Resolution of Conflicts between Partners with Regard to the Gender of the Partner, Experience and the Duration of a Partnership Relation

The paper presents the results of the research on the connection between the gender, previous or current experience of partnership & the duration of the partnership relation with the styles of partners' reactions in the conflicts among the partners. The research was conducted on the sample of 564 respondents (265 men & 299 women), students of final years of the university study from 12 different Faculties of the University of Zagreb. The presented results are a part of a wider research on the characteristics of partnership relations of the students & on the role of the family environment in the formation of partnership experiences of young persons in an early adult age. The obtained findings point towards the necessity of recognition of all aforementioned dimensions in the evaluation of the style of resolving conflicts between partners. Through the analysis of the gender differences it was determined that young women considerably more frequently use active confrontation & verbal aggression than young men, while young men tend to give in/retreat more frequently. The students assess that, in their current partnership relations, they use active confrontation significantly more frequently than they used to do in their previous relations of partnership. Furthermore, it was determined that they use the strategies of active confrontation, but also verbal aggression, in long-term relationships much more frequently than in short-term relationships. With regard to physical aggressiveness, no differences were determined in any of the observed variables. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.