Peer Conflict

Guide to Peer Conflict (online and in-person)

Peer conflict refers to disagreements and oppositional interactions between peers and peer groups that are situational, immediate, and developmentally appropriate. Conflicts arise when two or more students with similar observed or perceived power have differences in opinions or perspectives. Causes of conflict include difference in perceptions, limited resources, overlapping authority amongst others etc. Peer conflicts can occur offline and online.

Offline Peer Conflicts

Social environments give rise to conflicts among peers. School factors such as support and discipline approaches and family factors such as interaction, discipline, and communication patterns are associated with youth who engage in aggressive behaviors. Individual factors like problem solving skills, self-regulation skills, and language also play a role.

Potential causes of offline peer conflicts can be:

· Lack of Communication

- Indifference

- Disrespect

- Personal judgements

- Persistency

- Misunderstandings

· Personal

- Unnecessary Complaints

- High Expectations

- Dissatisfaction about meeting their desires

- Personal ambitions and weaknesses

- Prejudicial attitudes

- Ignorance

· Political/ ideological

- Respecting different opinions

- Lack of tolerance

- Insistence on personal judgements

· Organizational

- Inability to follow rules

- Neglect of duty

- Negative effects of the social environment

- Teaching program

- Student absences

- Failure in education and training

- Unfairness in task distribution

- Inability to get to know students

Online Peer Conflicts

In the digital age we live in, children and adolescents have easy access to various social media websites and online communities, which create platforms for youngsters to interact with peers beyond the schoolyard. Although these interactions can be entertaining and valuable, the relatively anonymous nature of the interactions increases the probability that youngsters are targeted, provoked, or even harassed.

Potential causes of online peer conflicts can be:

· Negative Feelings

· Comparisons

· Groupism

· Provocation

· Isolation

· Self esteem

· Manipulations