PROCEDURAL JUSTICE IN RESOLVING FAMILY DISPUTES - A PSYCHOSOCIAL ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY FUNCTIONING IN LATE ADOLESCENCE

The present study examined the extent to which procedural justice in r esolving specific family disputes is associated with ongoing levels of family conflict and cohesion as well as individual psychosocial adapt ation in older adolescents. Two hundred and forty study participants ( ages 18-22) were asked to recall an important family dispute that they experienced over the past year and to rare how their parents handled the situation along dimensions of procedural justice, control, and out come satisfaction. The results indicated that overall judgments of pro cedural fairness and specific relational criteria for evaluating proce dural justice (neutrality, trust standing) were positively associated with family cohesion and psychological well-being and negatively relat ed to family conflict, psychological distress, and deviant behavior. A s predicated low standing or disrespectful treatment was the best pred ictor of deviant behavior. While individual functioning was tied prima rily to relational procedural justice concerns, family functioning was associated with both relational and instrumental factors. Overall, th e study lends support to the growing body of research challenging excl usively self-interested models of human conduct.