This paper explores some socio-psychological factors that might be indicative of the
willingness of young people to establish post-conflict intergroup relationships in the
city of Vukovar in Croatia. It is based on a study involving 254 students (132 male
and 122 female) from the University of Vukovar and high schools, who identified
themselves with one of the two ethnic groups associated with the conflict in Croatia;
Croats (N = 165) and Serbs (N = 89). Participants completed a questionnaire on
perceived parental communication, styles of adolescent conflict management within
the family, their sense of victimhood, and their propensity towards reconciliation with
youth belonging to the out-group. As expected, results confirm that sense of
victimhood, referring to the loss of or damage to one’s house and to personal losses
and threats to one’s own life or to the lives of significant others, is associated with
negative emotions towards youth belonging to the out-group and less propensity
towards reconciliation. Moreover, results show that perceived constructive parental
communication is associated with higher propensity towards reconciliation among
youth belonging to the out-group. Interestingly, the results suggest that young people
who perceived their parents using constructive and non-aggressive relational
communication (versus those who are verbally aggressive) seem to have a greater
propensity towards reconciliation even when the young people in question
experienced a high sense of victimhood. The paper discusses the theoretical and
practical implications of the findings for improving communication and enhancing
understanding between groups in post-conflict areas.