Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Dissertation

Department

Education and Human Services

First Advisor

Goodell, Joanne

Subject Headings

Aggressiveness, Girls -- Behavior, Violence on television, Bullying, Relational aggression, Girl bullying, Television impact on relational aggression

Abstract

Using a quantitative approach, this study investigates media interaction on relationally aggressive behaviors of middle-school girls by examining television consumption and an individual's proclivity to engage in relational aggression. It also investigates whether participation in a workshop explaining relational aggression assisted participants in recognizing the behavior and its consequences on aggressors and victims in the Disney Channel's Suite Life of Zach & Cody. Results indicate that the amount of television watched does not correlate with participation in the behavior generally, but that the use of sarcasm to hurt a friend decreases as television viewing increases. Results also indicate that knowledge about the behavior is associated with awareness of occurrences and consequences to the aggressor, but not with consequences to the victim. Together, these results should have implications for regulations regarding television violence and mediation of relational aggression

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