Aggression in adolescent girls: Implications for policy, prevention, and treatment.

Abstract

This review of literature focuses on aggression and adolescent girls. Recent official crime statistics from Statistics Canada show an increase in violent offences by girls. This statistic has created considerable interest in a heretofore largely ignored area of childhood maladjustment. Important differences regarding the development and expression of aggression with girls in contrast to boys is provided. In the context of what is acknowledged to be a limited literature, there are important themes for human service-providers and policy-makers to consider in examining assessment, treatment, and prevention strategies for aggressive adolescent girls. Finally, an orientation towards furthering a research agenda in the area of aggression with adolescent girls is provided. Overview of Violence and Adolescent GirlsConcern with respect to violence and young people in Canada is now without precedence. Fear amongst Canadians for the out-of-control behaviour of young

A Cross-National Perspective on Bullying

“…Although previous research found that boys were more likely than girls to be involved in bullying situations, or that sex differences reduced when assessing indirect aggression alone (e.g., Olweus 1993;Siann et al 1994;Young and Sweeting 2004), our findings suggest that female bullies may be more prevalent than previously thought. In general, reports of female aggression appear to be on the rise in the US as well as other industrialized countries (Henington et al 1998;Leschied et al 2001). Burman et al (1998) reported that more girls than ever before were involved in the British juvenile justice system, and in the US, girls account for approximately one-third of juvenile arrests while violent offenses among girls are becoming increasingly prevalent (e.g., Budnick and Shields-Fletcher 1998;Federal Bureau of Investigation 2001).…”

Do We Know Which Interventions are Effective for Disruptive and Delinquent Girls?

“…Some investigators have reported that rates of lying, truancy and status-type offences such as under-age drinking and sexual promiscuity increase among antisocial females relative to males (Leschied et al, 2001). Other studies have revealed no difference in types of delinquent behavior, including status offenses (Elliott, 1994;Steffensmeier and Allan, 1996).…”

Alcohol‐aggression expectancies and dispositional rumination moderate the effect of alcohol consumption on alcohol‐related aggression and hostility

“…Hostile thoughts and feelings are important precursors of more overt forms of aggression [Anderson and Bushman, 2002;Norlander and Eckhardt, 2005]. In fact, anger and hostility may be particularly good predictors of later physical aggression among women [Leschied et al, 2001]. Moreover, increased hostility predicts poorer mental, physical, and social functioning [O'Neil and Emery, 2002;Shapiro et al, 1996].…”