By James Garbarino (2006)

Are American girls becoming more violent? I have heard murmuring, and went to explore. In the end, I could not figure out what to believe. On one hand, the increase in bullying, particularly cyberbullying, and "mean girl" syndrome would support it, but being "mean" is not the same thing as being violent, or is it?

Author James Garbarino seems to think that girls are getting more violent. Reports on the news about girls fighting and some of the videos posted on the Internet seem to suggest it. Cindy Ness, a program director at the John Jay Center on Terrorism and Public Safety, conducted a study of girls in Philadelphia. Ness contends that for these girls, fighting is a way of life, but they don't report these fights to the police.

According to FBI crime reports, juvenile arrests for crime are down, but girls represent a larger percentage of those arrests. Here, at least, is one place the gender gap might be closing, but not in a positive way. People who believe that girls are getting more violent cite the breakdown of the family and even women's liberation, as well as the increase of violence portrayed in the media and violent action heroes as possible culprits.

On the other hand, the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a 10 percent decrease in fighting reported by high school girls between 1991 and 2003. Some challenge that data, however, pointing out that girls are not necessarily fighting at school. In fact, they are more likely to be battling at home (with their mothers by the way), and in their neighborhoods.

So, I throw my hands up and accept that this is an area of teen health that does not seem to have an obvious answer or fix. It cannot hurt any of us however to keep paying attention to violence between teens, identifying aggression as unacceptable, and helping teens develop the skills required to settle conflicts without violence.

Back to top