The National Survey on Drug Use and Health asks respondents aged 12 to 17 to answer questions about various demographics and their involvement in three types of violence during the 12 months prior to the interview: getting into a serious fight at school or work, participating in a group-against-group fight, and attacking others with the intent to seriously hurt them. The report by the NSDUH combines annual averages from 2004 to 2008.

The report showed that approximately one-fifth of adolescents said that they had participated in a serious fight at work or school. 16.1 percent had participated in a group-against-group fight, and 7.6 percent attacked others with the intent to seriously harm them. Nearly one-third of respondents engaged in at least one of these behaviors.

The participation in violent behaviors was much higher among youths from families with low income than those with high income. 40.5 percent of adolescents who lived in families with incomes of less than $20,000 engaged in at least one violent behavior, compared with adolescents in families with incomes of $75,000 or more, who engaged in violent behavior at a rate of 27.8 percent.

Males were more likely than females to have participated in violent behaviors (24.6 percent versus 27.0 percent) and adolescents aged 12 to 14 were more likely to engage in violent behaviors than 15 to 17 year olds (32.2 percent versus 29.6 percent).

Academic achievement also played a role in predicting violence participation. Adolescents who attended school and had a “D” average or lower were three times more likely to be involved in violence than students with an “A” average.

Family income seems to be a strong predictor of involvement. Across age groups and genders, adolescents with lower family incomes were more likely to be involved in violence than those with higher family incomes. The pattern also held across the students reporting “A,” “B,” and “C” averages in school.

Among students with a “D” average or lower, however, those with higher family incomes were just as likely to participate in violent behaviors as those students with lower family incomes.

The information provided by the NSDUH report illustrates that there may be groups that need additional education and prevention efforts. Targeting those with lower family

What is Violent Behavior?

Violent behavior covers a wide range of activities. These include verbal or physical bullying, extreme temper tantrums, and fights on the playground, cruelty to animals, vandalism, starting fires, verbal abuse, and self-mutilation.

Complex Risk Factors for Teen Violence

Numerous studies have shown interplay of risk factors that, while they cannot be considered causes of violent behavior in adolescents (boys and girls), they can be considered predictive of potential violent behavior. Reports from the U.S. Surgeon General, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ), and others, mention factors including:

• Previous aggressive or violent behavior
• Being the victim of physical and/or sexual abuse
• Exposure to violence in the home and/or community
• Family heredity or genetic factors
• Exposure to violence in the media (TV, magazines, movies, Internet)
• Use of alcohol and/or drugs
• Firearms present in the home
• Combination of stressful family socioeconomic factors (single parenting, unemployment, marital breakup, loss of support from extended family, poverty, severe deprivation)
• Brain damage from head injury

A report from the U.S. Surgeon General, “Risk Factors for Youth Violence” (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter4/sec1.html), iterates early onset and late onset risk factors for violent behavior and groups them according to individual, family, school, peer group and community. Late onset (age 12 to 14) individual risk factors include psychological conditions such as restlessness, difficulty concentrating and risk-taking; aggression; physical violence; antisocial attitudes and beliefs; crimes against persons; antisocial behavior; low IQ, and substance use.

Late onset family risk factors include poor parent-child relations (harsh, lax discipline, poor monitoring or supervision); low parental involvement; antisocial parents; broken home; low socioeconomic status/poverty; abusive parents, and family conflict.

Late onset school risk factors include poor attitude, performance and academic failure.

Late onset peer group risk factors include weak social ties, antisocial and delinquent peers, and gang membership.

Late onset community risk factors include neighborhood crime, drugs, and disorganization.

The report shows that risk factors tend to appear in clusters, not in isolation. The greater the number of risk factors that a child is exposed to, the greater the likelihood that he or she will become violent. One study (Herrenkohl et al., 2000) showed that a 10-year old exposed to 6 or more risk factors is 10 times as likely to be violent by age 18 as a 10-year old exposed to only one risk factor.

SAMHSA Report Reveals Surprising Facts

A newly-released report, “Violent Behaviors Among Adolescent Females,” from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), reveals some surprising facts about violent behavior in teen girls.

Public perception has long associated teen violence with males. Some of this has to do with societal expectations that teenage males are more aggressive. It has become clear, however, that the problem of violence is pervasive among teenage girls as well. The NSDUH survey group included responses from 33,091 girls aged 12 to 17. The report shows that, among girls in this age group:

• 2.3 million (18.6 percent) got in a serious fight at school or work within the last year
• 1.7 million (14.1 percent) participated in a group-against-group fight
• 700,000 (5.7 percent) attacked others with an intent to seriously hurt them

In addition, the report showed that more than one-quarter (26.7 percent) of girls in this age group engaged in one of these three types of violent behavior within the past year (based on averages for 2006 through 2008).

The report cautions that, despite recent intense media attention to high-profile teen girl violence, the rates of these violent behaviors among adolescent females has remained stable – when comparing combined data from the years 2002 to 2004 with that from 2006 to 2008. Furthermore, participation in group-against-group fighting was lower in the combined 2006 to 2008 data than the combined 2004 to 2006 data.

Comparing this to violent behavior among male teens, combined 2006 to 2008 data show that 25.4 percent got into a serious fight at school or work in the past year, 17.0 percent participated in a group-against-group fight, and 9.3 percent attacked others with the intent to seriously hurt them. A total of 33.6 percent of adolescent males engages in at least one of these violent behaviors in the past year.

Demographic Characteristics of Female Teen Violent Behavior

The NSDUH report shows differences in violent female teen behavior rates according to demographic characteristics. Teen girls aged 14 or 15 were more likely to have engaged in past-year violent behavior (28.9 percent), than teen girls aged 12 or 13 (27.1 percent), and those aged 16 or 17 (24.4 percent). Blacks or African Americans (38.0 percent) were more likely than any other racial/ethnic group – two or more races (30.2 percent), Hispanic (29.0 percent), American Indian or Alaska Native (26.8 percent), white (23.7 percent), or Asian (17.3 percent).

Interestingly, there were no statistically significant differences in girls’ rates of violent behavior across different regions of the country, or between large metropolitan areas, small metropolitan areas, and non-metropolitan areas.

Key Prevalence Factors

The NSDUH findings indicates that the percentages of girls engaging in violent behavior varied by substance use, family income, and school-related characteristics.

• Family Income – Prevalence of past-year violent acts decreased as family income levels increased. Violent behaviors were reported in:

o 36.5 percent of female adolescents who lived in homes with an annual family income level of less than $20,000
o 30.5 percent of those families with annual incomes of $20,000 to $49,999
o 22.8 percent in families whose annual income was $50,000 to $74,999
o 20.7 percent in families with an annual income of $75,000 or more

• Substance Use – Among adolescent females who engaged in any type of violent behavior within the past year, they were more likely than not to indicate past-month:

o Binge alcohol use – 15.1 percent vs. 6.9 percent (Binge alcohol use is defined as having 5 or more drinks on the same occasion, on at least one day in the past 30 days)
o Marijuana use – 11.4 percent vs. 4.1 percent
o Illicit drug use other than marijuana – 9.2 percent vs. 3.2 percent (Includes cocaine and crack cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically)
o The rate of substance use was also higher the more types of violent behaviors the girls engaged in. For example, past-month binge drinking was reported by 6.9 percent of the girls with none of the violent behaviors, 12.6 percent of girls with one type of violent behavior, 17.3 percent with two types, and 27.2 percent of those girls with three types of violent behavior.

• School Attendance – Teen girls who were not currently enrolled or attending school were more likely than those who were in school (34.3 percent vs. 26.7 percent) to engage in one of these types of violent behavior in the past year.

• School Grades – Among the group of teen girls who were in school, rates of violence increased as grades and academic performance decreased. About one-sixth of girls who reported having an “A” average (16.0 percent) engaged in violent behavior in the past year. In comparison, 26.0 percent of those with a “B” average, 38.5 percent of those with a “C” average, and 52.6 percent of those with a “D” average or lower engaged in a past-year violent behavior.
University of Cambridge Research Study Results

Research conducted by the University of Cambridge* shows that teenage girls may be “protected” from displaying or showing antisocial behavior until their teenage years. This study sheds new light on antisocial behavior in girls compared with boys. The research data suggests that, rather than violence and antisocial behavior being the result of poor choices, the brains of people with antisocial behavior may work differently than those who do not present antisocial behavior.

Researchers noted that virtually no studies have been conducted on girls’ antisocial behavior (Conduct Disorder). As a result, little is known about the neuropsychology of girls’ severe antisocial behavior. In the United Kingdom, researchers said, serious violence among female adolescents is sharply increasing (although it is less common than in adolescent males).
The research study group consisted of two groups: 25 girls aged 14 to 18 who had high levels of antisocial and/or violent behavior, and a control group of 30 healthy girls. The study measured the girls’ ability to distinguish and recognize the six primary facial expressions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. Researchers found that girls with antisocial and/or violent behavior made numerous errors when attempting to identify anger and disgust, but had no difficulty recognizing the other expressions.

Researchers interpreted the findings to suggest that the brains of girls with antisocial behavior work differently than those who do not show antisocial behavior. On some level, they may find it harder to read emotions of others – such as realizing that someone is angry with them and to learn from punishment.

Of particular interest is the fact that, while girls and boys with antisocial behavior had similar difficulties in recognizing the emotions, the girls – whose antisocial behavior began in adolescence – more closely resembled boys whose antisocial behavior began in childhood. The conclusions researchers drew from this is that girls are somehow protected from showing their antisocial behavior until their teenage years, but for reasons researchers do not yet understand. The next phase of the study will utilize brain scans. It is expected that this will be the first functional neuroimaging study ever conducted in girls with severe antisocial behavior.

Among the facts cited in the study is that about 5 percent of youth could be diagnosed with conduct disorder – although it is about 3 to 4 times more common in boys than girls. Factors ranging from childhood physical abuse to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) make it more likely that youth will develop Conduct Disorder.

Antisocial/violent behavior is difficult to treat using psychological therapy, and there are currently no drug treatments that are effective. In the U.K., a new type of therapy called Multi-Systemic Therapy is in clinical trials as a potential – and promising – treatment for antisocial behavior.

What Can Be Done About Violent Behavior in Teen Girls?

Since one in four adolescent girls has either perpetrated or participated in a violent act in the last year, the problem of violent behavior among teen girls isn’t going away anytime soon. Just as with their male counterparts, there are many correlates for young girls. These include alcohol and drug use, impoverished family background, poor school performance, and other factors not captured in the NSDUH survey data.

How can these girls be treated? Will prevention measures have any effect if multiple factors already exist within the girls’ family units? Treatment experts recommend that a thorough assessment of all adolescents include the issues of substance use, family background, school performance and other factors, in order that an appropriate mix of therapeutic interventions can be used to address the intersection of substance use and abuse with acts of violence.

Any type of treatment for violent behavior in girls is not likely to be brief in duration. Since it takes years for behavioral patterns to be established, changing attitudes and establishing new patterns of behavior takes time.

SAMHSA officials say that a better job needs to be done to reach at-risk girls and teach them how to resolve their problems without resorting to violence. Prevention efforts should also include limiting adolescents’ exposure to violent video games and television content, in addition to violence available on the Internet. One way to minimize such video game and Internet activity is to move the computer and gaming equipment out of the child’s bedroom and into a more open, family environment where parental supervision is available.

Bottom line: Violent behavior in teen girls may have slightly different origins than that for teen boys, or occur later than in their male counterparts, and girls are catching up to boys in prevalence of violent behavior. Researchers are only now beginning to delve into the neuropsychology of violent behavior in girls to try to better understand these differences. This is particularly important for developing effective means of treatment. For now, intervention, thorough assessment, and a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment appears to be the best therapeutic measures. Preventive measures can be taken by parents, family members, school officials and organizations in the community to help reduce teen girls’ violent behavior before it gets out of hand.

*University of Cambridge (2010 May 13). Violent teenage girls fail to spot anger or disgust in others’ faces. Science Daily. Retrieved May 21, 2010, from (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100510150223.htm)

Science Daily recently released a report that showed those individuals with parents who were violent to each other are more likely to have mental health problems later on. The exposure to violence experienced by the child acts as a form of maltreatment with negative consequences on the development of the child.

Authors of this study examined 3,023 adults in Paris in 2005 by conducting at-home face to face interviews. They measured current depression and lifetime suicide attempts, intimate partner violence, violence against children and alcohol dependence.

Researchers also asked questions that pertained to childhood adversities, including parental separation, divorce, parental death or imprisonment, alcoholism, and physical and/or sexual abuse. Study participants were also interviewed about social level stressors, such as poor parental health, housing problems, prolonged parental unemployment and financial troubles.

Within this group, 16 percent reported that they had witnessed interparental violence before the age of 18. The occurrences were far more likely in cases where parents had been alcoholics.

Those who had this exposure were 1.4 times more likely to have depression, three times more likely to be involved in conjugal violence, five times more likely to mistreat their own children and 1.75 times more likely to become dependent upon alcohol.

The authors concluded in the Science Daily piece: “Intensification of prevention of and screening for domestic violence including interparental violence is a public health issue for the well-being of future generations.”