Dealing with conflict: Assessment of a course for secondary school students

Abstract

The present study used a social‐cognitive model to examine the perceptions and beliefs of secondary‐school students in relation to aggressive behaviour. It also investigated the effectiveness of a 10‐week training program on dealing with conflict, designed to teach nonviolent conflict resolution strategies to upper‐secondary students. A peer‐rating and a conflict‐tactics scale were used to classify students as either high‐, medium‐, or low‐aggressive. The students perceptions, problem solving skills, and beliefs relating to aggression were tested before and after the training. The training group was compared with a control group to investigate any change in these cognitive mediators of aggression or in their self‐reported conflict tactics. There were significant differences found between high‐ and low‐aggressive students. High‐aggressive students were significantly more likely to choose a hostile goal than were low‐ and medium‐aggressive students. High‐aggressive students were significantly more likely to perceive aggression as a legitimate response. There were no other significant differences in the cognitive mediators found between the aggression groups. Gender differences in aggression were found, with males being more likely to report using physical violence. Analysis of the effectiveness of the dealing‐with‐conflict program revealed a decrease in both hostile perception of problems and hostile goal selection for the training group. After completing the program students reported a decreased use of physical violence, but no significant changes were found in the beliefs endorsing the use of aggression between the training and the control groups.