A call to action for new perspectives and interventions for supporting
A call to action for new perspectives
& interventions for supporting girls that aggress
Heather Graham
Intern for the
San Francisco Mental Health
Board
MSW, PPSC Candidate, 2012
UC Berkeley
Increase in Violence or Harsher
Policing?
During the past 25 years, arrests of girls has increased nationwide, by 30% while arrests of boys decreased (Flores, 2008)
Criminal acts or self-defense?
School to prison pipeline & Zero
Tolerance
Increase in Violence? Cont.
Girls report a decrease in fighting even as arrests for assault and robbery increased
( Chesney-Lind, Morash,& Irwin, 2007)
Arrest statistics more startling for African
American girls.
In 2008, the arrest rate in California:
49 per 1,000 for AA girls
9 per 1,000 for white girls
15 per 1,000 for Latinas
(According to Meda Chesney-Lind, University of
Hawaii as quoted in Pfeffer, 2010)
The Hype
The media sensationalizes girls fighting
Archetypes: “Mean” girls and “bad” girls
Overblown representation has led to higher suspension and arrest rates
(Brown et al, 2007)
San Francisco’s Shame
Media, police, interest groups created hysteria over girl “gangs”
In 2007, 13% of girl population were AA yet
70% of incarcerated girls were AA
AA girls 15 times more likely to be arrested for drugs in SF than AA in any other county in CA
(Males, 2010, p. 14)
Defining Aggression
Physical aggression:
fighting
hitting
assaulting
Ranges from minor to criminal offenses
Defining Aggression Cont.
Non-physical or “relational aggression”
rumors
talking behind one another’s back
ostracizing
verbal bullying
taunting
verbal & emotional abuse
Relational Aggression Cont.
Girls feel frustrated, sad, and isolated
Can lead to physical aggression
A certain amount is normative for boys and girls
Understanding Aggressive Girls
Recent studies show gender matters
Why girls aggress?
lack of connectedness to peers*
history of abuse or trauma*
family/attachment issues
living in poverty
violent neighborhood or home environment
Understanding Aggressive Girls
Cont.
feeling unsuccessful at school
low self-esteem
lack of opportunities
feeling powerless
social perception of women’s roles & expectations
Relational Theory
Founded by Jean Baker Miller & colleagues in the 1970s
Traditional thought: children transition from a dependent state to an independent adult
Girls shape self-identity through:
connections
relationships
interdependence
(as cited by Bloom & Covington, 2001)
The Unique Female Pathway
Longing for Connection
Majority of offenders report there is no one they trust or can go to
Girls report fighting other girls as a way to connect
History of Abuse
Girls are 3 times more likely to have been sexually abused than boys
(Hipwell & Loeber, 2006)
20% of violent girls were physically abused
10% of violent males
6.3% of non-violent girls
(Chesney-Lind, 2004, p.2)
The Effects of Trauma on the Brain
Trauma hinders executive functioning
can increase the likelihood of impulsivity
Effects interpretation of social cues or the intentions of others
The altered neural system leads to chronic state of fear-related activation
Increased focus on threat-related cues
(Perry, B., Pollard, R., Blakley, T., Baker W., Vigilante,
D., 1995)
History of abuse and trauma=
shame & low self-esteem=
internalizing or externalizing behaviors
Cycle: victims = aggressors
(Farrell, Henry, Schoeny, Bettencourt, & Tolan, 2010)
Life Context
Living in poverty, fighting for survival
Desensitized
Many are surrounded by violence
(home, neighborhood)
Studies show that many girls learn their violent behavior from their mothers
60% of 51 incarcerated girls witnessed more than1 shooting or stabbing by age
13 (Ryder, 2010, p.140)
Current Social Conditions
Girls may fight one another…
To find an avenue to power, respect, and acknowledgement, especially for girls living in poverty or girls of color
Because it’s safer than fighting an abusive partner or family members
To release fears, anxieties, and anger
Implications
Aggressive girls have an increased likelihood of…
Incarceration/Recidivism
Sexual risk taking
Contracting STIs
Unwanted pregnancy/teen pregnancy
School failure
Mental health issues
Substance use
Becoming an aggressive mother
Interventions & Outcomes
Focus on healing rather than punishment
Lack of Evidence-based interventions
No studies could be found on interventions for girl-to-girl aggression!
Gender-responsive Services
“Creating an environment through site selection, staff selection, program development, content, and material that reflects an understanding of the realities of women's lives, and is responsive to the issues of the clients”
(Covington, 2001, p.85)
Gender-responsive Services
Cont.
Equal attention and high-quality services
Different life experiences that need to be taken into account
Therapy
Individual, family, and group family therapy
Involving the family is important (especially the mother)
Treating the trauma
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
Multi-systemic Therapy
Therapy Cont.
Group therapy
positive way to connect with peers
(gender-responsive/relational theory) find new ways of feeling, behaving, and reacting to others
Techniques that help girls:
identify internal feelings differentiate among states of arousal navigate safe expression of emotions learn how to self-soothe increase social competence
Recommendations
Education around healthy relationships
Social skills training for families & individuals
Peer Education Programs
Mentorships
Empowerment & employment opportunities
Additional Recommendations
Intervening early-identifying high risk children and families early
Prevention
Comprehensive multi-level intervention
Wraparound services
Integrate treatment in multiple settings
(home, school, community, peer group)
Recommendations Cont.
Staff:
trauma-informed
reflect the gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and language of girls
Girls need to feel:
Safe
Supported
Listened to
Empowered
Do We Know Which
Interventions are Effective?
Interventions that work for boys don’t work for girls!
Experts contend more research on the unique female pathway is needed
Most interventions studied didn’t report on treatment effects by gender or include sufficient numbers of females
More research is needed!
Call to Action
Treatment and services should be “based on girls’ competencies and strengths and promote self-reliance”
(Bloom & Covington, 2001)
Societal, media, & policy shift away from sensationalizing to strengths & tackling underlying issues:
Racism, Sexism, Poverty
.
References
Bloom, B. & Covington, S. (2001). Effective gender-responsive interventions in juvenile justice: addressing the lives of
delinquent girls. Paper presented at the 2001 Annual
Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Atlanta, Georgia, November 7-10, 2001.
Brown, L.M., Chesney-Lind M., & Stein N. (2007). Patriarchy matters: toward a gendered theory of teen violence and victimization. Violence Against Women, 13. doi:
10.1177/1077801207310430
Chesney-Lind, M. (2004). Girls and violence: Is the gender
gap closing? Harrisburg, PA: VAWnet, a project of the
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence/
Pennsylvania CoalitionAgainstDomesticViolence.
Retrieved 3/10/2011 from: http://www.vawnet.org
Chesney-Lind, M., Morash, M., & Irwin, K. (2007). Policing girlhood? Relational aggression and violence prevention. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, (5)3.
References
Farrell, A., Henry, D.B., Schoeny, M.E., Bettencourt, A. Tolan,
P.H. (2010). Normative beliefs and self-efficacy for nonviolence as moderators of peer, school, and parental risk factors for aggression in early adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and
Adolescent Psychology, 39(6).
Flores, R. J. (2008). Girls Study Group, Understanding and
Responding to Girls Delinquency. U.S. Department of
Justice Programs. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp
Hipwell, A., & Loeber, R. (2006). Do we know what interventions are effective for disruptive and delinquent girls? Clinical Child and Family Psychology
Review, 9 (3-4).
Males, M. (2010). Have “girls gone wild”? In M.Chesney-Lind &
N. Jones (Eds.), Fighting for girls: new perspectives on
gender and violence (p. 129-143). Albany, New York:
State University of New York Press
References
Pepler, D, Madsen, K, Webster, & Levene, K. (2004). The
Development and Treatment of Girlhood Aggression.
Mahwah, New Jersy: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Inc., Publishers.
Perry, B., Pollard, R., Blakley, T., Baker W., Vigilante, D. (1995).
Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation and “use-development” development of the brain:
How “states” become “traits.” Infant Mental Health
Journal, 16(4).
Pfeffer, R. (2011, March 15). In Post Racial America
Prisons Feast on Black Girls. New America Media.
Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2011/03/inpost-racialamerica-prisons-feast-on-black-girls-1.php
References
Ryder, J. (2010). “I don’t know if you consider that violence…” using attachment theory to understand girls’ perspectives on violence. In M. Chesney-Lind & N.
Jones (Eds.), Fighting for girls: new perspectives on
gender and violence (p. 129-143). Albany, New York:
State University of New York Press.
Tourigny, M., Hébert, M., Daigneault, I., & A.C., Simoneau
(2005). Efficacy of Group Therapy for Sexually Abused
Adolescent Girls. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse,14(4), p.71 — 93.
