Running head: FAMILY CONFLICT
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Family Conflict
Jessika Black
University of Kentucky
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Abstract
This paper examines the work of several peer-reviewed articles that discuss the topic of family
communication patterns and conflict resolution within the family. From the research many
common themes were found on this topic and are discussed in relationship to the textbook by
Adler and Procter (2011). A main theme that is discussed is how the different styles of
communication within a family relate to the happiness of the family and its members. Another
common idea that is discussed is what effects do different communication patterns have on the
family members, specifically in dealing with conflict within the family. Limitations to the
research examined are discussed as well as implications for future research in the field.
Keywords: Family Communication Patterns, Conflict, Conformity, Conversation, Families
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Family Conflict
Throughout the world there are hundreds of different types of families; traditional
families, single parent families, childless families, extended families; the list can go on and on.
But one thing that each of these families has in common is that each family, regardless of how
close they are, has some degree of conflict. Family conflict manifests itself in different ways
depending on the family. How the family deals with conflict is also specific to each situation.
Some families chose to avoid conflict, others try to find a healthy compromise, and some oblige
to what the head of the household says. The majority of the time, how the family deals with
conflict establishes how members of the family will deal with conflict in their own personal
lives. Therefore, it is important that we establish which forms of communication are most
effective when dealing with these issues in each different family situation. There has been much
research devoted to finding out which type of communication works best when dealing with the
family. Through much of this research there is also a connection found between the happiness of
the family and the communication styles that they use. However, much of the research that has
been conducted on conflict within the family has limitations and leaves room for improvement in
future work. The following literature review will discuss this research and the implications and
limitations that it presents to the study of family conflict.
Literature Review
Much of the research done on communication within the family focuses on how different
communication styles affect how conflict is managed within the family. In recent years much of
this research has focused on managing conflict based on the prevailing communication style of
the family and their typical communication patterns. Many of the conclusions found from these
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studies are comparable with other research of the same topic. Many of the themes found are also
supported by the family communication styles proposed by Adler and Procter (2011).
Communication Style and Family Happiness
Each family uses a different style of communication when interacting with each other this
communication style includes how they resolve conflict within the family. Communication style
and conflict resolution style play a large part in the happiness of the family. In a study of crosscultural family patterns, Shearman & Dumlao’s (2008) results showed that the happiest families
from both Japanese and American cultures practice high conversation for each member of the
family. This means that when conflict arises each member of the family involved in the issue is
encouraged to actively voice their opinion on how the situation should be resolved. Schrodt
(2009) also supports this idea that families who are highly expressive with each other can
manage conflict more easily and report more positive outcomes when dealing with said conflict.
Baxter & Akkoor (2011) also examined how different communication patterns play a role
in the happiness of the family and specifically looked at families who practice disclosure or
avoidance. Not surprisingly, they also found that the families who reported the best relationships
and most happiness were the families who disclosed the most to each other during regular
discussion. Most of these families claimed that by disclosing more it brought them closer and
allowed more topics to be discussed without fear of judgment. Adler and Procter (2011) explains
that by self-disclosing relationships are often enhanced and more easily maintained as seen
within these families (p.319). These findings can translate into when a family experiences
conflict and deals with the conflict. When applying the abovementioned research, it can be
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concluded that families with positive and trusting relationships experience conflict in a more
constructive and effective way.
Effects of Family Patterns of Communication
Within each family, different communication patterns manifest and these patterns help
determine how each family will deal with conflict, some styles of communication are more effect
than others and this is due in large part to the competence of the communicator. Adler and
Procter (2011) define communication competence as the ability to “achieve one’s goals in a
manner that maintains or enhances the relationship in which in occurs.” Within a family,
communication competence and effective communication patterns are essential because, for the
majority of people, this is where they learn the most about how to communicate with people who
are outside the family. This is crucial when trying to create and maintain relationships with
others. A large part of this is dealing with conflict as it arises.
Schrodt and Carr (2012) looked at how communication patterns within the family
affected the verbal aggressiveness of teens when dealing with conflict. They found that teens
from families where open communication and expressiveness was encouraged display lower
levels of aggressiveness in comparison to families in which conformity and shared ideas are
viewed as being most important when resolving conflict. On a related note, Schrodt, Witt &
Messersmith (2008) were able to find that there is a connection between the communication
pattern used within a family and the behavioral outcomes of the family members when looking at
conflict resolution. They found that the most positive associations came from families in which
conversation was encouraged over families where conformity was seen as most important.
Limitations
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Within all research there is always room for improvement and limitations are created.
The research used in this paper also creates some limitations for work done with family conflict
and communication. A common limitation that can be found in all of the research studied for this
paper was that the researchers only looked at family communication between parents and
children, generally teens. When looking at all of the different types of families in the world, it is
difficult to make the generalization that all families will fit into these family patterns because
they only look at how the adult parents interact with the children. Another limitation found in
this research is that most of the work generalizes that family communication styles will fit into
either conversational or conformity based families. But many families do not easily fit into one
of these categories and can also be seen as a combination of the many subcategories that can
come from these two main styles.
Future Research
Within the area of family communication there is more research that could be conducted
in the future in order to achieve a further understanding of how families use communication to
deal with conflict. By doing this, families can have better understanding as to exactly which
types of family communication patterns are most effective when trying to communicate in
situations of conflict. By doing this it also could provide help for families with aggressive
children when trying to communicate with them in the most effective way and to also improve
the communication of these children with those outside of the family. It would also be beneficial
for non-traditional families if research outside of just parent and child relationships were
investigated.
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In sum, the research used in this review demonstrates the importance of effective
communication within the family, particularly when dealing with conflict. Not only does it shape
the conflict resolution styles of the family, but effective communication patterns also help family
members to build strong relationships that experience conflict in a more constructive way outside
of the family. This research has shown that there are actually more effective forms of
communication to be used in the family and the positive effects of using the most efficient styles
in each different type of family. There are some questions that could be beneficial in future
research in the area of family communication and conflict when looking at the areas that are not
as widely examined today.
RQ1: What is the difference in conflict resolution and communication styles in families that have
all daughters or all sons?
RQ2: How does the age of the children in a family factor into the communication style in
conflict resolution and does that style change as the children grow up?
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References
Adler, R. B., & Procter II, R. F. (2011). Looking Out, Looking In, (13 ed.). Boston:
Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. ISBN: 0-495-83335-5.
Baxter, L. A., & Akkoor, C. (2011). Topic Expansiveness and Family Communication
Patterns. Journal Of Family Communication, 11(1), 1-20.
doi:10.1080/15267431003773523
Schrodt, P. (2009). Family Strength and Satisfaction as Functions of Family Communication
Environments.Communication Quarterly, 57(2), 171-186.
doi:10.1080/01463370902881650
Schrodt, P., & Carr, K. (2012). Trait Verbal Aggressiveness as a Function of Family
Communication Patterns.Communication Research Reports, 29(1), 54-63.
doi:10.1080/08824096.2011.639914
Schrodt, P., Witt, P. L., & Messersmith, A. S. (2008). A Meta-Analytical Review of
FamilyCommunication Patterns and their Associations with Information Processing,
Behavioral, and Psychosocial Outcomes. Communication Monographs, 75(3), 248-269.
doi:10.1080/03637750802256318
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Shearman, S. M., & Dumlao, R. (2008). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Family
Communication Patterns and Conflict Between Young Adults and Parents. Journal Of
Family Communication, 8(3), 186-211. doi:10.1080/15267430802182456
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