Girl Fighting: Voices of Middle School Girls

Background and Purpose:

This study reports on the perspectives of middle school girls on the factors that influence girl fighting. Middle school girls are particularly impacted by the relational aggression exhibited by peers and lack the coping skills developed by older adolescents to manage such interactions (Bright, 2005; Gruber & Fineran, 2005). Girl fighting may result in loneliness, depression and social isolation (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995). Understanding how developmental and contextual factors contribute to the unique ways that girls are socialized to assert themselves, express their feelings and protect themselves from harm can inform responsive program development (Chamberlain, 2003; Chesney-Lind & Brown, 2001; Dellasega & Adamshick, 2005; Talbott, Celinska, Simpson., & Coe, 2002; Walsh, Peplar & Levene, 2002).

Methods:

The first author conducted four two-session focus groups at a middle school serving a diverse population of girls. Girls were identified by school personnel as having an interest in discussing the topic of girl fighting. A total of 20 girls (African-American, Latina, Asian-American and Caucasian) participated in the study. Questions centered around several themes: the nature of girl fighting and its contributing factors; alternatives to fighting; difference in circumstances surrounding fighting in elementary and middle school; school responses to girl fighting and suggestions for programming to support girls with fighting behaviors.

Analysis of the data was conducted using grounded theory methods, including open and axial coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Transcripts were analyzed by two coders using the qualitative software, ATLAS.ti. Two MSW students, representing the diversity of the sample, read the transcripts for cultural content.

Results:

The analysis of the data supports already existing literature but deepens the understanding of the impact that girl fighting has on the daily school lives of middle school girls. Several themes arose in the data: the complexity of the social structure of the middle school that defined how girls interacted; the loyalty expressed toward members of the peer group and the betrayal felt when the bonds were not respected; the fine-tuned sensitivity that girls experience in their interactions with each other and the emotional reactivity when girls feel hurt or betrayed; the differences in how the seventh-grade and eighth-grade girls coped with relational aggression; the sensitivity that all girls felt toward racial stereotyping and teasing behaviors; and the school factors that supported or challenged girls' coping.

Conclusions and Implications:

The findings of this study suggest the need for individual and systemic programs to support girls in situations leading to girl fighting. Girls need to be heard and their hurt and betrayal acknowledged before solutions are generated for next steps. Skills for coping with friendships and romantic relationships can be developed in all-girl groups or classroom settings. Conflict mediation programs are helpful in allowing girls to express feelings in less destructive ways. Transition programs to ease the adjustment to seventh grade can greatly diminish the vulnerability that many of the girls reported in entering middle school. Opportunities for girls to interact with other social groups in supervised milieu can decrease stereotyping and teasing behaviors.