In my master's thesis, I focused on dealing with relational violence among girls in primary school. I was interested in how young girls, teachers and parents respond to relational violence, how it can be identified and prevented and how to intervene. In the theoretical part of the master thesis, I presented the bibliography of Slovenian and foreign authors related peer violence and relational aggression. I looked at the individual roles in peer violence, explanations for its occurrence, differences between violent behaviors of boys and girls, risk factors, consequences, as well as recognizing and preventing relational violence and responding to it. It is generally believed that relational aggression among girls occurs because "that is just the way they are". However, my theoretical and empirical work shows that the causes are rooted in gender-specific socialization and social expectations for the behavior of girls.
The main purpose of the research was to find out about the girls' experiences of relational violence, how they respond to it and how teachers and parents respond to it. It is mainly their expectations that determine which behaviors are rewarded with high social status and which with a low one, so I was interested in finding out what is expected from the girls in their environment. I was also interested in how the girls feel when they are confronted with any sort of relational aggression. The participants were girls from the ages of 12 to 16. The research data was obtained through interviews, which showed that the role in relational aggression and the self-esteem of the individual are very much related and so are the role and the number of girlfriends and their personalities. All the girls had experienced at least one form of relational aggression: singling somebody out, manipulating, lying, spreading false rumors and secrets, blackmailing or talking behind one’s back. None of the girls felt that this behavior was appropriate, however, two students often do it for their amusement, but very rarely discuss it with their parents at home. In terms of school grades, peers, teachers and parents do not have specific expectations that would significantly impact the development of relational violence but they do expect the girls to behave nicely, not to be loud, not to speak their minds and not to be high-spirited. Therefore, the environment has an important influence on the development of relational aggression, since girls express their anger, aggression and disagreement in subtle and sometimes mean ways. As shown by the answers of the interviewees, important factors in preventing such events are illuminating the subject, discussing it with the class teacher and resolving any difficulties among students as they come.
By presenting the topic of relational violence among Slovenian girls and by conducting the interviews, I have shed a light on the reasons and the consequences of this type of behavior as well as on the ways to identify, prevent and resolve relational violence. This could also serve as the basis for further research on this topic.
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