Assessing Peer Conflict and Aggressive Behaviors: A Guide for Out-of-School Time Program Practitioners

Abstract

BACKGROUND Peer relations during middle childhood and adolescence are an important part of children's social and emotional development. Children and adolescents pick up essential social and communication skills from their peers as they move into late adolescence and early adulthood. Peer conflict is not necessarily a bad thing; disagreement and conflict are part of life, and children and adolescents need to develop skills to resolve disagreements. 1 However, peer conflict can cause significant emotional and physical harm and can lead to aggressive behaviors when youth lack the social skills necessary to cope with their frustrations. Therefore, it is important for programs to be able to identify peer conflict and aggressive behaviors, and to promote positive peer conflict resolution techniques for children and adolescents. WHAT IS PEER CONFLICT? Peer conflict refers to mutual disagreement or hostility between peers or peer groups. 2 It is characterized as conflict between people of equal or similar power (friends); it occurs occasionally; it is unplanned; and it does not involve violence or result in serious harm. Perpetrators of peer conflict do not seek power or attention. However, peer conflict can escalate into violence. Those involved in violence and aggression usually have comparable emotional reactions, demonstrate some remorse, and actively try to resolve the problem. 3,4 WHAT FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH YOUTH WHO ENGAGE IN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORS? 5,6 Individual factors such as problem solving skills, self-regulation skills, and language are associated with youth who engage in aggressive behaviors. Some children and youth lack the social skills necessary to avoid engaging in aggressive behaviors. They are more likely to exhibit deficits such as poor impulse control, low frustration tolerance, limited ability to generate alternative responses to stress, and limited insight into the feelings of themselves and others. This inability to correctly process social information can cause youth to misinterpret social cues and assume others have a hostile intent during conflicts. Since these youth have fewer skills than others to cope with their frustrations, they lose control more quickly and engage in aggressive behaviors during times of stress. In addition, family factors such as interaction, discipline, and communication patterns are associated with youth who engage in aggressive behaviors. School SPONSORED BY: The Atlantic Philanthropies

Understanding the Antecedents of Adverse Peer Relationships Among Early Adolescents in the United States

“…Adverse peer relationships (e.g., bullying, peer hostility, mutual disagreements) impact the acquisition of social and communication skills (Laursen, 1993), as these experiences are a common form of social exchange (Laursen, Hartup, & Koplas, 1996) that arise when people with incompatible goals use a variety of strategies to influence one another (Malloy & McMurray, 1996). Adverse peer relationships are conceptualized as mutual disagreement or hostility between peers or among peer groups (Noakes & Rinaldi, 2006) that may or may not escalate into physical aggression (Sidorowicz & Hair, 2009). The management of adverse peer relationships during adolescence is critical to the development and functioning of interpersonal relationships (Laursen et al, 1996).…”

“…Peer relationships are important in early adolescents’ social and emotional development. Early adolescents spend a great deal of time with their peers during this period and learn important social and communication skills (Murphy, 2002; Sidorowicz & Hair, 2009). Adverse peer relationships (e.g., bullying, peer hostility, mutual disagreements) impact the acquisition of social and communication skills (Laursen, 1993), as these experiences are a common form of social exchange (Laursen, Hartup, & Koplas, 1996) that arise when people with incompatible goals use a variety of strategies to influence one another (Malloy & McMurray, 1996).…”

Adolescentes con alteraciones graves de conducta. ¿Cómo se interviene a nivel educativo en los Institutos de Enseñanza Secundaria?//Adolescents with serious behaviour disorders. How is it involved in High Schools?

“…Teniendo en cuenta los principales datos obtenidos en las distintas categorías de estudio, resulta necesario la protocolización de la incorporación, intervención y seguimiento con las familias del alumnado con AGC, ya que siguen sin conocerse datos imprescindibles para trabajar con estos alumnos y sobre su entorno tal y como indica el estudio de Muñoz & Rodríguez (2007). Se considera muy necesaria la formación específica del profesorado, factor clave tal y como se constata en diferentes estudios (Shillingford & Karlin, 2014;Shot & Bullock, 2013;Sidorowicz & Hair, 2011) y la coordinación entre los IES y Salud Mental y Servicios Sociales (García et al, 2014), siendo la formación del profesorado, la opción más demandada por los orientadores.…”

“…En la actualidad, esta problemática sigue generando numerosos estudios, publicaciones y revisiones sobre la violencia escolar, tanto para su comprensión y diseño de estrategias eficaces de prevención (Bickmore, 2011;Small & Dressler 2001), como para elaborar programas de intervención que alternan tanto la enseñanza de habilidades sociales a los alumnos como el entrenamiento de los docentes para el manejo adecuado de situaciones conflictivas en el centro escolar (Mayorga & Oliver, 2006;Rigby, 2011;Sidorowicz & Hair, 2011;Thakore et al, 2015). La mayoría de los estudios nacionales sobre el tema se centran en la evaluación general del problema (Díaz Aguado, 2010;Rodríguez Jares, 2005) o en crear las vías adecuadas para la intervención, donde cabe destacar la mediación (Torrego & Galán, 2008).…”

Valoración de la intervención en alumnado de secundaria con alteraciones graves de conducta (AGC)

“…En las últimas décadas, en el campo de los conflictos escolares se han realizado diversos estudios y propuestas de intervención (Mayorga y Oliver, 2006;Rigby, 2011;Sidorowicz y Hair, 2009) que alternan la enseñanza de habilidades sociales a los alumnos (Calhoun, 2011;Sidorowicz y Hair, 2009;Torrego, 2013) y el entrenamiento de los docentes para el manejo adecuado de situaciones conflictivas en la escuela (Adeyemi, 2009;Malm y Löfgren, 2006;McNulty, 2007;Ray, Lambie y Curry, 2007). Los estudios que establecen estrategias preventivas empiezan a otorgar un gran valor sobre la formación del profesorado en convivencia y resolución de conflictos como principal elemento preventivo (Harris, 2002;Sela-Shayovitz, 2009).…”