Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Daily Conflicts With Their Mothers: Within-Conflict Sequences and Their Relationship to Autonomy

Abstract

This article reports on a 1-year diary study of conflicts between seventeen 15-year-old girls and their mothers assessing (a) within-conflict sequences according to the emotional processes related to a girl's level of self-assertion and perceived control and (b) the relationship between these within-conflict sequences and the level of autonomy. Based on principles of the self-regulation theory and emotion-appraisal literature, three within-conflict scenarios were hypothesized. The withdrawal and pursuit scenario came out as occurring significantly above chance level. Investigating the girls' individual conflict episodes revealed a positive association between the level of autonomy and the percentage of the pursuit scenario. Results are discussed in terms of the link between day-to-day conflict interactions and the long-term development of autonomy.