A Competence-Based Approach to Examining Interpersonal Conflict

This article reports a test of a longitudinal model linking interpersonal conflict communication and relationship quality. The model stresses episodic factors that function to mediate the conflict-relationship link. In particular, the competence-based model specifies that assessments of competence and one's own communication satisfaction filter the effects of conflict on relational quality when measured concurrently at Time 1 (T1). In addition, the competence-based model includes the hypothesized impact of relational features at T1 on conflict strategies weeks later at Time 2 (T2), which indicates a reciprocal causal connection between message behavior and relational features. Structural equation modeling analyses support the mediational role of episodic assessments, which constitutes the heart of the model. However, relational quality at T1 did not predict conflict behavior at T2. Instead, analyses revealed that conflict behavior at T1 and partner conflict at T2 predict conflict behavior at T2.

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