I'm Stuck as Far as Relationships Go: Dilemmas of Voice in Girls' Dating Relationships

• NCJ Number: 211684
• Journal: Child & Youth Services Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: 2004 Pages: 33-52
• Author(s): Elizabeth Banister; Sonya Jakubee
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 20 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Based on researchers' relational, feminist, and constructivist perspectives of human development, this study examined the ways girls' managed their identities within dating relationships.

Abstract

The relational perspective holds that adolescent girls' identities develop in interactions with others. The feminist perspective assesses gendered power differentials in social relationships; and constructivist philosophy views dating relationships as molded through negotiation between the parties. In the current study, 40 girls, ages 15-16, participated in 1-hour focus groups at 5 sites from September through December 2001. Each group was composed of eight girls and was facilitated by a female graduate student research assistant. The groups focused on the dynamics and feelings in dating relationships. Field notes recorded observations at each site, including nonverbal communication and details of the informal interactions. Researchers also recorded their own reflections, interpretations, and reactions to participants' accounts and their context. A number of barriers were found to impede girls' in expressing their needs and desires in their romantic relationships. They blamed themselves for their boyfriends' abuse and lack of commitment, and they were reluctant to affirm their own needs and interests in the relationship. Researchers perceived that many of the girls faced an "impossible choice" between compromising their values and needs to maintain a relationship or compromising the relationship to maintain true to their sense of self. The researchers concluded that the girls' dating relationships were dominated by patriarchal and dualistic thinking that undercut healthy decisionmaking. The authors recommend providing supportive environments for adolescent girls where they can reflect upon gendered power differentials in their relationships, so as to facilitate their affirmation of their own identities in the interactions of dating relationships. 47 references