Research supports that aggression is one of the best known predictors of future social, psychological, behavioral, and academic problems. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that aggression through bullying is detrimental for both the aggressor and the victim and is correlated with many negative outcomes including depression and poor school achievement. Recently, scholars have recognized that there are a wide range of bullying behaviors, including physically, overtly, and relationally aggressive behaviors. Relational aggression refers to behaviors that harm others through damage (or threat to damage) to relationships or feelings of acceptance or group inclusion. Most studies of relational aggression have not addressed the social contexts within which children develop, including the context of school. The present study explored the relationship between student reports of the frequency of school-based relational and overt aggression, teacher reports of the frequency of school based relational and overt aggression, and office discipline referral data (used as a measure of school climate). Fifty-eight third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students (boys and girls) and nine teachers from a public elementary in Massachusetts school participated in this study. Students completed an anonymous survey about relational and overt victimization and relational and overt witnessing. The teachers of the students also completed an anonymous survey about the frequency with which they witnessed and intervened with relational and overt aggression. Office discipline referral data were collected for one month. Data indicated that students and teachers reported witnessing similar levels of relational aggression. However, teachers reported witnessing more overt aggression than students. In addition, students reported witnessing significantly more relational aggression than overt aggression. Of note, although students reported witnessing significantly more relational aggression, they reported experiencing significantly more overt aggression. Office discipline referrals revealed that students were more often sent to the office for overtly aggressive behaviors than for relationally aggressive behaviors. Survey findings are discussed in light of the school climate data provided by the office discipline referrals. Future research should further investigate the complicated connections between student report, teacher report, and school climate as they relate to bullying and relational aggression, in particular.

<p> This study, <i>Relational Aggression, Middle School Girls, and the Development of Critical Consciousness,</i> engaged both feminist theory and critical pedagogy as a means to deconstruct the issue of relational aggression among adolescent girls. The objective of this research was to contribute to the growing body of literature pertaining to relational aggression and fill some gaps in the literature surrounding preventative programming. This study investigated the experiences of middle school girls engaged in a solution-oriented approach in order to postulate possible program approaches and educational initiatives to decrease the prevalence of relational aggression in middle school girls. The collection and analysis of the data sought to describe a connection between girls&rsquo; participation in the program and developing critical consciousness about relational aggression, as well as strategies to address it in their lives. The qualitative data collected in this participatory action research show that relational aggression is much more than a mere &ldquo;right of passage&rdquo; or indicate that &ldquo;mean girls&rdquo; are a just a normal part of growing up. Relational aggression is harmful, has intense, negative short- and long-term effects, and&mdash;in the lives of the girls I have worked closely with&mdash;is very real, incredibly painful, and deeply personal. The findings of this study confirmed that girls benefit from the creation of educative environments, or &ldquo;safe spaces,&rdquo; where they can dialogue critically with one another about issues that are important to them; this is integral to their socioemotional development in middle school. </p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to extend General Strain Theory (GST) to examine prosocial, asocial, and antisocial behavior in response to bullying. In GST, Agnew (1992; 2001; 2013) asserted that negative emotions can lead to criminal or aggressive coping but there are a number of factors that increase or decrease the propensity to respond aggressively (Agnew, 1992; Richman &amp; Leary, 2009). In this dissertation, I examine whether and how rejection (operationalized as bullying victimization) is associated with aggressive responding as opposed to prosocial (e.g., befriending others) or asocial (e.g., avoiding people and social events) responding. This dissertation consists of three studies testing theoretical variables of bullying victimization as well as behavioral responses to four types of bullying: physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Study 1 of this dissertation examines risk and protective factors for types of bullying victimization. Study 2 applies GST to test the effect of social support, or the availability of alternative relationships (i.e., having others to count on or turn to for social support), on responses to four types of bullying. Study 3 tests the effect of power dynamics on responses to physical and relational bullying. In conducting this research, I hope to: 1) integrate interdisciplinary bodies of literature to examine risk and protective factors of bullying victimization and behavioral responses to bullying and 2) improve understanding of how these experiences are affected by the power dynamics involved in bullying. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that types of negative emotions and behavioral outcomes vary by type of bullying victimization. Cyber bullying was found to have more negative consequences than any other form of bullying. Across all four forms of bullying, social support was found to be associated with an increased likelihood of youth engaging in prosocial behavior. Implicit power, or the perception that one&rsquo;s bully has a high social standing at school, significantly influenced responses based on the type of bullying. However, even when controlling for power dynamics, social support was still associated with increased prosocial behavior in response to bullying victimization. Theory and policy implications are discussed. </p><p>

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of four Massachusetts public school superintendents about the use of power. The major goals of the study were to profile and compare four practicing superintendents; to document their experiences, attitudes and accomplishments as seen through their own eyes; to inform and expand the understanding of the superintendency based on the real life experiences of superintendents; to develop new areas for preservice and inservice training of superintendents; and to identify areas for future study. An exploratory case study approach was used. The method for gathering the data, the in-depth phenomenological interview, was based on the model of I. E. Seidman which requires a series of three separate interviews with each participant. The interview trilogy was titled as follows: Life History, Contemporary Experience and Meaning to the Participant. In analyzing the data, a multifaceted approach was used, including Banfield's rephrased questions, an Affinity Diagram, four significant authors and an independent reader's observations. This yielded five conclusions: The exercise of power is linked to the person's character; the interactions with other players is influenced by family dynamics; the position and title of superintendent must be accompanied by persuasion and agreement power; evidence exists of a shift from "power over" to "power with"; there is a formula for mobilizing the organization' s resources and people to accomplish goals. The theory resulting from the conclusions was based on four general principles: that past experience determines current behavior relative to the exercise of power; that power is a process linked to purpose; that leadership and followership are interwoven; that power depends on context and resources. Recommendations for preservice and inservice training of superintendents took the form of three suggested training modules, "Self-Analysis and Personal Development," "Skills for Leading Socially Complex School Districts" and "Communication Skills for School Leaders." Suggestions for further study included replication, expansion of number of cases, comparison of those identified as less successful in exercising power, comparison with CEOs from other organizations, expansion of the context of the study to include interviews of others, development of a questionnaire, and development of a controlled study.

The study takes a grounded theoretical approach to the study of conflicted communication among adolescent youth in an inner city middle school. Ethnographic field methods were utilized over an eighteen month period in an inner city middle school and the surrounding neighborhoods. Conflicted communication is concerned with the use of patterned forms and content of conflict behaviors to both maintain and transform the youths' social world. It arises out of the social construction of adolescence, the institutional and community settings and familial practices. Three questions are posed: What are the patterned forms and content of adolescent conflicted communication? How does the school, community, and family make an impact on conflicted communication? What does the enactment of conflicted communication reveal about the social world of adolescent youth? Audiotapes of mediation sessions between youth, interviews with youth, school personnel, community members and families, as well as field notes comprise the primary data sources. Analyses of these data necessarily cross traditional boundaries to explore these research questions. Descriptive analyses reveal the presence of overarching patterned processes and particular repeated content in conflict situations. An interpretive analysis of 'face,' an often-mentioned symbolic theme, reveals the importance of taking the symbolic dimension into account in order to understand the hidden values inherent in conflicted communication practices. Lastly, a critical analysis examines the interplay between conflicted communication practices and the influence of the inner city institution and neighborhoods on such practices. Framing these three analyses is a meta-theoretical proposition regarding the social world of adolescent youth which suggests that adolescent youth engage in conflicted communication because it provides the means to re-organize social groupings, to experiment with displays and exercise of power, and to test the strength of socio-familial alliances. The study concludes with the suggestion that conflict resolution/mediation programs in schools consider the socio-cultural dimensions and functions of conflict in the lives of adolescents. Rather than striving to eliminate institutional conflict, school personnel need to encourage critical reflection about conflicted communication and help youth identify junctures within conflict situations where less destructive actions might be chosen.