Listening to adolescent girls in order to understand their response to relational aggression

This qualitative study was situated in a suburban high school, centering on a small number of adolescent girls and their response to relational aggression. A feminist perspective that emphasizes the unique social-emotional development of women and girls was taken (Crick & Rose, 2000). Prior to this study, little was known about the way in which girls respond to and cope with acts of relational aggression by their female peers and specifically, the way in which inauthenticity in relationships influences their response strategies. This study represented an initial attempt to address this gap in research. It has been almost 20 years since the publishing of Brown and Gilligan\u27s work, therefore it was important to consider whether or not feminist constructs such as inauthenticity in relationships were still applicable to contemporary girls (Brown & Gilligan, 1992). As a result, it was determined that each participant\u27s response to relational aggression could be classified as either moving towards or away from the conflict In addition, the response to relational aggression by these specific students was primarily relationship driven and dependent mainly upon two motivating factors: the participant\u27s relationship with the perpetrator and the participant\u27s desired outcome to either repair or end the relationship. Advice given by the participant\u27s maternal parent and the perpetrator\u27s status/reputation in the school context were also taken into consideration before responding to the conflict