This article enquires into the role of gender in the use of different forms of aggression and in the appearance of conflicts within the interactions between students of 12-17 years of age. In order to understand both aspects, the conversational fragments of students and teachers from two high schools are expounded; discourses obtained using a qualitative methodology with focus groups and individual interviews. The results suggest that aggression is used as a tool to solve certain problems between pairs of the same sex, but is also present in relationships between genders as a form of intimidation that tries to influence heterosexual encounters. The aggression between genders adopts subtle and less visible forms than the aggression in pairs of the same sex due to the negative social opinion that exists about forms of aggression directed towards women. The information presented possesses implications for researchers and teachers if we bear in mind that relationships between genders at these ages reflect future relationships as adults.
Ambert, A. M. (1994) ‘A Qualitative Study of Peer Abuse and Its Effects: Theorical and Empirical Implications’ , Journal of Marriage and The Family56: 119-130 .
2.
Anguera, M. T. (1994) Metodología observacional en la investigación psicológica. Barcelona: PPU.
3.
Astin, S. , Redston, P. and Campbell, A. (2003) ‘Sex Differences in Social Representations of Aggression: Men Justify, Women Excuse?’ , Aggressive Behavior29: 128-133 .
4.
Archer, J. (2001) ‘Which Attitudinal Measures Predict Self-Reported Aggression? Abstract form the XIV World Meeting - International Society for Research on Aggression’ , Aggressive Behavior27: 178-178 .
5.
Batsche G. M. and Knoff, H. M. (1994) ‘Bullies and Their Victims: Understanding a Pervasive Problem in The Schools’ , School Psychology Review23: 165-174 .
6.
Björkqvist, K. , Lagerspetz, K. and Kaukiainen A. (1992) ‘Do Girls Manipulate and Boys Fight? Developmental Trends in Regard to Direct and Indirect Aggression’ , Aggressive Behavior18: 117-127 .
7.
Boulton, M. J. and Underwood, K. (1992) ‘Bully/Victim Problems Among Middle School Children’ , British Journal of Educational Psychology62: 73-87 .
8.
Campbell, A. (2004) ‘Female Competition: Causes, Constraints, Content, and Contexts’ , The Journal of Sex Research41(1): 16-26 .
9.
Crawford, H. K. , Leybourne, M. L. and Arnott, A. (2000) ‘How We Ensured Rigour in a Multi-Site, Multi-Discipline, Multi-Researcher Study’ , Forum Qualitative Social Research [Online-Journal]1(1). Available at: http://qualitative-research.net/fqs.
10.
Crick, N. R. (1997) ‘Engagement in Gender Normative versus Non-Normative Forms of Aggression: Links to Social-Psychological Adjustment’ , Developmental Psychology33: 610-617 .
11.
Crick, N. R. and Grotpeter, J. K. (1995) ‘Relational Aggression, Gender, and Social-Psychological Adjustment’ , Child Development66: 710-722 .
12.
Crick, N. R. , Grotpeter, J. K. and Bigbee, M. A. (2002) ‘Relationally and Physically Aggressive Children’s Intent Attributions and Feelings of Distress for Relational and Instrumental Peer Provocations’ , Child Development73: 1134-1142 .
13.
Del Barrio, C. , Martín, E. , Montero, I. , Gutiérrez, H. and Fernández, I. (2003) ‘La realidad del maltrato entre iguales en los centros de secundaria españoles’ , Infancia y Aprendizaje26: 25-47 .
14.
Duncan, N. (1998) ‘Sexual Bullying in Secondary Schools’ , Pastoral Care in Education16: 27-31 .
15.
Duncan, N. (1999) Sexual Bullying. Gender Conflict and Pupil Culture in Secondary Schools. London: Routledge .
16.
Eagly, A. H. and Crowley, M. (1986) ‘Gender and Helping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of The Social Psychological Literature’ , Psychological Bulletin100: 283-308 .
17.
Fernández, I. and Instituto Pradolongo (1998) Un día más. Madrid: Defensor del Menor en la Comunidad de Madrid [video and manual].
18.
Gamliel, T. , Hoover, J. H. , Daughtry, D. W. and Imbra, C. M. (2003) ‘A Qualitative Investigation of Bullying. The Perspective of Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Graders in a USA Parochial School’ , School Psychology International24: 405-420 .
19.
Guba, E. G. and Lincoln, Y. S. (1989) Fourth Generation Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
20.
Hadley, M. (2004) ‘Relational, Indirect, Adaptative, Or Just Mean. Recent Studies on Aggression in Adolescent Girls - Part II’ , Studies in Gender and Sexuality5(3): 331-350 .
21.
Kenway, J. and Fitzclarence, L. (1997) ‘Masculinity, Violence and Schooling: Challenging “Poisonous Pegagogies”’ , Gender and Education9: 117-133 .
22.
Lahelma, E. (2002) ‘Gendered Conflicts in Secondary School: Fun or Enactment of Power?’ , Gender and Education14: 295-306 .
23.
Lagerspetz, K. and Björkqvist, K. (1994) ‘Indirect Aggression in Girls and Boys’, in R. Huessmann . (ed.) Aggressive Behavior. Current Perspectives, pp.131-150. New York: Plenum Press .
24.
Leach, F. (2003) ‘Learning To Be Violent: The Role of The School in Developing Adolescent Gendered Behaviour’ , Compare33: 385-400 .
25.
Oliver C. and Candappa, M. (2003) Tackling Bullying: Listening in to the Views of Children and Young People. London: Dfes Publications .
26.
Olweus, D. (1978) Aggression in The Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys. Washington, DC: Hemisphere Press
27.
Olweus, D. (1993) Bullying at School. What We Know and What We Can Do. Oxford: Blackwell .
28.
Ortega, R. and Mora-Merchán, J. (1999) ‘Spain’, in PK. Smith. , Y. Morita. , J. Jurgen-Tas. , D. Olweus. , R. Catalano. and P. Slee (eds) The Nature of School Bullying: A Cross-National Perspective, pp.157-174. London: Routledge .
29.
Owens, L. , Shute, R. and Slee, P. (2000a) ‘“Guess what I Just Heard!”: Indirect Aggression Among Teenage Girls in Australia’ , Aggressive Behavior26: 67-83 .
30.
Owens L. , Shute R. and Slee, P. (2000b) ‘“I’m In and You’re Out …”. Explanations For Teenage Girls’ Indirect Aggression’ , Psychology, Evolution and Gender2: 19-46 .
31.
Owens, L. , Slee, P. T. and Shute, R. (2000c) ‘“It Hurts a Hell of a Lot …”. The Effects of Indirect Aggression on Teenage Girls’ , School Psychology International21: 359-376 .
32.
Pellegrini, A. D. (2001) ‘The Roles of Dominance and Bullying in the Development of Early Heterosexual Relationships’, in R A. Geffner. , M. Lorin. and C. Young. (eds) Bullying Behavior: Current Issues, Research and Interventions, pp. 63-73. New York: The Haworth Press .
33.
Pellegrini, A. D. , Bartini, M. and Brooks, F. (1999) ‘School Bullies, Victims, and Aggressive Victims: Factors Relating to Group Affiliation and Victimization in Early Adolescence’ , Journal of Educational Psychology91: 216-224 .
34.
Russell, A. and Owens, L. (1999) ‘Peer Estimates of School-Aged Boys’ and Girls’ Aggression to Same- and Cross-Sex Targets’ , Social Development8: 364-379 .
35.
Salmivalli, C. , Huttunen, A. and Lagerspetz, K. J. M. (1996a) ‘How Do Victims Respond to Bullying?’ , Aggressive Behavior22: 99-109 .
36.
Salmivalli, C. and Kaukianen, A. (2004) ‘“Female Aggression” Revisited: Variable- and Person-Centered Approaches to Studying Gender Differences in Different Types of Aggression’ , Aggressive Behavior30: 158-163 .
37.
Salmivalli, C. , Lagerspetz, K. , Björqvist, K. , Österman, K. and Kaukainen, A. (1996b) ‘Bullying as a Group Process: Participant Roles and Their Relations to Social Status within the Group’ , Aggressive Behavior22: 1-15 .
38.
Simmons, R. (2002) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. New York: Harcout .
39.
Smith, P. K. , Madsen, K. C. and Moody, J. C. (1999) ‘What Causes the Age Decline in Reports of Being Bullied at School? Towards a Developmental Analysis of Risk of Being Bullied’ , Educational Research41: 267-285 .
40.
Smith, P. K. and Sharp, S. (eds) (1994) School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. London: Routledge .
41.
Stein, N. (1995) ‘Sexual Harassment in School: The Public Performance of Gendered Violence’ , Harvard Educational Review65: 145-162 .
42.
Tapper, H. and Boulton, M. (2000) ‘Social Representations of Physical, Verbal and Indirect Aggression in Children: Sex and Age Differences’ , Aggressive Behavior26: 442-454 .
43.
Teräsahjo, T. and Salmivalli, C. (2003) ‘“She is Not Actually Bullied”. The Discourse of Harassment in Student Groups’ , Aggressive Behavior29: 134-154 .
44.
Toldos, M. P. (2005) Sex and Age Differences in Self-Estimated Physical, Verbal and Indirect Aggression in Spanish Adolescents’ , Aggressive Behavior31: 13-23 .
45.
Tomada, G. and Schneider, B. H. (1997) ‘Relational Aggression, Gender, and Peer Acceptance: Invariance Across Culture, Stability Over Time, and Concordance Among Informants’ , Developmental Psychology33: 601-609 .
46.
Underwood, M. K. (2003) Social Aggression Among Girls. New York: The Guilford Press .
47.
Whitney, I. and Smith, P. K. (1993) ‘A Survey of the Nature and Extent of Bullying in Junior/Middle and Secondary Schools’ , Educational Research35: 3-25 .
48.
Wood, K. and Jewkes, R. (2001) ‘Dangerous Love: Reflections on Violence Among Xhosa Township Youth’, in R. Morrell (ed.) Changing Men in Southern Africa, pp. 317-336. South Africa: University of Natal Press .
49.
Yin, R. K. (1984) Case Study Research. Design and Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications .
