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 “Why me? I feel so alone. I can’t do this anymore. These girls, they don’t know me. Do my friends even know me? Who are my real friends? I have no one to turn to. Not my parents, not my teachers, and definitely not these girls. Here comes the bus. I wonder where I’ll have to sit today. I wonder where I’ll sit at lunch. I can’t do this anymore. I hope it’s not next to them, or even worse, her! Did everyone see that ? I wish this could all just go away- the backstabbing, the lies, the name calling and worst of all, the rumors. I can’t do this anymore.”

 a behavior that is intended to harm someone by damaging or manipulating relationships with others and reputations  It is not overt and has no actual physical assaults on another person  It can take many forms such as exclusion, ignoring, malicious gossip and rumor spreading, taunts and insults, teasing, intimidation, manipulation affection, alliance building, and cyber bullying.  Major contributor of this aggression is the growing use and popularity of technology; PDA’s, cell phones, camera phones, and blogs.

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 Proactive- where the individual utilizes their aggression in order to achieve a goal such as keeping her social status so she stops being friends with someone  Reactive- used as a means of response to provocations

 Increased levels of depression  lower GPA  Increased anxiety and sadness  More anger  Thoughts of suicide  Eating disorders  Loneliness  Serious Adjustment Difficulties

 Children’s social and academic lives are facing a downward trend and the middle schools are also where the highest rate of emotional problems and most negative views of peer culture are found.

 This aggression emerges around the late pre-school age where gender- differentiated socialization pressures are established. Caregivers tend to discourage the aggressive behavior in toddler girls as compared to boys which then results in little girls finding alternate forms of aggression

 Later in development, the internalizing of social problems and experiences greatly affects a child’s ability to cope with relational aggression (threaten their trust in their friendships and the supports)

 Lack of examples for adolescents › Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Guyana and the Industrial nations of Ireland, Switzerland, Haiti, Pakistan, South Africa, and Rwanda are just a few that currently or have in the past had a woman as their elected head of government › Why is this?

 Educational Seminars  In depth examinations of middle and high schools  More leadership and Activism in ALL generations of women  A safe and healthy social climate is the only way we can create a space where girls can gain confidence in themselves and their society.

“The key to repairing this social crisis is to adjust the underlying social development issues that female adolescents face every day.” (Martocci 2008)

 Baillargeon, Raymond & et al. Gender Differences in Physical Aggression: A Prospective Population –Based Survey of Children Before and After 2 Years of Age. Developmental Psychology. Vol.43. No.1. p  Crick, Nicki &Grotpeter, Jennifer. Relational aggression, gender, and social- psychological adjustment. Child Development. Vol. 66 No. 3. P  Ryan, Allison & Shim, Serena. An Exploration of Young Adolescents’ Social Achievement Goals and Social Adjustment in Middle School. Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol. 100 No. 3. P  Kiefer, Sarah & Ryan, Allison. Striving for Social Dominance Over Peers: The Implications for Academic Adjustment During Early Adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology. Vol.100 No. 2. P  Hoglund, Wendy. School Functioning in Early Adolescence: Gender-Linked Responses to Peer Victimization. Journal of Educational Psychology Vol.99 No.4 p  Human Rights Watch. Middle East: Sri Lankan Domestic Workers Abused  Martocci, Laura. Relational Aggression  Talbot, M. (2002). Girls Just Want To Be Mean. New York Times. February 24 th.  Williams, Dessima. Women Leaders and Transformation in Developing Countries