Navigating Power,Control, and Being Nice: Aggression in Adolescent Girls' Friendships

The relationship between gender role identity and relational aggression was examined. Fifty‐two girls (mean age = 15 years; 70% White, 30% non‐White) from the mid‐Atlantic U.S. completed the Relational Aggression Scale and the Bem Sex‐Role Inventory (S. L. Bem, 1981a). Use of relational aggression friendships among adolescent girls significantly predicted 9.9% of the variance for the high feminine variable. Focus group interviews were used to complement the quantitative study. Specific themes are identified and discussed.