NCJ Number
199601
Journal
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2003 Pages: 64-78
Date Published
January 2003
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study linked conflict resolution techniques employed by 10- and 11-year olds to their perceptions of the conflict resolution techniques employed by parents, peers, and television characters.
Abstract
The authors drew a sample of 333 children from 6 large, suburban, government-funded primary schools for a study about conflict resolution behaviors. Thirty-six of their teachers identified these students as bullies (n=47), passive victims (n=37), aggressive victims (n=29), or controls (n=220). The authors explain that social learning in the family is thought to contribute to how children handle conflicts with their peers in school. The relevant research literature in the field of social learning is reviewed. In order to ascertain the extent to which each group resolves conflict differently, the authors drew on the children’s self-reported conflict tactics and their perceptions of the tactics used by their parents, peers, and television characters. The authors hypothesized that the bullies and the aggressive victims would be most likely to describe themselves, their parents and peers, and television characters as engaging in aggressive behaviors to reach their goal. In contrast, the control group was predicted to describe themselves and their groups of role models as successfully using reasoning strategies to reach their goal. No prediction was made concerning the orientation of passive victims. Findings revealed that, first, teacher nomination concerning which children fit into which category was not consistent with self-report analysis by the children. The children were more likely to view themselves as victims of bullying and less likely to report that they were bullies themselves. The findings also revealed that bullies, victims, and controls could be distinguished based on their preferences for conflict resolution. Victims were more likely to be excluded by peers and exhibit a more solitary social experience at school than controls or bullies. Finally, no group could be distinguished based on their reports of parental conflict management techniques. Future research should focus on the features of the school environment that sustain or mitigate childhood bullying. Tables, notes, references