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Conflict in families can negatively affect individuals' well-being and relationships. But what exactly do families today fight about, and is conflict in the home generally more severe between couples or between parents and children?

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores these topics, shedding light on important but often overlooked aspects of family dynamics. The findings are published in the Journal of Family Issues.

"Many studies have documented the impact of conflict on family relationships, but most of those have looked at how the conflict is managed rather than what family members are discussing. We were interested in looking at areas of disagreement across multiple family relationship types," said lead author Noah Larsen, a graduate student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

The researchers surveyed a nationwide sample of 593 adults who were parenting at least one child between the ages of 4 and 17. Participants indicated the severity of various conflict topics in their couple relationship and with their children. Separate topic lists were created for couples, younger children (ages 4–12), and teenage children (ages 13–18).

For couples, the most severe conflict issue was communication, followed by mood and tempers, parenting, household chores, and money management. For parents and teenagers, household chores and untidy rooms were the most severe conflict topics, followed by technology and phone use. For parents and young kids, bedtime delays, obeying instructions, and picky eating were the top conflict areas.

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