Predicting adolescents' responses during conflict with their parents: An explication and initial test of the Identity Maintenance Model.

Abstract

The Cognitive Communicator Characteristic Model was reformulated to form The Identity Maintenance Model (IMM), a cognitive-affective model of interpersonal interaction. The IMM postulates that cognitive structures in the form of role identity goals have considerable impact on behavioral dispositions. However, these dispositions are moderated by contextual self-esteem (CSE) in moderately or highly negative affective conditions. The model was tested in the context of parent-adolescent conflict. Study One determined the triggers of affective assessment and Study Two tested the hypotheses stipulated by the model. When applied to parent-adolescent conflict, the IMM predicted that as adolescents' CSE and negative affect increased, adolescents would use more competitive than cooperative strategies while as CSE decreased and negative affect increased, adolescents would display no change in use of cooperative relative to competitive strategies. This hypothesis was not supported. Rather, main effects for CSE and affect intensity obtained such that as CSE increased, the use of cooperative strategies increased and as affective intensity increased, the use of competitive strategies increased. It also was predicted that as contextual self-esteem decreased and negative affect increased, adolescents would use more avoidance rather than competitive approach strategies. This hypothesis also was not supported. Instead, a main effect for affective condition obtained such that as negative affect increased, the use of competitive approach moves also increased. Self-monitoring was added to the model because the IMM stipulates that high self-monitors are more likely to recognize identity needs and make the related adjustments in behavior. This stipulation was not supported. Results revealed that high CSE and high self-monitoring had similar effects on conflict strategy choice. That is, they both were associated with relatively competent use of conflict strategies, unless the conflict was highly charged. However, low CSE/low self-monitoring adolescents clearly showed little change in behavior across minimally, moderately and highly negative affect conditions. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Most notably, the influence of self-monitoring should be reassessed and improvements should be made in the manipulation of affect condition and the operationalization of the dependent variable, conflict strategy choice.