Relational Aggression in Women during Emerging Adulthood: A Social Process Model

Abstract

Two studies investigated potential mediators of the association between relational victimization and relational aggression. Self-report measures of aggressive behavior among peers, exclusivity, hostile attribution biases, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms were collected. In study 1, participants were 180 female emerging adults (M = 18.82, SD = 1.18). Both exclusivity and hostile attribution biases for relational provocations were found to partially mediate the association between relational victimization and relational aggression. In study 2, participants were 54 female emerging adults (M = 19.16, SD = 1.11). Symptoms of BPD were not found to mediate the association between relational victimization and relational aggression, yet unique associations with relational aggression were observed. The results add to recent research guided by a social process model in which links between victimization and aggression are more clearly understood.

The Negative Impact of Organizational Cynicism on Physicians and Nurses

“…Normative commitment refers to an employee's felt obligation to stay with the organization. 12 The three components of commitment manifest differently. For example, employees high in affective commitment probably speak positively about the organization and express interest in continuing to work there.…”

“…Affective, continuance and normative commitment are all related to employee retention; 12 each form of commitment is negatively correlated with voluntary employee turnover. 13,14 However, “employees with strong affective commitment remain because they want to, those with strong continuance commitment because they need to, and those with strong normative commitment because they feel they ought to do so.” 15 Affective commitment is positively related to job satisfaction.…”

An Exploration of Relational Aggression in the Nursing Workplace

“…These results are concerning inasmuch as they indicate that longer exposure to the institution results in increased use of less than ideal workplace behaviors. Additionally, some authors posit that victimization and aggression are linked in a fundamental way, in that greater exposure to victimization may contribute to an individual's vulnerability to becoming more aggressive; in short, over time victims may retaliate with aggression (16). Our findings reporting a strong correlation between victims and aggressors supports this idea.…”

“…The 1st RA instrument for adults was the Peer Assessment of RA and Social Adjustment scale, which consists of 24 items, including one 7-item sub-scale designed to measure relationally aggressive behavior (15). This was followed by the Self-Report of Aggression and Social Behavior (SRASBM), a 39-item measure that examines physical aggression, RA, relational victimization, and exclusivity (16; 17). The RA Assessment Scale (RAAS), which was the best available scale for the present study, does overlap in some ways with these other measures.…”

“…RA has been shown to be associated with adverse physical and mental outcomes in other populations (5; 16), and anecdotal evidence suggests that nurses who experience RA suffer from problems such as depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, hypertension, and other negative health consequences (19; 20). Nurses who are involved in RA may leave their jobs prematurely, take extra sick days, and even deliver sub-par patient care (21; 22).…”