Relationships of Adolescent and Young Couples with Violent Behaviors: Conflict Resolution Strategies

Abstract

Violence in adolescent and young couples is a major issue given its high prevalence and the serious consequences that it brings. For this reason, this research has stated two main objectives. In the first place, to ascertain the level of agreement between both members of the couple both with regard to occurrence and frequency of violence. Second, to ascertain the level of agreement on the frequency of use of conflict resolution strategies in problematic situations in 141 heterosexual couples. The age of the sample was between 17 and 30. The tools used were the DVQ-R questionnaire and the Spanish adaptation by Bonache, Ramírez-Santana, and González-Mendez (2016) of the Inventory of Conflict Resolution Styles (CSRI)The results indicate that of the 141 couples in the sample, 112 were identified as violent, thus indicating a high prevalence of violence within their partner relationships. Regarding the levels of agreement and accordance, statistically significant discrepancies are reflected in the perception of violence between men and women, analyzing both roles (aggression and victimization). Finally, also noteworthy is use of the strategy of negative involvement in conflicts, with significant differences in relation to sex; it is the girls who make the most use of this strategy, and the high level of agreement on the frequency of problem-solving is reflected on that strategy.