ERIC Number: EJ954355
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
When Friends Disappoint: Boys' and Girls' Responses to Transgressions of Friendship Expectations
MacEvoy, Julie Paquette; Asher, Steven R.
Child Development, v83 n1 p104-119 Jan-Feb 2012
In this study, the prevailing view that girls are pervasively more skilled in their friendships than boys was challenged by examining whether girls respond more negatively than boys when a friend violates core friendship expectations. Fourth- and fifth-grade children (n = 267) responded to vignettes depicting transgressions involving a friend's betrayal, unreliability, or failure to provide support or help. Results indicated that girls were more troubled by the transgressions, more strongly endorsed various types of negative relationship interpretations of the friend's actions, and reported more anger and sadness than did boys. Girls also endorsed revenge goals and aggressive strategies just as much as boys. These findings lead to a more complex view of boys' and girls' friendship competencies.
Descriptors: Friendship, Grade 5, Grade 4, Elementary School Students, Gender Differences, Vignettes, Deception, Interpersonal Relationship, Aggression, Psychological Patterns, Interpersonal Competence
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/WileyCDA/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Grade 5
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A