Conflict styles in a cohort of graduate medical education administrators, residents, and board-certified physicians.
OBJECTIVE
To assess conflict styles and construct validity of the Thomas-Kilmann Mode of Conflict Instrument (TKI) among medical education personnel.


METHODS
From 2006 to 2009, 23 board-certified physicians (faculty), 46 residents, and 31 graduate medical education (GME) administrators participated in 3 behavior surveys. We used self-reported data (as completed by participants on the questionnaire). The TKI defines 5 conflict styles: competing, collaborating, compromising, accommodating, and avoiding. The My Best Communication Style Survey assesses 4 styles of communication: bold, expressive, sympathetic, and technical. The Interpersonal Influence Inventory categorizes 4 behavior styles: openly aggressive, assertive, concealed aggressive, and passive behaviors. A P value of < .05 was significant.


RESULTS
Avoiding was the conflict style most chosen, closely followed by compromising and accommodating, whereas collaborating was the least likely to be selected. Collaborating percentiles were highest in GME administrators and lowest in faculty. Competing percentiles decreased from faculty to GME administrators (r  =  -0.237, P  =  .017). Openly aggressive scores were highest in faculty and lowest in GME administrators (P  =  .028). Technical communication scores were highest in residents and lowest in GME administrators (P  =  .008). Technical communication scores were highest in African Americans (P  =  .000). Asian Americans were more likely to be high in accommodating style (P  =  .019). Midwest respondents selected the collaborating style more than others did (41.3% versus 25%) (P  =  .009). Competing conflict style correlated positively with openly aggressive behavior and bold communication but negatively with expressive and sympathetic communications.


CONCLUSIONS
There are differences in behavior patterns among faculty, residents, and GME administrators with suggestions of ethnic and geographic influences. Correlation among instruments supported theoretical relationships of construct validity.
Dotun
D
Ogunyemi
Edward
E
Tangchitnob
Yonathan
Y
Mahler
Connie
C
Chung
Carolyn
C
Alexander
Devra
D
Korwin