The aim of this study was to explore the influence of self-consciousness and narcissism on conflict management style among the youth. Data obtained with a Likert-type rating scale of each variable were analyzed via multiple regression analysis to examine the research questions: (1) what is the effect of self-consciousness on individual conflict management style? (2) what is the effect of narcissism on individual conflict management style?
A total of 336 undergraduates (205 females and 131 males) participated in the survey. Self-conscious was measured with three dimensions: public and self-consciousness, and social anxiety. Private self-consciousness refers to the tendency one has to focus on personal inner experiences such as thoughts, memories and feelings. Public self-consciousness concerns characteristics that can be observed by others, such as appearance. Social anxiety is the discomfort someone feels in the presence of others. Narcissism was measured with two dimensions: self-oriented and other-oriented narcissistic personalities. Conflict management style included five elements: integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising.
The results illustrated the effects of each independent variable on conflict management style. Higher private self-consciousness showed greater scores in integrating and compromising styles. Higher public self-consciousness demonstrated greater scores in integrating, dominating, obliging, and compromising styles. Higher social anxiety is found to affect avoiding and obliging styles.
Regarding narcissism, self-oriented narcissistic personality showed a higher preference of integrating, dominating, and compromising styles, while other-oriented narcissistic personality showed a higher preference of avoiding and dominating styles.
This study illustrates possibilities for and limitations of the results, and also suggest criteria for a further research.