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PROBLEM. Peer relationships are important to the health of adolescents who are at a developmental period of moving from parental influence to potentially dangerous peer influence. Interpersonal communication processes are logical antecedents of peer relationships. However, research in this area with adolescent populations is limited.
METHODS. Exploratory descriptive study using observational technique to collect nonverbal and verbal communication data on adolescents (N = 28). Observer ratings of personal boundaries and peer acceptance were correlated with anonymous peer ratings of sociability/leadership, aggressiveness/disruptiveness, and sensitivity/isolation, with comparisons made between males and females.
FINDINGS. Boundaries are related to peer acceptance and peer reputation and are interpreted differently in males and females.
CONCLUSIONS. This study provides beginning evidence of the usefulness of Personal Space Boundary Theory in understanding adolescent behavior.
Search terms: Adolescents, aggression, communication, isolation, peer reputation, personal space boundaries
All of us live in a castle. Around the castle, there is a moat, and over the moat there is a drawbridge which we can lower open or raise shut, depending upon our will. (Peck, 1997, p. 189)
Peck, a psychiatrist and prolific author, stated that in his many years of practicing psychotherapy, it seemed at least half his patients had what he called drawbridge problems. His patients' drawbridges were either laid open all the time, or stuck shut. If open, virtually anyone and everyone could amble into their personal space, stay as long as they like, and do whatever harm they would. If shut, their drawbridges prevented everyone and everything from penetrating their isolated solitude. Neither case was healthy (Peck, 1997).
Nurses and other healthcare providers have long been involved in helping clients learn how to interact appropriately with other people. Interpersonal skill training has been an effective intervention strategy with socially rejected children (Malik & Furman, 1994), patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (Corrigan, 2002), juveniles who offend sexually (Lane, 1997), aggressive children and adults (Goldstein & Click, 1987; Ollendick & Hersen, 1979), and children with impulse control problems (Achenbach, 1992; Burrows, 2001).
Typically, an individual's social skills are assessed based on the frequency at which positive and negative behaviors occur, or by the ratings of individuals interacting with the subject. Social skills training often focuses on increasing positive behaviors (e.g., sharing feelings, assertive communication) and decreasing...