‘It’s a girl thing!’ Do boys engage in relational aggression? Exploration of whether strategies to educate young people about relational aggression are relevant for boys

Abstract

Relational aggression is often perceived as a female issue. Less is known about relational aggression in adolescent boys. This study examines whether the issues associated with relational aggression in girls are similar for boys to determine whether an intervention designed for girls would be relevant for boys. Focus group discussions illustrate that boys engage in relational aggression and that it appears to be lined to maintaining power and status amongst their friendship groups. After the intervention the boys reported having a greater understanding of relational aggression, in particular the effects of exclusion. They reported that conflict resolution and managing anger were difficult for them to do. They admitted that some of the techniques might be useful, but were less sure about whether they would use them. They expressed a desire to explore anger management in more detail. It seemed the lessons were more suitable for the older boys as they had the developmental and intellectual capacity to engage with the topic. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Keywords:

• relational aggression
• boys
• lessons

Notes

1. The Cool School Anti-Bullying Programme was developed to support second level schools in the republic of Ireland to manage bullying. The programme consisted of research into levels of bullying, teacher training, development of lessons dealing with bullying, group therapy, development of policies and procedures for managing bullying. It was initially based within Child and Adolescent Mental Health services in Co. Meath, but was subsequently taken over by the Department of Education and Science and became a national programme.