Interpersonal Conflict Analysis

Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of human existence, hence the need to possess adequate skills necessary in handling conflict. Such skills not only help an individual in conflict resolution but they are also invaluable in enhancing interpersonal skills and relationships. In order to achieve this, one must effectively understand what conflict is and how it affects their life. This paper is a discussion on interpersonal conflict and how communication behaviors and individual differences contribute to interpersonal conflict in the context of family conflicts. Where two or more individuals differ, disagree, collide or oppose each other based on contrasting principles, opinions, ideas, beliefs, actions, concerns, interests and needs, they are said to be in conflict (Deutsch, & Marcus, 2014; Coleman, Normore, 2016). Conflict can also be described as the struggle for power or a means for protecting an individual's or group's interests and concerns. Based on Karl Marx's conflict theory, competition for limited resources perpetrates conflict; and that domination and power is what maintains social
Based on these factors, individuals think and behave differently (Normore, 2016). An elderly person is more likely to get into conflict with a teenager based on their differences in values, yet the teenager may get along with an individual within their age group. Based on gender, women tend to have more emotional-related conflicts than men and their conflicts are likely to escalate. Men on the other hand may resolve their issues quicker but may also get physically aggressive. In interpersonal conflict involving both genders, issues of gender discrimination often arise. The same is observed in the example of race, where interpersonal conflict is more likely to be interpreted as racial discrimination, where the issues involved touch on sensitive racial