Relational Aggression in Schools: Implications for Future Research on Screening Intervention and Prevention

Abstract

Aggression, in its various forms, is a construct that underlies many of the social toxins that have plagued our society for so long. The unifying theme of aggression undergirds conceptualizations and theories of antisocial behavior (overt and covert), bullying, and interpersonal violence. Given the primary focus by Crick and Grotpeter (1995) on peer manipulation to inflict damage to one's reputation and relationships, it appears that their definition of relational aggression falls within the purview of highly aggressive and destructive social behavior. At present, however, it is unclear whether relational aggression is a distinct subset of bullying or is rather a parallel construct with a different etiology and developmental course. The answer to this question awaits further investigation and longitudinal studies that can track bullying and relational aggression across time, social contexts, and responsiveness to intervention. Hunt (1993) identified and described five forms of neurobiological aggression. Descriptions, examples, and characteristics of these diverse forms of aggression are provided in Appendix A. Relational aggression, as well as indirect forms of aggression (Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, & Kaukiainen, 1992; Verlaan & Turmel, 2010), meet the definitional requirements of aggression as presented by Hunt (1993). Using this taxonomy of aggression, it appears that relational and indirect forms of aggression represent a destructive mixture of predatory and instrumental aggression. The levels of victimization and long-term, negative consequences of these types of aggression are truly destructive for both perpetrators and victims. School settings provide one of the very best settings available for addressing this phenomenon that is causing increasing concern, and even alarm, among parents, school staff, legislators, policy makers, and mental health professionals. Particularly in the last decade, there has been a growing awareness of the problems posed by relational aggression and more indirect forms of aggressive behavior that are abusive in nature, are emotionally damaging for victims, and carry substantial risk for perpetrators (see Leff, Waasdorp, & Crick, 2010). Our challenge is to implement with integrity what we currently know about interventions that may positively affect relational aggression and to scale up those that are ready for adoption and broader application. This includes aggression or bullying intervention programs that may not have been primarily designed for addressing relational and indirect aggression, but that may positively affect them. It is possible, even likely, that some of these programs would reduce both overt and covert forms of bullying. Although it is very important to stimulate the development, testing, and scaling up of intervention programs that can prevent and effectively reduce relational aggression in school contexts, the recent emergence of cyberbullying threatens to transform the way we think about and react to the perpetration and victimization of vulnerable individuals via social media technology. The notion of cyberbullying will be discussed later in this commentary. As noted by some of the authors of articles in this series, the research on relational aggression is in its relative infancy when compared to the rich and extensive knowledge base that exists on direct aggression that has emerged over the past 30 years in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and Western Europe. The work of Patterson, Reid, and their colleagues has been especially important in documenting the key role of the family context and dysfunctional parenting practices in the development of aggressive, antisocial repertoires of at risk youth (Patterson, 1982; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1982; Reid, Patterson, & Snyder, 2002). We do not currently have a similar, well-developed knowledge base on the role of these influences regarding relational aggression, indirect aggression, or bullying in general, and especially cyberbullying. …