Who gets the final word?

Who gets the final words? I came across this interesting title and decided that I should read the whole article – the analysis of young adults' recall of a major conflict with their parents. The study included 208 undergraduate participants, who were asked to recall and detail a major conflict they had experienced with their parents. The reported conflict episodes were coded as follows:
1. Topical content of a conflict
2. Conflict strategy used by parents
3. Conflict strategy used by the young adults
4. Outcome of the conflict
5. Reported consequences of the conflict to them or to their relationship

During data gathering there were identified four general categories for topical conflicts: life and educational decision, social and socializing behavior, moral or appropriate code of conduct and parent’s behavior.

There were three strategies used in dealing with conflict for parents and for young adults: avoidance – being passive and yielding, distribution – demanding and making threats, integration – listening and problem solving.

The authors of the study also coded the conflict outcome (if the conflict was solved or not): outcome preferred by parents, outcome preferred by young adults, compromise and integration. Plus the consequence of the conflict: was it positive, neutral or negative.

And here are the results

Major conflicts reported by our participants were classified in twelve categories as follows: the life decision category was the major conflict theme (14%), follows education (12%), car driving (11.4%), curefew (11%), dating (10.4%), money (8%), social conduct (6.5%), substance and alcohol usage (5%), friendship (3%), parent’s decision (2%), job (1%).

Then the authors found out that the parents were reported to use the distributive strategy most frequently, followed by integrative, avoidance was the less used strategy. Interestingly for young adults the most used strategy was the avoidance, followed by integrative and the less used was the distributive strategy.

For the conflict outcome, interestingly, young adults reported that they do perceive that parents are more likely to get their way in general. One quarter of participants reported also that the conflict was unresolved. From those who reported the conflict was solved, about a half of young adults reported that the outcome was the one preferred by parents, one third reported that the parents and young adults worked it out, only one fifth reported that they got the final words.
What about the consequences of a conflict? Nearly half reported that the conflict actually had some sort of positive consequences, 11% reported neutral consequences.

I kind of expected such an outcome of the analysis, maybe the only thing really surprising for me, was the fact that parents the most used the distributive strategy. The conflict reasons, outcome and positive consequences were pretty expected.

Shearman, Sachiyo and Rebecca Dumlao. 2007. Who Gets the Final Words?: An Analysis of Young Adults' Recall of a Major Conflict With Their Parents. Communication & Mass Media Complete (EBSCO). Conference Paper.