The Relationship Between Triangulation, Conflict Coping Strategy And Intimacy Satisfaction For College Students

This study based on Bowen’s family systems theory, explored the differences of parent-child triangulation, conflict coping strategies and romantic relationship satisfaction of college students. Furthermore, we also examined the mediatizing effect of conflict coping strategies between parent-child triangulation and intimacy satisfaction. The study divided into two parts, one was revising The Romantic Partner Conflict Scale (RPCS), devised by Zacchilli and her college. Another was analyzing the relationship of parent-child triangulation, coping strategies and relationship satisfaction.502 valid questionnaires obtained, and analyzed by Statistical software and get the following results:(1) The revised scale of romantic partner conflict includes 29 items with six dimensions, namely:Compromise, Domination, Submission, Separation, Avoidance, and Interactional Reactivity. The internal consistency coefficient was 0.746, the internal consistency coefficient of subscales form 0.592 to 0.854. The inventory reached moderated to good validity and reliability.(2) Subjects generally demonstrated high range of intimate relationship satisfaction. They are more inclined to parentification, and less detouring-attacking. In addition, college students mainly adopt the strategy of compromise and use fewer Interactional Reactivity.(3) In triangulation, male were more involved in detouring-attacking and detouring-supportive than female, but male were likely to use submission strategy, and female were likely to use domination. Graduate students were more likely use compromise strategy than college students.In addition, the boy’s intimate relationship satisfaction is significantly higher than girls, but there was no obvious difference on the long-distance and different experience.(4) About the compromise strategy, the students who in detouring-attacking were less to use compromise strategy and had lower relationship satisfaction, but detouring-supportive and parentification were more likely use compromise strategy and had higher relationship satisfaction.(5) There were significant correlations among parent-child triangulation and conflict resolutions, and also significant between conflict resolutions and relationship satisfaction. Moreover, there were significant correlation among detouring-attacking and parentification.(6) Compromise and Interactional Reactivity mediate the association between detouring-attacking and relationship satisfaction, besides, compromise and domination also mediate the association between parentification and relationship satisfaction.