Emotion dysregulation and conflict resolution styles in mother-adolescent girl dyads

Parent-child conflict intensifies during adolescence. Integrating research on emotion dysregulation with a dyadic perspective, the present study examined associations between emotion dysregulation and conflict resolution styles within mother-daughter dyads. We tested three hypotheses: individuals' emotion dysregulation would predict their own conflict resolution styles (actor effects), their partner's styles (partner effects), and the joint effects of both members' dysregulation on conflict resolution styles (actor-partner interactions). Participants were 104 mother-daughter pairs from the United States, with daughters aged 11-21 years (M = 15.73, SD = 2.51). Each completed self-report questionnaire, including the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory. Results supported the actor-level hypothesis: greater emotion dysregulation was associated with lower use of constructive strategies and greater use of destructive conflict strategies. Significant partner effects also emerged: higher dysregulation in one member predicted greater compliance and conflict engagement in the other. In contrast, none of the actor-partner interaction effects were significant. Together, results suggest that conflict resolution styles might be primarily driven by within-person and cross-partner influences rather than joint dysregulation. These findings provide novel insights into the reciprocal nature of parent-adolescent conflict, highlighting that both mothers and daughters actively shape conflict processes in egalitarian ways during adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).