Dyadic consensus on family vacation destination selection

This study investigated dyadic consensus on the family vacation destination selection process, emphasizing spousal conflict arousal dimensions, influencing strategies used, and satisfaction of the decision and the decision-making process. Four underlying dimensions of spousal conflict arousal were derived from a factor analysis. Results of a discriminant analysis revealed significant differences on spousal conflict arousal dimensions among heavy, medium, and light family vacationers. The higher rating of the utility conflict arousal dimension led to greater satisfaction with the destination selected and the decision-making process among respondents. On the other hand, the dimension of interpersonal need negatively predicted the satisfaction levels of husbands. The use of information gathering and family discussion led to husbands' greater satisfaction of the destination chosen and the decision-making process, while wives' satisfaction levels were not significantly different based on the types of influencing strategies used. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.