title: Conflict Resolution in Mexican American Adolescents' Friendships: Links with Culture, Gender and Friendship Quality.
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.
authors.affiliation: Program in Family and Human Development, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, PO Box 873701, Tempe, AZ 85287-3701, USA.
authors.forename: Shawna M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thayer
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Updegraff
authors.forename: Melissa Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Delgado