RELATIONAL AGGRESSION AND MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS: THEY MAKE

114 Pages·2010·0.35 MB·English

RELATIONAL AGGRESSION AND MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS:
WHY THEY PARTICIPATE AND WHAT MEANING
THEY MAKE OF THIS AGGRESSION

by
CHRISTIE LEWIS

A DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Education
in the Department of Educational Leadership,
Policy, and Technology Studies
in the Graduate School of
The University of Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA

2010
Copyright Christie Lewis 2010
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ABSTRACT
Relational aggression seems to invoke more emotional and academic difficulties for girls
in middle school than any other age group. In this research, the author describes the different
types of aggression often used by middle school girls in their social relationships. The author
sought to find out why girls participate in relational aggression, either as perpetrators or as
victims and what meaning they make of this aggression. The author concludes with implications
for school personnel with emphasis on school counselors.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are several people that I need to thank for making this challenge a reality. Writing
a dissertation takes a tremendous amount of time and energy and since I am a wife and mother
this became a family commitment. First, I would like to thank my husband, Tommy, for your
love, encouragement, patience, and willingness to take on added responsibilities at home and
with our son while I was writing. I would not be here if it were not for you. You have always had
the ability to make me feel strong again when I am feeling weak. Thanks to my son, Tristan, for
making me laugh by saying, “Mama, just go get that dissertation finished. I’m tired of hearing
about it.”
My chairperson, Dr. Nirmala Erevelles, was a tremendous help with this project even
through her family crisis. Thanks for all your support and sorry I was a burden through your
difficult time. Thanks to Dr. Natalie Adams for your assistance during Dr. Erevelles’ brief
absence. Special thanks also go to the remaining members of my dissertation committee: Dr.
Burnham, Dr. Dantzler, and Dr. McKnight. Thanks for your advice and support.
Thank you, Mama and Daddy, for all your love and encouragement. You have always
supported my efforts and helped tremendously by doing whatever was needed while I was
writing.
Last but not least, thanks to the 10 girls who shared their experiences with me and the
school counselor and school administrators who allowed me to do research in their schools.

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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ vii
1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ...............................................................................................4
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................5
Research Questions ........................................................................................................6
Significance of the Problem ...........................................................................................7
Limitations .....................................................................................................................7
Definitions of Terms ......................................................................................................8
Summary ........................................................................................................................9
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .........................................................................10
Girl Studies ..................................................................................................................12
Aggression ...................................................................................................................16
Bullying..................................................................................................................18
Indirect Aggression ................................................................................................19
Social Aggression ..................................................................................................19
Relational Aggression ............................................................................................20
Cyberbullying ........................................................................................................23
Differences in Boys’ and Girls’ Aggression ..........................................................24
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Explanations for Using Relational Aggression in Girls .........................................26
Spaces Where Relational Aggression takes Place .................................................29
How School Counseling Addresses Aggression ..........................................................30
3 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................35
Research Questions ......................................................................................................37
Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................37
School Spaces ........................................................................................................38
Peer Pressure ..........................................................................................................39
Social Tension ........................................................................................................39
Interaction of Three Elements of the Conceptual Framework ...............................40
Participants and Setting ................................................................................................41
Data Collection Methods .............................................................................................44
Interview Questions .....................................................................................................45
Data Collection and Analysis.......................................................................................46
Triangulation of Data ...................................................................................................46
Role of the Researcher .................................................................................................47
Limitations ...................................................................................................................47
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................48
4 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ..................................................49
Analysis of Data ...........................................................................................................49
Emerging Themes ........................................................................................................53
Aggressors..............................................................................................................54
Aggressees .............................................................................................................55
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Girls in the Middle .................................................................................................57
Conclusion: Research Question 1 ................................................................................59
Wanting to Belong .................................................................................................61
Social Status ...........................................................................................................70
Conclusion Summary ...................................................................................................74
5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................75
Implications..................................................................................................................78
Implications for School Administrators and Teachers ...........................................79
Implications for School Counselors .......................................................................81
Implications for Colleges and Universities ............................................................84
Recommendations for Future Studies ..........................................................................85
Summary ......................................................................................................................86
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................87
APPENDICES:
A LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENT ............................................................................95
B LETTER TO PRINCIPAL ...........................................................................................97
C LETTER TO COUNSELOR .......................................................................................99
D INFORMED CONSENT STATEMENT FOR PARENTS .......................................101
E INFORMED CONSENT STATEMENT FOR PARTICIPANTS ............................103
F INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ......................................................................................105
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LIST OF FIGURES
1 Conceptual framework Venn diagram ...............................................................................38
2 Categories of relational aggression ....................................................................................53

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Girl bullying usually does not take the customary physical and verbal behavior tactics
that are often labeled as methods boys use in their social relationships. Girls’ aggression tends to
take a different approach, often referred to as relational aggression (Crick, 1996). Relationally
aggressive acts are usually private; therefore, they are often unnoticed by those who might be in
a position to intervene. Relationally aggressive acts, including backstabbing, exclusion, rumors,
gossiping, name-calling, and manipulation, are techniques girls use to cause psychological pain
on targeted victims (Bjorkvist, Lagerspetz, & Kaukiainen, 1992; Crothers, Field, & Kolbert,
2005; Simmons, 2002). Simmons states that boys tend to bully people who are familiar to them
or strangers, whereas girls frequently attack within their pool of friends, making aggression more
difficult to identify and increasing the harm to the victims.
The term relational aggression was coined by Crick (1995) to describe the use of
relationships to harm others. Relational aggression (i.e., including socially and direct relationally
aggressive behavior) can include a variety of emotionally hurtful behaviors. Socially aggressive
behaviors include gossiping, social exclusion, isolation, or alienation, writing notes or talking
about someone, and stealing friends or romantic partners. Direct relationally aggressive
behaviors are confrontational strategies that achieve interpersonal damage. These behaviors
include not talking to or hanging around with someone, deliberately ignoring someone,
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threatening to end friendship, and excluding someone from a group by informing her that she is
not welcome in the group (Xie, Swift, Cairns, & Cairns, 2002).
Prior studies have shown that, as a group, boys exhibit significantly higher amounts of
aggression than do girls (Block, 1983). These findings have been translated as an overall lack of
aggressiveness in girls’ peer interactions. However, it might be that the forms of aggression
looked at in the past are more prevalent among boys than girls. Crick and Grotpeter (1995) found
that females may use unique forms of aggression that have been overlooked in past research--
relational aggression. Michell (1999) purported that, “Girls’ friendships are characterized by
strict hierarchies and highly differentiated peer groups in which being popular (rather than
having close friends) becomes increasingly important (p. 37).
There are a number of popular press articles, books, and movies that have focused on the
issue of girls and their social relationships. A sampling of titles include Queen Bees and
Wannabes (Wiseman, 2002); Girl Wars (Dellasega & Nixon, 2003); Odd Girl Out: The Hidden
Culture of Aggression in Girls (Simmons, 2002); See Jane Hit (Garbarino, 2006). The preceding
titles clearly indicate the negative style in which girls relate to one another. The fact that popular
media has addressed the issue indicates how widespread the problem is. Society’s interest in the
subject is evident from the amount of money spent on books and movies relating to social
aggression and girls. While these depictions sometimes seem to glamorize the issue of
aggression and girls, their popularity validates research findings that show relational aggression
as a major problem for middle school girls and their social relationships (Talbot, 2002). These
popular press publications seem to popularize the ways in which girls participate in relationships
with other girls. However, most are not based on research studies on the topic. These
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