Beyond the school yard: Relationships as moderators of daily interpersonalconflict

Interpersonal conflicts are an inevitable part of life and may be especiall y conspicuous in early adolescence. Recent research suggests, however that structural aspects of relationships influence interpersonal conflicts. Spec ifically, closeness and openness of the relationships within which the conf licts occur moderate patterns of such conflicts. A total of 155 adolescents kept diary records of their in vivo, daily conflicts and interactions for 2 weeks using an adolescent-appropriate, conflict-oriented adaptation of th e Rochester Interaction Record. On average, interactions without conflicts outnumbered conflicts 2 to I; however many reported diary records involved conflicts. Patterns of conflict were related to the kinds of relationships within which the conflicts occurred. Some results were consistent with pred ictions derived from a social exchange approach but other results were not. Outcomes are discussed in terms of interpersonal contributions to adolesce nt development.