36-1 Silence Speaks more than Words?!-Lgnoring in Adolescent Friendship
This study aimed to explore the meaning and process of ignoring in adolescent friendship with adopting ”the dynamic model of interpersonal harmony and conflict” grounded on Chinese cultural context rather than relational aggression viewpoint. Thirteen participants (13-29 years; 11 females, 3 males) were interviewed to gather data on their past ignoring experiences. According the model, Chinese people who place importance on the relationship can not easily confront it but rather let the conflict become implicit. Instead of damaging the relationship directly, ignoring the target is one way of coping with interpersonal conflict. Ignoring passes on an unsatisfied feeling silently. The results showed that the ignoring process was a practice of how to balance the I-Thou psychological distance. If there was a chance to communicate clearly and express each other's value in the relationship, the resulting relationship entered into genuine harmony. Even after the contact between friends ceased to exist, these people did not easily accept or become aware of the end of the relationship. Findings of the study suggest that the results after ignoring are not all negative. However, from the viewpoint of relational aggression, positive results cannot be found.
Keywords
adolescent friendship ； hidden conflict ； ignoring ； relational aggression
Download