Fighting Fair: Observed Positive Conflict Styles and Dating Violence in Mexican American Adolescent Couples

Dating violence programs commonly cite communication skill deficits as important targets for intervention. However, how romantically involved adolescent couples navigate conflict positively has been understudied, including the association of positive conflict styles and dating violence behaviors. Here, we investigated positive conflict strategies used by adolescents during an observed conflict task with Mexican American dating couples and the associations to self-reported relationship quality and dating violence behaviors. Our sample consisted of 34 heterosexual couples, aged 15 to 17 (M = 16.25, SD = 0.8), from a Southwest border state. We found that most couples utilized a harmonious communication style (67.6%) and demonstrated a balance of power (79.4%) during the conflict, although adolescents with greater dating violence behaviors were less likely to use these positive conflict styles (OR = .34 and OR = .23, respectively). Relationship qualities, such as commitment, satisfaction, and trust, were associated with greater problem-solving and cohesiveness. Our findings underscore the importance of targeting positive conflict skills in the prevention of adolescent dating violence with attention to the relational contexts in which conflict unfolds. Continued research across diverse populations should continue to explore and delineate specific communication behaviors that are particularly useful to young couples and that support the development of nonviolent relationships into adulthood.