Female Adolescent Aggression: A Review of the Literature and the Correlates of Aggression

• NCJ Number: 211662
• Author(s): Alan W. Leschied; Anne Cummings; Michele Van Brunschot; Alison Cunningham; Angela Saunders
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 89 pages
• Contract Number(s): 9914-UNI-587
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Solicitor General
• Sale Source: Canada Minister of Public Works and Government Services
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Downloaded October 14, 2005.

Annotation

This review of the literature on aggression among adolescent girls is intended to help Canadian human service providers and policymakers in developing assessment, treatment, and prevention strategies for such girls.

Abstract

The review first notes the increasing rate at which girls are appearing before Canadian youth courts for violent offenses. This is followed by a discussion of possible explanations for this increase, with attention to girls' experiences in childhood that promote aggression, as well as aspects of the juvenile justice process that may influence violence reporting rates for girls. The review of the prediction and assessment literature on adolescent girls' aggression is divided into two broad areas. One section reviews the literature on general conceptual issues regarding female aggression, definitions, and orientation, as well as the empirical literature on studies of girls under 12 years old. The second area, which is the major focus of this report, examines those studies of aggression among girls between the ages of 12 to 17, which are the ages targeted under Canada's Young Offenders Act. This section summarizes empirical studies of the correlates of aggression in adolescent girls, with attention to measurement issues for risk prediction. The review focuses on types of aggression by adolescent girls; cognitive variables linked to adolescent girls' aggression; systemic factors related to such aggression (family, peer, and school factors); substance use variables connected with aggression; and the influence of critical life events on adolescent female aggression. A framework is proposed for synthesizing the major findings from these empirical studies of the correlates of adolescent girls' aggressive behavior. This section concludes with suggestions for assessing, treating, and preventing aggression in adolescent girls. The report then offers recommendations for furthering a research agenda that will increase understanding of violent behavior by adolescent girls. 250 references