Linking conflict management behaviours and relational satisfaction: The intervening role of conflict outcome satisfaction

This study primarily sought to determine the relative strengths of the concurrent associations between satisfaction with the main romantic relationship and the four conflict indices of avoidance, negative handling, no resolution, and outcome dissatisfaction in 61 female and 35 male students. A path model in which outcome dissatisfaction mediated the association between relationship satisfaction and avoidance, negative handling, and no resolution was tested. None of these three conflict indices had a direct effect on relationship satisfaction and only no resolution had a significant effect on outcome dissatisfaction. These results highlight the role that the actual resolution of conflict may have in determining relationship satisfaction and indicate that it should be included in both self-report and observational measures of conflict.