ 9j

Where for member i in family j, FQ ij  = Friendship Quality (Intimacy or Negativity).

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Thayer, S.M., Updegraff, K.A. & Delgado, M.Y. Conflict Resolution in Mexican American Adolescents’ Friendships: Links with Culture, Gender and Friendship Quality. J Youth Adolescence 37, 783–797 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9253-8

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