Author: University of Missouri
Published: 5th Oct 2014 - Updated: 25th Oct 2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication: Yes
Additional References: Sexual Bullying Publications
Summary: Researchers find intervention helps decrease mean girl behavior and reduces relational aggression in teen girls.
Relational aggression, or "mean girl" bullying, is a popular subject in news and entertainment media. This nonphysical form of aggression generally used among adolescent girls includes gossiping, rumor spreading, exclusion and rejection.
As media coverage has illustrated, relational aggression can lead to tragic and sometimes fatal outcomes. Despite these alarming concerns, little has been done to prevent and eliminate these negative behaviors. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed and tested an intervention that effectively decreases relational aggression among teen girls.
"Good outcomes can happen when priorities are set by schools and families to prevent and eliminate relational aggression," said co-author Connie Brooks, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Psychology in the School of Health Professions and in the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. "This study was an attempt to address this social problem in a meaningful way by testing an intervention to reduce relational aggression among teen girls."
The intervention, Growing Interpersonal Relationships through Learning and Systemic Supports (GIRLSS), developed by MU researchers, is a 10-week, group counseling, caregiver training and caregiver phone consultation intervention for relationally aggressive middle school girls and their families.
Students, ranging in age from 12 to 15, participated in one 70-minute session per week that included interactive discussions, media-based examples, role-playing, journaling and weekly goal setting. At the end of the intervention, school counselors and teachers reported a decrease in relationally aggressive behaviors among the girls.
Caregivers of students participated in separate workshops and biweekly phone consultations during which they learned new communication, monitoring and supervision strategies in addition to appropriate disciplinary responses.
"It takes a village to raise relationally healthy children," said Melissa Maras, co-author and assistant professor in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology in the MU College of Education. "This study represents a first step in helping school personnel meet the intervention needs of a diverse group of relationally aggressive girls."
According to Brooks, relational aggression is a complicated issue with many variables, including schools, families and individuals. She says parents and teachers should be aware of relational aggression so they don't unknowingly contribute to the negative behaviors.
In order for the intervention to expand to more schools, MU researchers hope to improve and further evaluate GIRLSS based on feedback from the participants.
The study's lead author, Joni Williams Splett, completed this research at MU while she was a doctoral student. Splett is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of South Carolina. The research, "GIRLSS: A Randomized, Plot Study of a Multisystemic, School-Based Intervention to Reduce Relational Aggression," was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Mean Girl Relational Aggression Can be Helped with Intervention | University of Missouri. SexualDiversity.org makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith. Content may have been edited for style, clarity or length.
Post to Twitter Add to Facebook
| Latest Sexual Bullying Publications | |
|---|---|
The above information is from our reference library of resources relating to Sexual Bullying that includes: | |
 | Greater Adolescent Empathy Helps Prevent Bias-Based Cyberbullying Florida Atlantic University study first to explore empathy types in early U.S. adolescents and the relationship to online bullying. Publish Date: 8th Aug 2022 - Updated: 5th Jan 2023 |
 | Romantic Relationships Buffer Gay and Lesbian Youth from Emotional Distress Lesbian and gay youth showed significantly less psychological distress and were buffered against the negative effects of bullying and victimization when they were in a relationship. Publish Date: 15th Feb 2018 |
| Opinion: Sexual Harassment: Doing Nothing Not an Option While the current discussions of sexual harassment have raised awareness for many, it will be meaningless unless it results in a change of behavior. Publish Date: 21st Dec 2017 |
| Resilience to Adversity Determines if Children Survive or Thrive When Bullied Article looks at whether there is a major personal characteristic or trait that buffers and protects kids against internalizing the harm intended through bullying and cyberbullying. Publish Date: 15th Oct 2017 |
1How Many Genders Are There?
Alphabetical list of gender identities.
2Transgender Reporting Guide
How to write about transgender people.
3Glossary of Sexuality Terms
Definitions of sexual terms & acronyms.
4Glossary of Gender Terms
Definitions of gender related terms.
5Am I Gay? Questions to Ask
Think you may be gay or bisexual?
• Submissions: Send us your coming events and LGBTQ related news stories.
• Report Errors: Please report outdated or inaccurate information to us.
• (APA): University of Missouri. (2014, October 5). Mean Girl Relational Aggression Can be Helped with Intervention. SexualDiversity.org. Retrieved December 5, 2023 from www.sexualdiversity.org/discrimination/bullying/23.php
• Permalink: <a href="https://www.sexualdiversity.org/discrimination/bullying/23.php">Mean Girl Relational Aggression Can be Helped with Intervention</a>