Girls and Aggression: Contributing Factors and Intervention Principles

255 Pages·2004·10.96 MB·English

by  Marlene M. Moretti

Girls and Aggression
Contributing Factors and Intervention Principles
Perspectives in
Law & Psychology
SponsoredbytheAmericanPsychology'LawSociety/Division41ofthe
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation
SeriesEditor:RonaldRoesch,SimonFraserUniversity,Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada
EditorialBoard:JaneGoodman-Delahunty,ThomasGrisso,StephenD.Hart,
MarshaLiss,EdwardP.Mulvey,JamesR.P.Ogloff,NormanG.Poythress,Jr.,
DonRead,ReginaSchuller,andPatriciaZapf
Volume 6 MENTALLYDISORDEREDOFFENDERS:PerspectivesfromLawandSocialScience
EditedbyJohnMonahanandHenryJ.Steadman
Volume 7 EVALUATINGCOMPETENCIES:ForensicAssessmentsandInstruments
ThomasGrisso
Volume 8 INSANITYONTRIAL
NormanJ.Finkel
Volume 9 AFTERTHECRIME:VictimDecisionMaking
MartinS.GreenbergandR. BarryRuback
Volume10 PSYCHOLOGYANDLAW:TheStateoftheDiscipline
EditedbyRonaldRoesch,StephenD.Hart,andJamesR.P.Ogloff
Volume11 JUDICIALDECISIONMAKING: IsPsychologyRelevant?
LawrenceS.Wrightsman
Volume 12 PRINCIPLESOFFORENSICMENTALHEALTHASSESSMENT
KirkHeilbrun
Volume13 DANGEROUSADOLESCENTS,MODELADOLESCENTS:ShapingtheRoleand
PromiseofEducation
RogerJ.R.Levesque
Volume 14 TAKINGPSYCHOLOGYANDLAWINTOTHETWENTY-FIRSTCENTURY
EditedbyJamesR.P.Ogloff
Volume15 ADJUDICATIVECOMPETENCE:TheMacArthurStudies
NormanG.Poythress,RichardJ.Bonnie,JohnMonahan,RandyOtto,
andStevenK.Hoge
Volume16 EVALUATINGCOMPETENCIES:ForensicAssessmentsandInstruments
(SecondEdition)
ThomasGrisso
Volume17 ADVERSARIALVERSUSINQUISITORIALJUSTICE:Psychological
PerspectivesonCriminalJusticeSystems
EditedbyPeterJ.vanKoppenandStevenD.Penrod
Volume18 PARENTINGEVALUATIONSFORTHECOURT:CareandProtectionMatters
LoisOberlanderCondie
Volume19 GIRLSANDAGGRESSION:ContributingFactorsandInterventionPrinciples
EditedbyMarleneM.Moretti,CandiceL.Odgers,andMargaretA.Jackson
Girls and Aggression
Contributing Factors
and Intervention Principles
Edited by
Marlene M. Moretti
Simon Fra.n!r Unil'ersiIY. Burnaby. British Columbia. CUI/lid"
Candice L. Odgers
U"hoersi/y of Virginia, Chariollesville, Virginia. U.SA
Margaret A. Jackson
Simon Fraser University. /J,/fnahy. British Columbia, Callada
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSlNESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 978-1-4613-4748-4 ISBN 978-1-4419-8985-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.10071978-1-4419-8985-7
0 2004 Springer-Sdence+Busincss Media New York
OrigiTUllly publishl'(\ by Kluwl'r 11'knuIll l'ublishl'T'S. New York in 2()(1.t
Safteaver reprint af the hardcover 1 steditian 2004
10987654321
A c.1.1'. n.."Cord for this book is available from the Library ofCongrcss
All rights rcscrVL'd.
No part of this work may be rcproduc<.'<'i, ston.>d in a rctrieval system, or Iransmitlcd in any
(arm ur by any means, ck'Ctronic, mechanical, pholocopying, microfilming, recording, ar
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maieriaJ supplilod spl>cifically for the purpose of being enlen..'<'i and c)«,'Cul<.>d on a com puler
system, fur cxclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
ToSeanand Sarah, withmuchlove always.-MMM
ToNicoleand Natasah, for theircourage and great
successintheface ofadversity.-CLO
Formyparents.-MAJ
Contributors
JILLANTONISHAK·DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofVirginia,Char
lottesville,Virginia,UnitedStates,22901.
SIBYLLE ARTZ •School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria,
Victoria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8W2Y2.
LEENAK. AUGIMERI•EarlscourtChild & FamilyCentre,Toronto,Ontario,
Canada,M6E3V4.
OZLEMAYDUK·PsychologyDepartment,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,
California,UnitedStates,94720.
ERINM. BOONE·DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofVictoria,Victo
ria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8P5C2.
DEBORAHA.CONNOLLY·DepartmentofPsychology,SimonFraserUniver
sity,Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A 156.
NICKIR.CRICK·InstituteofChildDevelopment,UniversityofMinnesota,
Minneapolis,Minnesota,UnitedStates,55455.
KIMBERLEYDASH.VA•DepartmentofPsychology,SimonFraserUniversity,
Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A156.
MANDEEP K. DHAMI •Department of Psychology, University of Victoria,
Victoria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8P5C2.
GERALDINE DOWNEY· Department of Psychology, Columbia University,
New York, New York, UnitedStates,10027.
CATHERINE EMOND· School of Criminology, University of Montreal,
Montreal,Quebec,Canada,H3C3J7.
TASHA C. GEIGER • Institute of Child Development, University of Min
nesota, Minneapolis,Minnesota,UnitedStates,55455.
vii
viii CONTRIBUTORS
WENDY L. HOGLUND· Department of Psychology, University ofVictoria,
Victoria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8P5C2.
Roy HOLLAND • Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre, Burnaby, British
Columbia,Canada,V5G3H4.
SHELLEY HYMEL· Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BritishColumbia,Canada,V6T1Z4.
LAUREN IRWIN· Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New
YorkCity, NewYork, UnitedStates, 10027
MARGARET A. JACKSON·School ofCriminology, SimonFraserUniversity,
Burnaby, BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A1S6.
NADINE LANCTOT • School of Criminology, University of Montreal,
Montreal,Quebec,Canada,H3C3J7.
BONNIEJ. LEADBEATER•DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofVictoria,
Victoria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8P5C2.
MARCLEBLANC·SchoolofCriminology,UniversityofMontreal,Montreal,
Quebec,Canada,H3C3J7.
ZINA LEE·DepartmentofPsychology,SimonFraserUniversity, Burnaby,
BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A1S6.
KATHRYNS. LEVENE·EarlscourtChild & FamilyCentre,Toronto,Ontario,
Canada,M6E3V4.
MARLENEM. MORETII•DepartmentofPsychology,SimonFraserUniver
sity, Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A1S6.
CARRIE FRIED MULFORD· Department of Psychology, University of Vir
ginia,Charlottesville,Virginia,UnitedStates,22901.
CANDICE L. ODGERS· Department ofPsychology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville,Virginia,UnitedStates,22901.
DEBRA J. PEPLER· Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto,
Ontario,CanadaM3J1P3.
MELISSA RAMSAY·DepartmentofPsychology,ColumbiaUniversity, New
YorkCity,NewYork, UnitedStates,10027.
MARGE REITSMA-STREET· Studies in Policy and Practice in Health and
SocialServices,FacultyofHumanandSocialDevelopment,Universityof
Victoria, Victoria,BritishColumbia,Canada,V8W 2Y2.
CONTRIBUTORS ix
N. DICKONREPPUCCI· DepartmentofPsychology, UniversityofVirginia,
Charlottesville,Virginia,UnitedStates,22901.
MELINDAG.SCHMIDT·DepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofVirginia,
Charlottesville,Virginia, UnitedStates,22901.
TRACY VAILLANCOURT· DepartmentofPsychology, McMasterUniversity,
Hamilton,Ontario,Canada,L8S4L8.
MARGARETM.WALSH·EarlscourtChild&FamilyCentre,Toronto,Ontario,
Canada,M6E3V4.
TRISTIN M.WAYTE •Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada,V5A1S6.
JENNIFER L. WOOLARD· Department of Psychology, Georgetown Univer
sity,Washington,DC,UnitedStates,20057.
MARION K. UNDERWOOD· School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Uni
versityofTexasatDallas,Richardson, Texas,UnitedStates,75083.
MELANIEJ.ZIMMER-GEMBECK•SchoolofAppliedPsychology,GriffithUni
versity,GoldCoast,Queensland,Australia,9726.
Preface
Despite decades of research on the involvement of boys and men in ag
gressive and violent behavior, little attention has been directed toward
these issues in girls and women. The increasing involvement of young
women in violence, both as perpetrators and victims, has led to urgent
callsformoreinformationonwhatcausesaggressionandviolenceingirls
and what we can do about it. Indeed, both the Canadian Department of
JusticeandtheOfficeofJuvenileDelinquencyandPreventionintheUnited
Stateshaveopenlyexpressedconcernregardingthelackofinformationand
programmingfor young females. In addition, recent media portrayals of
high profilecases involving young women participating in brutalacts of
violencehaveheightenpublicconcernovertheemergenceofanew wave
of"violentandaggressivegirls".
This bookpresents a collection ofcuttingedge interdisciplinaryper
spectivesthataddressriskandprotectivefactors,developmentalpathways
and interventionprinciples specific to the problem ofaggression and vi
olencein the lives ofyoung women. Thecollectionseeks torepresent the
full social-psychologicalcontextin which girls lives unfold with the goal
of leading the field to a developmental-ecological understanding of the
issue. With this goal in mind, perspectives were sought from the disci
plines of psychology, criminology, education and sociology. In the first
sectionofthebook,thequestionofgenderspecificityintheformandfunc
tionofaggressionisaddressedfromapsychologicalperspective.Downey,
Irwin, Ramsay andAydukdiscuss thesignificanceofrejection sensitivity
in determining how girls interpret and respond to experiences in close
relationships, andhow this in tum can lead to engagementin aggressive
behavior. Next, Geiger, Zimmer-Gembeck and Crick examine the defini
tion,measurementand prevalenceofrelationalaggression,itscausesand
consequences, and the importanceofidentifying relational aggressionas
a target of therapeutic intervention. The function of aggression from an
xi
xii PREFACE
attachment perspective is then considered by Moretti, DaSilva and Hol
land, whosuggestthataggression may develop ingirls under conditions
ofadversity as a desperate attempt to coerce others into meeting attach
mentneeds.
Turningtotheimportanceofsocial-interpersonalcontext,Vaillancourt
andHymelreviewresearchonthecomplexprocessesthroughwhichpeer
relationships contribute to aggressive behavior. They suggest that future
researchmustgobeyondtheexaminationoffamilyinfluencestomorefully
considerhowaggressivebehaviorispromotedandmaintainedwithinpeer
groups. Finally, Lanctot, Emond and LeBlanc present research that illus
trates the diversity ofdevelopmental trajectories among aggressivegirls.
Their findings challenge researchers to further investigate the complex
relationship between risk factors, both psychological and social, overde
velopment.
In thenextsectionofthebook, the importanceofsocial-culturalcon
text is discussed with attention to the factors that contribute to discrimi
nation and victimization of girls. In herchapter,Jackson references three
studies which consider the voices of young immigrant and refugee girls
andtheirserviceprovidersintheidentificationofracialandgenderfactors
that impact both on girls being targeted for violence and/or on girls be
comingviolentthemselves. Artzoffersinsightsintothe importanceofthe
socialconditionsofyounggirlswhichshapetheirsexualandgenderiden
tity, their moralidentity and their action. Fromheranalysis of girls lived
experiences, she argues we must move away from the traditional deficit
modeltoamodelofinclusion,relationshipbuildingandcommunitypart
nership. Reitsma-Street examines restrictive welfare and punitive justice
policies that increase the vulnerabilities of girls to violence, especially if
they liveinlowincomecommunities.
Sectionthree ofthe bookpresentsperspectivesonintervention, link
ingriskfactors andearlyidentificationwithspecifictreatmentprograms.
Applications to both juvenile justice system and school based program
ming are presented. Pepler, Walsh and Levene review the process of de
veloping and evaluating a promising new gender specific program, the
Earlscourt Girls Connection, which addresses young troubled girls' de
velopmental issues within multiple relationship contexts. Levene, Walsh
and Augimeri describe a risk assessmentinstrumentspecifically for girls
thatguidesthedeliveryofclinicalintervention.Theyalsoprovidemorein
depthinformationontheinterventionprogramsprovidedattheEarlscourt
center. TheabilityoftheEarlscourtgroup totranslatedevelopmental the
ory and research into practice serves as an excellent model for the de
velopmentoffuture interventionsandprogrammingforgirls. Leadbeater
andhercolleaguesalsoprovideanexampleofaninterventionthat, while