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Adolescents' perceptions of power and intimacy violations during conflicts with same- and cross-sex friends: Associations with conflict characteristics and outcomes
Abstract
With the formation of same and cross-sex friendships, adolescents establish boundaries based on power and intimacy that define the mutual understandings in their relationships. These mutual understandings serve as a set of relationship constructs that guide behavior by establishing rules for interaction within the friendship. However, boundary establishment increases the likelihood that conflicts will occur because of the possibility that boundaries will be violated. The current study examined how adolescents' perceptions concerning power and intimacy boundary violations in their same- and cross-sex friendships moderate the outcomes of conflict interactions. In this study, 242 participants ranging from early- to late-adolescence were presented 18 hypothetical conflict situations (9 for same- and cross-sex friends) and asked to write how they would respond to these situations and why they would respond that way. The data analyses revealed that male adolescents perceived boundary violations during conflicts with their friends as power conflicts, and female adolescents perceived boundary violations during conflicts with their friends as intimacy conflicts. This gender difference in boundary violation was associated with the feelings about the violation as well as the means in which male and female adolescents attempt to resolve any conflict that would arise. Results showed that power violations were associated with less intense negative affect; however, they were associated with more assertive conflict goals and resolution strategies. Intimacy violations, which were associated with more intense negative affect, were associated with relationship maintenance goals and relationship maintenance resolution strategies. The age, gender, and relationship differences associated boundary violations and conflict behaviors that emerged provide some insight into many of the proposed differences evident in adolescents' conflict behavior. Further, analyses revealed that adolescents' same-sex conflict characteristics were associated with their cross-sex conflict characteristics. Overall, the findings suggest that conflicts with friends should be studied by examining the boundary violations that occur within these social contexts, and that conflicts which occur within same-sex relationships may provide some insight into cross-sex behaviors.
Subject Area
Developmental psychology|Social psychology
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Harry Durell, "Adolescents' perceptions of power and intimacy violations during conflicts with same- and cross-sex friends: Associations with conflict characteristics and outcomes" (1999). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9942130.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9942130