Conflict Management among Malay Married Couples: An Analysis on Their Strategies & Tactics

The purpose of this study is to explore the strategies and tactics used in conflict management and analyze their effectiveness based on quantitative methodology. Probability sampling of 300 respondents in Selangor, Malaysia consisting of Malay married couples were selected using cluster sampling. The findings showed that the strategies were competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. In average, around 80 percent of Malay married couples chose collaborating strategy whereas competing was less popular. However, the most popular tactic among the respondents is trying to do what is necessary to avoid tension which is under the avoiding strategy. Two-way communication and compromise were seen to be the essence in keeping longevity and success in marriage. The study revealed that there was a change in conflict management among Malay married couples which can be related to the economic development of society, technological advances, political scenarios and the influx of foreign culture. Nonetheless, along with the changes in Malaysia’s economic system, modern Malay couples are more open-minded. Therefore, couples in this study tend to see conflicts as problems that need to be solved, wanting quality decisions that truly resolve the issues. They believe in the power of consensus and in sharing of information and achieving understanding with one another.