Conflict resolution is the process of defusing antagonism and reaching agreement between conflicting parties, especially through some form of negotiation. It can also be thought of as the study and practice of solving interpersonal and intergroup conflict.

A given conflict may be defined in terms of the issues that caused it, the strategies used to address it, or the outcomes or consequences that follow from it. Preschool and early elementary school-aged children tend to have conflict over property issues, and they tend to use physical strategies to resolve them, like taking a toy they want from another child. As children grow older the causes of conflict are more frequently about social order, and they are more likely to use verbal strategies to achieve solutions.

Although conflicts can be categorized as interpersonal, i.e., conflict arising between individuals or groups of individuals, and intrapersonal, i.e., conflict...