Self-Report of Fighting by Females

Three samples of British girls and women, selected from schools (N=251), a borstal (N=60) and a prison (N=53), participated in a questionnaire study of their experiences, attitudes and the perceived limits of aggressive behaviour. A high proportion had been involved in a fight within the last year, principally against another female. The fights usually arose over issues of personal integrity or loyalty to a friend who was not present to defend themselves. The majority of the fights resulted in minor injuries such as bruises or cuts and the animosity was not long-lasting. There was high consensus with respect to the kinds of behaviour which were considered inappropriate in aggressive encounters. These social rules operated to exclude access to adults or other authority figures and to limit the possible damage sustained. Schoolgirls who reported having engaged in more than six fights were characterised as having begun fighting at a younger age, going around in mixed sex groups, having a more positive attitude to fighting and being more willing to break the limiting rules of fights. Many of these same characteristics were also more prevalent among young women from the borstal and prison.