'GIRLSS' intervention to stop LiLo type 'mean girl' behaviour in teens

A new study has found that if you want to decrease the 'mean girl' behaviour in teen girls, such as Lindsay Lohan portrayed in the 2004 film of the same name, hold an intervention.

Relational aggression, or 'mean girl' bullying, is a popular subject in news and entertainment media. This non-physical form of aggression generally used among adolescent girls includes gossiping, rumour spreading, exclusion and rejection. As media coverage has illustrated, relational aggression can lead to tragic and sometimes fatal outcomes. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed and tested an intervention that effectively decreases relational aggression among teen girls.

The intervention, Growing Interpersonal Relationships through Learning and Systemic Supports (GIRLSS), is a 10-week, group counselling, 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, journalling and weekly goal setting. At the end of the intervention, school counsellors and teachers reported a decrease in relationally aggressive behaviours 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. According to co-author Connie Brooks, relational aggression was a complicated issue with many variables, including schools, families and individuals. She said that parents and teachers should be aware of relational aggression so they didn't unknowingly contribute to the negative behaviours.

The study was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Here are some signs that indicate that your child may be a victim of bullying:

Loss of stationary or supplies: This is a prime sign that says your child is being bullied at school, especially if not usually in the habit of losing things. A bully will always pick on your child and try to snatch away stationeries and other necessities that your child might posses. This is not due to the fact that the bully is in need of such things, but depriving your child from his or her goodies gives the bully immense pleasure. This in fact hurts your child deeply, knowing that he isn t able to defend or protect himself. This feeling of despair makes him more vulnerable to the bully. So check your child s school bag meticulously to know if everything is intact. Missing stationary or supplies may be a sign that you need to investigate the matter a little deeper. Don t hit the panic button every time your child loses something, but be cautious and try to gauge the situation thoroughly.

Severe mood swings: If your child was always a playful, bundle of joy and suddenly transformed into a quiet shy kid, who prefers to retreat into his own little world, this is a definite give-away. Remember, with children sudden mood swings aren t to be ignored. Especially if you notice that your child is very withdrawn after coming home from school. With an introvert it may be a different story altogether. An introvert child when bullied can turn out to be a bubble of energy at home. But these energies aren t channelled in the right direction and would usually be expressed in bouts of aggressive and violent behaviour. Read more about 10 ways to tell if your child is being bullied at school.

With inputs from ANI

Photo source: Getty images

You may also like to read:

• Is your child being bullied? Pay more attention for his health s sake!
• Being bullied in childhood can have lasting negative impact on adulthood
• Autistic kids three times more likely to get bullied

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