Alonso-Ferres María, Valor-Segura Inmaculada, Expósito Francisca
Universidad de Granada (Spain).
Span J Psychol. 2021 Mar 23;24:e21. doi: 10.1017/SJP.2021.15.
Prior research has indicated that the people one loves the most, such as their romantic partners, ironically, are also the people toward whom they often direct destructive behaviors in times of conflict, and such destructive responses become one of the most challenging relationship problems. Identifying the conditions that promote destructive (vs. constructive) conflict-resolution strategies is a crucial gap requiring study to help individuals build healthier and happier relationships. Across three studies (total N = 728), we examined whether (a) power is related to direct destructive (vs. constructive) responses during romantic conflicts; (b) this effect was moderated by the seriousness of the conflict and the relationship's inclusiveness. In Study 1, participants involved in romantic relationships completed scales assessing interpersonal power, the conflict's seriousness, their relationship's inclusiveness, and conflict-resolution responses. In Studies 2-3, the participants were randomly assigned to complete an essay in which the conflict's seriousness and power were experimentally manipulated. Findings from hierarchical regression analyses consistently showed that power led to destructive (and lower constructive) responses. However, this only occurred when the participants faced severe conflicts and their partner was not central to their self-concept. An internal meta-analysis of the studies confirmed the reliability and significance of these relationships; |r's| =.13-37. Together, these results support the proposition that power asymmetries can threaten relationships by driving destructive responses during romantic conflicts, and untangle the conditions under which this happens. The conflict's seriousness and the inclusiveness of the relationship may be considered to provide skills that help individuals navigate their relationships' life challenges.
先前的研究表明，人们最爱的人，比如他们的恋爱伴侣，具有讽刺意味的是，也往往是他们在冲突时经常对其采取破坏性行为的对象，而这种破坏性行为成为了最具挑战性的关系问题之一。确定促进破坏性（而非建设性）冲突解决策略的条件是一个关键的研究空白，需要进行研究以帮助个体建立更健康、更幸福的关系。在三项研究（总样本量N = 728）中，我们考察了：（a）权力是否与浪漫冲突期间直接的破坏性行为（而非建设性）反应相关；（b）这种效应是否受到冲突严重程度和关系包容性的调节。在研究1中，处于恋爱关系中的参与者完成了评估人际权力、冲突严重程度、他们关系的包容性以及冲突解决反应的量表。在研究2至3中，参与者被随机分配去完成一篇短文，其中冲突的严重程度和权力被进行了实验性操纵。分层回归分析的结果一致表明，权力会导致破坏性行为（以及较低的建设性反应）。然而，这只在参与者面临严重冲突且其伴侣对他们的自我概念不重要时才会发生。对这些研究的内部元分析证实了这些关系的可靠性和显著性；|r| =.13 - 37。总体而言，这些结果支持了这样一个观点，即权力不对称会在浪漫冲突期间引发破坏性行为，从而威胁关系，并厘清了这种情况发生的条件。冲突的严重程度和关系的包容性可以被视为提供了帮助个体应对其关系中生活挑战的技能。
