Communicating Interpersonal Conflict in Close Relationships

Communicating Interpersonal Conflict in Close Relationships: Contexts, Challenges, and Opportunities provides a state-of-the-art review of research on conflict in close personal relationships. This volume brings together both seasoned and new voices in communication research to address the challenges in evaluating conflict. Contributors review the current state of research on themes related to power, serial arguments, interpersonal and family dynamics, physiological processes, and mechanisms of forgiveness by presenting theoretical reviews, original unpublished data-driven research, and discussions about the methodological challenges and opportunities in studying interpersonal conflict. An essential resource for graduate students and faculty interested in interpersonal conflict in close relationships between romantic partners, families, or friends, this volume is intended for advanced coursework and individual study in communication, social psychology, and close relationship scholarship.

Jennifer A. Samp is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia, USA.

Introduction: Jennifer A. Samp Section 1: Influences on Conflict Processes in Close Relationships - Cognitive and Physiological Systems Linking Childhood Exposure to Family Verbal Aggression and Reactions to Conflict in Adulthood Lindsey S. Aloia & Denise Haunani Solomon - There is Nothing as Calming as a Good Theory: How a Soulmate Theory Helps Individuals Experience Less Demand/Withdraw and Stress Courtney Waite Miller, Rachel Reznik, & Michael E. Roloff - Communication with Heterosexual Partners about Sexual Discrepancies: Conflict Avoidance, De-escalation Strategies, Facilitators to Conversation Moon Sook Son, Lynne Webb, & Trish Amason - The Connections between Communication Technologies and Relational Conflict: A Multiple Goals and Communication Interdependence Perspective John P. Caughlin, Erin D. Basinger, & Lissel L. Sharabi Section 2: Power and Conflict in Close Relationships - Power in Close Relationships: A Dyadic Power Theory Perspective Norah E. Dunbar, Brianna L. Lane, & Gordon Abra - Complaint Expression in Close Relationships: A Dependence Power Perspective Timothy R. Worley Section 3: Conflict as an Ongoing Process - Serial Arguments in Interpersonal Relationships: Public versus Personal arguments Ioana Cionea & Amy Janan Johnson - Romantic Serial Argument Perceived Resolvability, Goals, Rumination, and Conflict Strategy Usage: A Preliminary Longitudinal Study Jennifer Bevan, Megan Cummings, Makenna Engert, & Lisa Sparks 9. Worth Fighting For: The Causes, Correlates, and Consequences of Avoiding versus Enacting Domestic Labor Conflict Kendra Knight & Jess K. Alberts Section 4: Conflict in Families - Demand and Withdraw Behavior and Emotion in Mother-Adolescent Conflict Christin E. Huggins, Melissa Sturge-Apple, & Patrick T. Davies 11. The Role of Perception in Interparental Conflict Tamara D. Afifi, Shardé Davis, Anne F. Merrill and Sam Coveleski - Family Conflict is Detrimental to Physical and Mental Health Chris Segrin & Jeanne Flora Section 5: Forgiveness as Part of Interpersonal Conflict 13. Forgiveness Following Conflict: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How It's Done Andrew J. Merolla 14. Expressing and Suppressing Conditional Forgiveness in Serious Romantic Relationships Dayna N. Kloeber & Vincent R. Waldron