One in four teen girls is violent

About one in four teen girls in the US has taken part in violent behaviour at school or at work. This is one of the findings of a study of more than 33,000 girls aged 12 to 17 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The study found that in the last 12 months 26.7% of girls had been in a serious fight at school or work, taken part in a group fight and/or tried to seriously hurt someone by using violence. Girls who are most likely to take part in violent behaviour come from poor families, have stopped going to school and use drugs or alcohol.

Pamela S. Hyde from the SAMHSA says, “These findings are alarming. We need to do a better job at teaching girls how to solve problems without using violence.”