A cross-discipline study in the school of health and education: examining interpersonal conflict in college life through collective cultural lens

This cross-disciplinary study examines interpersonal conflict management by college students through the integrative lens of health and education, with a particular focus on students’ perceptions of conflict in their college life. As an insider-researcher, my deep involvement with the students’ college life experiences has enabled me to form a unique methodological framework suited to a cross-disciplinary research project. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) to help integrate the two disciplines and thereby benefit college students through learning conflict resolution skills and recognizing the importance of human relationships and (2) to contribute to practice by providing recommendations to college practitioners. Using a qualitative research design with an interpretive approach, self-reflection reports and face-to-face interview data were collected. Self-reflection report data provides the internal thoughts regarding participants’ conflictual experience. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with the participants further revealed that mental wellness, well-being, and overall happiness improve through a constructive process of conflict management. The findings revealed that a significant level of correlation between interdependency including behavioural emotions and interpersonal conflict management. The result of the research reflects that the violation which comes from expressing negative emotions and lack of empathy can have a negative impact on interpersonal relationship.
As a college practitioner, assisting students to resolve conflict in college life, my study argues that it is important for students and college administrators to understand and address interpersonal conflict from a joint health and education perspective in order to bring about the best possible outcomes. My research proposes that college is a learning platform for acquiring important interpersonal conflict skills and constructing healthy relationships with others for better mental wellness. By providing holistic education to college students, learning about students’ conflicts, and understanding how the latter may lead to relationship issues, colleges can provide better-designed mental-wellness initiatives and support for students. Findings complementing the qualitative data are also presented, as well as a discussion of the study’s theoretical and practical contributions, its challenges, and future research opportunities.