Patterns of Conflict Experience That Emerge in Peer Reports and Personal Narratives During Middle Childhood

Abstract

The present study used a person-centered approach to examine patterns of conflict experience among 198 3rd–6th grade children. Peer reports of aggressive behavior, sociability, victimization, and an assessment of psychological mindedness in narrative accounts of conflict experiences were used. Three patterns were identified using mixture modeling: Managers, Avoiders, and Sustainers. Patterns differed with respect to narrative skills and social adjustment. Findings demonstrate the benefit of examining children's ability to tell their own stories in combination with peer perceptions of children's behavior. Discussion focuses on how children may rely on behavioral and narrative skills to develop different ways of responding to peer conflict in context, as well as on the application of findings in school settings.

Notes

Note. Unstandardized means are reported for all variables, except for Social Preference, which is the standardized “liked most” minus the standardized “liked least” nominations. PM = Psychological Mindedness; P = Peer-Nominated Measures; N = Narrative Measures; S = Self-Reported Measures.

*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

^a,b,c Means in each row that share superscripts do not differ significantly.

***p < .001.