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Early Adolescents' Conceptions of Parental and Friend Authority Over Relational Aggression

NCJ Number
217789
Journal
Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 344-364
Author(s)
Sara E. Goldstein; Marie S. Tisak
Date Published
August 2006
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study assessed early adolescents’ beliefs about parental and friend jurisdiction over relationally aggressive behavior.
Abstract
The adolescents in the study believed that parental jurisdiction was more acceptable with regard to physical aggression than with regard to gossip or peer exclusion. Adolescents also thought that parental jurisdiction over exclusion as less acceptable than parental authority over the personal behaviors of a getting a new haircut and deciding when to go to sleep. The study provides initial evidence as to how young adolescents conceptualize external jurisdiction over relationally aggressive behavior. Relational aggression and victimization represent significant concerns for child and adolescent psychosocial development and mental health. The purpose of this study was to compare early adolescents’ beliefs about parental and friend jurisdiction over relational aggression to their beliefs about parental and friend jurisdiction over physical aggression and personal behaviors. The study sample consisted of 103 adolescents from 3 public middle schools in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Tables, notes, and references