A Latent Growth Curve Analysis of Taking Conflict Personally as a Consequence of Sex, Conflict Initiation, Victimization, Conflict-Linkage, and Cardiovascular Reactivity

Abstract

This study examines reactions to others' conflict. We examined the effects of taking conflict personally (TCP), sex, conflict initiation (husband vs. wife initiation), and past victimization from domestic abuse on predicting conciliation in response to escalating aggression over four time periods. We examined both the prediction of escalation and imagined interaction conflict-linkage in terms of persons ruminating about the escalating disagreement as it unfolded as well as blood pressure and heart rate. Latent growth curve modeling, controlling for first-order autocorrelation among the residuals, revealed that being male predicted a rise in aggression as conflict escalated. Victims predicted more conciliation as conflict escalated. Male-initiated conflict was associated with more imagined interaction rumination as the conflict intensified.

Conflict personalization: a systematic literature review and the development of an integrative definition

“…: “personalized disagreements,” Guenter et al , 2016), circumstances and effects of conflict personalization ( N = 6, e.g. “climate,” Dallinger and Hample, 1995) or considered outliers that did not fit with any theme and were therefore not considered important (“self-fulfilling prophecy,” Simons and Peterson, 2000; “likes to engage in arguing while the other is a conflict avoider,” Honeycutt et al , 2016; “able to respect,” Sung Eun Chung and Meneely, 2012). Afterwards, each text fragment that was not coded as “other” was read again and assigned to one or more of the five themes to generate a thematic map of the data.…”

Conflict + Anxiety = Turmoil! Introducing a Measure of Conflict Response Derailers

“…However, most conflictual encounters trigger tension and anxiety initially (Larkin, Frazer, and Semenchuk 1996), which, in turn, makes us more inclined to perceive or instigate conflict (Etkin et al 2010). When lingering, this state can stress our relationships, lower our self‐esteem (Ozdemir 2014), and increase our blood pressure (Honeycutt, Hample, and Hatcher 2016), thereby making us feel even more anxious and disagreeable.…”