Quality of intimate relationships and conflict resolution strategies in youth

Blizak i topao odnos karakterističan je za mnoge vrste ljudskih odnosa, poput obiteljskih, prijateljskih, rodbinskih i intimnih. Fokus ovog rada je na intimnim vezama mladih osoba, koje predstavljaju jedan od glavnih izvora psihološke dobrobiti. Cilj rada je ispitati povezanost pojedinih aspekata kvalitete intimne veze i načina rješavanja sukoba u vezama mladih. U istraživanju su sudjelovale 694 mlade osobe u dobi od 18 do 30 godina. Web anketa korištena je u svrhu prikupljanja podataka. Anketa se sastoji od 6 cjelina pitanja – sociodemografska obilježja, pitanja o intimnim vezama, privrženost u intimnoj vezi, zadovoljstvo vezom, kvaliteta komunikacije i načini rješavanja sukoba među partnerima. Rezultati pokazuju kako je kvalitetnija komunikacija povezana s češćim korištenjem rješavanja problema te rjeđim korištenjem sukobljavanja, povlačenja i popuštanja. Također, što je zadovoljstvo vezom veće, to je korištenje rješavanja problema češće, dok je korištenje sukobljavanja, povlačenja te popuštanja rjeđe. Nadalje, utvrđeno je kako mlade osobe sa sigurnim stilom privrženosti češće koriste rješavanje problema kao strategiju u rješavanju sukoba s partnerom, dok nesigurno privrženi češće koriste sukobljavanje, povlačenje i popuštanje.A warm and close relationship is a characteristic for many types of human relationships, e.g. between family, friends, relatives, and intimate partners. The focus of this paper is on intimate relationships of young people, which represent one of the crucial sources of their psychological wellbeing. The goal of the paper is to examine the correlation between certain quality aspects of intimate relationships and conflict resolution strategies in young people’s relationships. 694 young people from the age of 18 to 30 participated in this study. Online survey was used for data collection. The questionnaire consists of 6 parts – questions about sociodemographic characteristics, participant's intimate relationship, attachment in the relationship, relational satisfaction, communication quality and conflict resolution strategies between partners. Results show that communication quality is positively correlated with the use of problem solving, and negatively with conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance. In addition, relationship satisfaction is correlated with more frequent use of problem solving and less frequent use of conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance. Furthermore, it was established that young people with a secure attachment style more often use problem solving as a strategy to resolve conflict with their partner, while insecurely attached participants use conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance more often