Assessing conflict management in the couple: The definition of a latent dimension

Weak management of interpersonal conflicts can lead to dysfunctional relationships with relevant consequences for couple and family well-being. Our purpose was to devise a single dimension scale to assess conflict management in romantic relationships. We focused on five relevant conflict aspects: competition, collaboration, avoidance, accommodating attitude, and compromise. Study 1 (N = 405) confirmed the existence of a single latent dimension, which was defined as the Conflict Management Scale (CMS), and consists of 8 items unbiased by gender. In Study 2 (N = 205), the CMS convergent validity with attachment, empathic self-efficacy, satisfaction, and decision-making in the couple was analyzed. In Study 3 (N = 120), the CMS was administered to 60 heterosexual couples in order to further examine the validity of the newly developed single dimension scale. Results showed that the CMS might be considered a valid and handy tool for planning couple and family therapies.