Steps to reduce female cruelty and relational aggression and raise compassionate, respectful girls Forget “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Research too often shows a different picture with all too many of our daughters. “Vicious, mean, calculating and backstabbing” are more applicable descriptions. Psychologists call such hurtful behavior “Relational Aggression” or RA because the goal [...]

How to know if a girl may be a victim of female bullying and the “Mean Girl Scene” “I don’t want to go to school!” “All the girls hate me!” “Can’t we please just go away for awhile!” “I can’t take it anymore!” Sound familiar? They’re the kind of comments young girls utter about the [...]

Peer cruelty is also increasing and becoming more violent. By some estimates, one in seven American schoolchildren is either a bully or a victim. Studies find that 160,000 children skip school every day because they fear being attacked or intimidated by other students. And the cruel behavior increases with age. A recent study prepared for the American [...]

Read the paper lately or heard any of the troubling stories about our girls? It appears many of the sugar and spice set are no longer nice. Here are just a sample appalling recent headlines to refresh your memory:   • “Millburn High Senior Girls Create Slut List for Incoming Freshman and Welcome Them By Slamming [...]

Michele Borba Note to readers: This is the fourth in a series of blogs about relational aggression-or the new mean girl scene-and what educators and parents can do to curb this  trend. In past blogs I’ve discussed the forms of relational aggression, how boys bully vs girls, and the impact of being targeted, and signs that [...]