Hispanic Cultural Values And Attachment Style As Predictors Of Conflict Attitudes Conflict Behaviors And Satisfaction In Romantic Relationships

The Hispanic population in the United States is an ever-growing group that has now become the largest minority group in the country. As this group continues to grow, it is important that psychological researchers include these groups in their studies. Hispanic individuals have significant differences in cultural values in comparison to their non- Hispanic counterparts such as familismo, simpatia, and personalismo, in addition to the broader cultural value of collectivism. These values have been shown to have important effects on interpersonal relationships, including the manner in which conflict is handled in dyadic relationships. Conflict resolution styles are also influenced by attachment style, although there is less consensus on the effects of attachment within Hispanic populations. Secure attachment is associated with solution-focused and mutually satisfying approaches to conflict. The study aimed to use path analysis in order understand how Hispanic cultural values and attachment style relate to conflict attitudes, conflict resolution styles, and relationship satisfaction among Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals. Participants in the study completed a set of questionnaires online. Although the two models proposed in the study had poor fit indices, post-hoc analyses revealed significant correlations amongst the variables and differences between groups. There was evidence of moderation by ethnicity with regards to the associations between relationship satisfaction and integrating conflict style, relationship satisfaction and avoiding conflict style, and relationship satisfaction and familismo. Implications of these results for both understanding the Hispanic population and future research concluded this study.