IMPACT OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES AMOUNG COUPLES
Abstract
The present study aimed to explore the impact of genderdifferences in conflict management styles
among couples. A sample of 60 couples(N = 120) including husbands (n = 60) and wives (n = 60)
chosen from different areas of Muzaffar Garh. The age of marriages rangedfrom 6 to 25 years with
a mean of 15 years. The updated version of the DUTCH Testfor Conflict Handling (De Dreu et al.,
2001) was used to measure conflictmanagement styles among married couples. It was
hypothesized that husbands aremore likely to adopt dominating, integrating and obliging conflict
managementstyles as compared to wives and it was hypothesized that wives are more likelyto
adopt compromising and avoidance conflict management styles as compared tohusbands. The
result shows that husbands use dominating, integrating andobliging conflict management styles
while wives use compromising and avoidanceconflict management styles. Limitations and
suggestions were also discussed atthe end of the research.