Relational aggression, gender, and social‐psychological adjustment (original) (raw)
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Social Development, 2006
Children and adolescents between 6 and 15 years of age were asked to report on typical same-sex peers’ aggressive responses to a hostile act that had occurred in dyads and groups that were either compatible or incompatible. Results demonstrated that females were expected to display the highest levels of aggression in compatible one-on-one relationships as opposed to in compatible group relationships or in incompatible relationships. Males did not differ across the type of relationship in the level of aggression that they were expected to display. The connection between investment in a relationship and aggression is considered.
Relational aggression among middle school girls
Bullying behavior among youths has been a long-standing problem that parents and educators spend a great deal of time trying to combat. In particular, relational aggression, due to its covert nature and the difficulty in identifying the behavior, presents a greater challenge to youths, parents and educators and warranted further investigation. This covert behavior appears to peak in middle school and is employed at a higher rate by girls. Thus, a qualitative approach was used to examine the experiences and perceptions of relational aggression of middle school girls, their parents and middle school educators. Three separate focus groups were conducted with girls, parents and educators and data was analyzed through a social ecological lens. This study also aimed to examine the responses of the participants and the perception girls hold regarding how their parents and teachers respond to reports of relational aggression. Results indicate that boys are engaging in this behavior more than previously observed and youths are exhibiting aggressive behaviors towards their peers via technological devices and social networking sites more so than in person. Additionally, results indicated that training for both parents and educators on how to identify these behaviors, as well as how to respond to them, is needed. Further, results indicated a disconnect in the communication among girls, parents and educators which the participants report exacerbates the problem of relational aggression in schools.
Boys' and girls' strategies for managing peer conflict in adolescence
The purpose of the present study was to examine boys' and girls' endorsement of communal and agentic conflict-management strategies in three types of relationships: same-sex friends, other-sex friends, and romantic relationships. Relationship type was examined as a moderator of gender differences and similarities in strategies. Also, the role of gender-typed personality traits (expressive, instrumental) was examined as a covariate to investigate whether gender differences in conflict-management strategies reflect personality traits. Participants (N = 108; 49 boys; 59 girls) were adolescents aged 14-17 years (M age = 15.79 years, SD = 1.07). Participants were asked to complete the Peer Conflict Questionnaire to rate the degree to which they endorsed communal and agentic strategies for managing conflict. As the current study used a within-subject design, all participants responded to the following three components of the strategy assessment: strategy endorsement with a same-sex friend, strategy endorsement with an other-sex friend, and strategy endorsement with a romantic partner. After completing the strategy assessment, participants completed the gender-typed personality traits assessment. Gender-typed personality traits were assessed via the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence & Helmreich, 1978; see Appendix A section 3). Participants rated eight instrumental traits (e.g., 1, not at all aggressive vs. 5, very aggressive) and eight expressive or feminine traits (e.g., 1, not at all emotional vs. 5, very emotional) on a 1 to 5-point numerical scale. Participants also reported demographic information. Results showed that gender, relationship type, and gender-typed personality traits were associated with adolescents' strategies for managing peer conflict. Specifically, compared to boys, girls were more likely to endorse both communal and agentic strategies. Also, both communal and agentic strategies were endorsed less in romantic relationships than in friendships. Further, for agentic strategies, when instrumental traits were covaried, the main effect of relationship type was no longer significant. Results are discussed in relation to contextual approaches to interpersonal problem solving (see Berg & Strough, in press) and the gender similarity hypothesis suggesting boys and girls are more similar than they are different (see Hyde, 2005).
The effects of sex-role taking on children's responses to aggressive conflict situations
Sex Roles, 1984
The effects of sex-role taking on children's responses to aggressive conflict situations were investigated in the present study. Subjects were 40 boys and girls aged 8-9, who were asked to take the role of boy and girl story characters involved in the following kinds of aggressive situations: victim of a verbal attack, victim of a physical attack, and witness to an attack upon a friend. A significant interaction effect between type of conflict situation and sex of story character was obtained. Subjects expected boy characters to retaliate more strongly than girl characters when intervening in an attack upon a friend, and girl characters to retaliate more strongly than boy characters when being verbally or physically assaulted. These findings suggest the importance of situational factors in determining children's sex-stereotyped expectations for aggressive retaliation. Studies of sex differences in childhood aggression have consistently shown that boys are more often the victims, as well as the initiators, of peer-directed physical aggression (Shortell & Biller, 1970; Patterson, Littman, & Bricker, 1976; Whiting & Pope, 1974). One explanation for this phenomenon is that children learn, through socialization processes, to view boys as the more aggressive sex 0Vlischel, 1970). According to this hypothesis, children then use knowledge of sex-role appropriate behaviors to mediate their responses to frustrating interpersonal situations. 1 The author is grateful to John E. Bates for his valuable contributions to the present study. Special thanks are also due to Ruth Schneider, Jerry Dowis, and the principal, teachers, and students
Developmental Psychology, 2012
This study assessed girls' and boys' dominance-related behaviors (aggressive, commanding, submissive, and neutral behaviors) as they naturally occurred during interactions with male and female peers and evaluated the possibility that such behaviors elicit aggression from peers. Using a focal observational procedure, young girls' and boys' (N = 170; 54% boys) naturally occurring dominance-related behaviors and male and female peers' aggressive responses to those behaviors were recorded multiple times each week across the academic year. Findings suggested that samegender aggression occurred at similar rates as other-gender aggression once tendencies toward gender segregated play were controlled. Additionally, there were both gender-based similarities and differences in children's use of dominance-related behaviors in peer interactions and as antecedents for peers' aggression. The findings have implications for the literatures on aggression and gendered peer interactions.
British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2011
It is well known that a gender difference in physical aggression emerges by the preschool years. We tested the hypothesis that the gender difference is partly due to changing tactics in peer interaction. Observations of girls' and boys' social initiatives and reactions to opportunities for conflict were made, using the Peer Interaction Coding System (PICS) in four independent samples of children between 9 and 36 months of age, which were aggregated to form a summary data set (N = 323), divided into two age bands (below or above 24 months of age). Linear mixed-model analyses revealed significant age by gender interactions in the use of bodily force in response to peers' initiatives and in the tendency to use bodily force at later stages of conflicts with peers. The gender difference in use of force was not explained by differences in the use of verbal tactics. These cross-sectional findings suggest that girls are initially more likely than boys to use reactive aggression, but then desist, whereas boys increase their use of force to defend their territory and possessions. The difference between older and younger girls likely reflects girls' abilities to regulate their behaviour in response to social challenges and the fact that girls are explicitly socialized to yield to peers' demands.
Relational Aggression and Bullying: It's More Than Just A Girl Thing
2003
Recently, media attention and several popular books have focused on mean and aggressive girls. These sources would lead us to believe that this is a new unstudied phenomenon—the proverbial “new bully on the block”—and that it is on the rise. The spotlight has been on behaviors variably referred to as relational aggression, social cruelty, peer harassment, and relational bullying. Additionally, these behaviors are typically presented as part of a hidden culture that is allegedly unique to girls. Relational Aggression and Bullying: It’s More Than Just A Girl Thing looks at some of the recent assumptions that have been made about girls and relational aggression. Research suggests that relational aggression, like bullying, sexual harassment, and other forms of personal violence may be symptomatic of a larger pattern of societal violence that negatively affects both boys and girls. This paper refutes both the premise that aggression among girls is a new phenomenon and the notion that rel...
Gender dilferences in rcgard to aggressive behaviour werc investigatcd in a series of studies of schoolchildren of different age cohorb: 8-yeanolds (N = 85), ll-yeanolds (N = l(l), and lS-yeanolds (N = 127). Difierrnt types ofaggressive behaviour were measured with peer nomination techniques, supported by self-ratings. The socisl structure of the peer gn ups wene also studied. The results of the ll-yeanold cohort $iere previousfy prrsented by Lagerspetz et al. [19tt; Aggressive Behavior l4t4034l4], but they are compared here with the other age groups. The principal frnding wes that girls of the two older cohorts overall malre greater use of indlrect means of aggression, whercas bo5t tend to employ direct means. Previously, the main dilference between the genders has been thought to be that boys use physical aggressive strategies, wbile girls prefer verbd ones. Our studies suggest that the difiercntiation between direct and indirect strategies of aggression prcsents a morc exact picturc. Indlrect aggressive shategies nrcrr not yet fully developed among the E-yeanold girls, but they were dready prominent among the ll-yeanold girls. Aggressive behaviour was assessed overdt by the children themselves to be the highest in ttris age gmup.