Topics of Conflict in Emerging Adults’ Romantic Relationships

Abstract

This article presents reliability and validity evidence, from two separate studies, for a measure designed to assess topics of conflict within emerging adults’ romantic relationships (Topics of Conflict Scale [TCS]). In Study 1, college students in a current romantic relationship (N = 293) completed an initial 79-item form of the TCS. Exploratory factor analyses found that 22 items adequately loaded onto three factors (money, trust, and sex) with good internal consistency for each factor. Evidence of convergent validity was found with conflict management strategies. In Study 2 (N = 174 college students in a current romantic relationship), confirmatory factor analyses of the same 22 items from the initial 79-item TCS supported the same three factors (money, trust, and sex). In addition, acceptable test–retest reliability was found for each of the three subscales, and convergent validity evidence for the three subscales was found with conflict tactics. Overall, the TCS appears to be a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing three forms of conflict in romantic relationships among emerging adults.

Keywords

romantic relationships dating conflict measurement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

R. E.

Laursen

Wilder

(2001). Characteristics of closeness in adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 353–363. doi:10.1006/jado.2000.0402

Arellano

C. M.

Markman

H. J.

(1995). The managing affect and differences scale: A self-report measure assessing conflict management in couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 319–334. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.9.3.319

Arnett

J. J.

(2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469

Buss

D. M.

(1989). Conflict between the sexes: Strategic interference and evocation of anger and upset. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 735–747. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.56.5.735

Diamond

L. M.

Savin-Williams

R. C.

Dubé

E. M.

(1999). Sex, dating, passionate friendships, and romance: Intimate peer relations among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents. In Furman

Brown

B. B.

Feiring

(Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence. (pp. 175–210). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Halpern

C. T.

Waller

M. W.

Spriggs

Hallfors

D. D.

(2006). Adolescent predictors of emerging adult sexual patterns. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, e1–e10. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.08.005

Haugen

P. T.

Welsh

D. P.

McNulty

J. K.

(2008). Empathic accuracy and adolescent romantic relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 709–727. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.03.003

Henry

R. G.

Miller

R. B.

(2004). Marital problems occurring in midlife: Implications for couples therapists. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 32, 405–417. doi:10.1080/01926180490455204

Kurdek

L. A.

(1994). Areas of conflict for gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples: What couples argue about influences relationship satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 923–934. doi:10.2307/353603

10.

Laurenceau

Troy

A. B.

Carver

C. S.

(2005). Two distinct emotional experiences in romantic relationships: Effects of perceptions regarding approach of intimacy and avoidance of conflict. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1123–1133. doi:10.1177/0146167205274447

11.

Little

T. D.

Cunningham

W. A.

Shahar

Widaman

K. F.

(2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151–173. doi:10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1

12.

Locke

H. J.

Wallace

K. M.

(1959). Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity. Marriage & Family Living, 21, 251–255. doi:10.2307/348022

13.

Long

E. C. J.

Cate

R. M.

Fehsenfeld

D. A.

Williams

K. M.

(1996). A longitudinal assessment of a measure of premarital sexual conflict. Family Relations, 45, 302–308. doi:10.2307/585502

14.

Miller

R. B.

Yorgason

J. B.

Sandberg

J. G.

White

M. B.

(2003). Problems that couples bring to therapy: A view across the family life cycle. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 31, 395–407. doi:10.1080/01926180390223950

15.

Muthén

L. K.

Muthén

B. O.

(2010). Mplus user’s guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Author. (Original work published 1998)

16.

Papp

L. M.

Cummings

E. M.

Goeke-Morey

M. C.

(2009). For richer, for poorer: Money as a topic of marital conflict in the home. Family Relations, 58, 91–103. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00537.x

17.

Rehman

U. S.

Janssen

Newhouse

Heiman

Holtzworth-Munroe

Fallis

Rafaeli

(2011). Marital satisfaction and communication behaviors during sexual and nonsexual conflict discussions in newlywed couples: A pilot study. Journal of Sex Marital Therapy, 37, 94–103. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2011.547352

18.

Risch

G. S.

Riley

L. A.

Lawler

M. G.

(2003). Problematic issues in the early years of marriage: Content for premarital education. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31, 253–269. doi:2003-08596-010

19.

Sanford

(2003). Problem-solving conversations in marriage: Does it matter what topics couples discuss. Personal Relationships, 10, 97–112. doi:10.1111/1475-6811.00038

20.

Schmookler

Bursik

(2007). The value of monogamy in emerging adulthood: A gendered perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24, 819–835. doi:10.1177/0265407507084185

21.

Spanier

G. B.

(1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 38, 15–28. doi:10.2307/350547

22.

Stanley

S. M.

Markman

H. J.

Whitton

S. W.

(2002). Communication, conflict, and commitment: Insights on the foundation of relationship success from a national survey. Family Process, 41, 659–675. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2002.00659.x

23.

Straus

M. A.

Hamby

S. L.

Boney-McCoy

Sugarman

D. B.

(1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316.

24.

Welsh

D. P.

Dickson

J. W.

(2005). Video-recall procedures for examining subjective understanding in observational data. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 62–71. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.19.1.62

25.

Williamson

H. C.

Hanna

M. A.

Lavner

J. A.

Bradbury

T. N.

Karney

B. R.

(2013). Discussion topic and observed behavior in couples’ problem-solving conversations: Do problem severity and topic choice matter? Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 330–335. doi:10.1037/a0031534