Conflict as a Relational Language: Caregivers' Interpretations of Adolescents' Conflicts in Residential Care

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to explore interpersonal conflicts involving adolescents living in residential children's homes and group homes through caregivers' interpretations, with particular attention to the psychological meaning and relational functions of conflict. The study adopts a qualitative design and employs reflexive thematic analysis. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 caregivers (9 women, 3 men) working in nine different residential group homes. The analysis identified three overarching themes. Caring Through Understanding (Theme 1) captures how conflicts are understood through the impact of the past and the relational regulation enacted through emotional involvement. Navigating Caregiving Ambivalence (Theme 2) highlights how conflict situations simultaneously evoke a sense of professional competence, experiencing failure in the absence of effective tools and ongoing role strain, positioning conflict as a site where caregiving identity is continuously negotiated. Conflict as a Relational Language (Theme 3) encompasses subthemes that reflect the re‐enactment of relational scripts, the self‐protective function of aggression and seeking connection through conflict. The findings suggest that conflicts are not merely behavioural problems but relational processes that simultaneously serve adolescents' emotion regulation and relational strivings while also revealing caregivers' emotional–professional ambivalence within conflict contexts.