Les interactions asymétriques en famille: analyse qualitative du conflit verbal dans les conversations à table

This work studies the verbal conflict between parents and preadolescents, through the
analysis of family interactions at dinnertime. The aim of the research is to analyze the
participants? strategies in situation of conflict and to highlight the relations between
parents and preadolescents in these specific situations. The data collection methodology
is mainly ethnographical: videotape recordings of Italian middle class family dinners
were transcribed and codified following the approach of Conversation Analysis. The
results of the qualitative analysis confirm the importance of the verbal conflict in family
context as a particular cultural strategy of relationships between parents and
preadolescents. The data also underline the relations between different aspects of
conflict and their pragmatic implications for all family members at dinnertime
conversations.