Although conflict is a normative part of parent–
adolescent relationships, conflicts that are long or highly
negative are likely to be detrimental to these relationships
and to youths’ development. In the present article,
sequential analyses of data from 138 parent–adolescent
dyads (adolescents’ mean age was 13.44, SD = 1.16; 52 %
girls, 79 % non-Hispanic White) were used to define con-
flicts as reciprocal exchanges of negative emotion observed
while parents and adolescents were discussing ‘‘hot,’’