Conflict Management In The Jarrett Family

Conflict management was a huge issue for the Jarrett family after the death of their son Buck. Buck Jarrett was in a boating accident where he died, but his brother survived. Soon after the accident, Conrad, Bucks brother, attempted suicide. This completely threw the Jarrett family for a loop. The family soon started to become passive aggressive towards each other and it became harder for them to have crucial conversations with one another. If the Jarrett’s had used conflict management it would have significantly improved their healing process through these traumatic events. Many times during the movie Conrad, Beth, and Calvin display “silence” or “violence” mechanisms. A great strategy to eliminate silent or violent acts is to create safety in the conversation and between the two people. Conflict management skills are the most important skills someone can have in maintaining relationships with friends, family, and significant others. Conrad Jarrett is absolutely scarred when his brother Buck dies in a tragic boating accident, and as a result he tries

Even though Calvin tries to be the piece maker in the Jarrett family, he also does not handle every situation perfectly. Conrad comes home one day and Beth confronts him about quitting the swim team. In response to Beth screaming at Conrad for quitting the team and not telling her, Calvin starts cursing at Beth. This reaction is an example of violence, and does not give Conrad a good example to follow. Instead of showing his son that cursing at a significant other is acceptable, he could have calmed his wife and his son down. He could have told Beth that it is not worth it to compromise her relationship with her son and attempted to calm her down. These strategies would have created emotional safety between her and Conrad and clarified what she wanted out of the