Girl Scout Survey Says Young People Less Likely to Cheat, Use Drugs

A new survey of 3,263 children in grades three to 12 is full of hopeful news for parents:

• Nearly 66 percent of surveyed children said they would not cheat on a test, compared to half surveyed in 1989.
• More children said they intend to vote in the future and give money to charity.
• Eighty percent said they plan to become volunteers in their communities.
• Almost 60 percent said it is important to be around people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and agreed with the statement, "Gay and lesbian relationships are okay if that is a personal choice."
• Only 18 percent of the girls said they would have sex.

In 1989, 46 percent of children in the survey said they would refuse an alcoholic drink if offered one at a party. That number went up to 58 percent in the current survey. Only 18 percent of children in 2009 think smoking is acceptable, compared to 25 percent of those surveyed in 1989.

Harris Interactive performed the survey of children in the third to twelfth grades for the Girl Scout Research Institute.

Study Says Parents Wait too Long to Talk about Sex

A UCLA study has revealed that more than 40 percent of teenagers had sex before their parents ever talked to them about safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases or birth control.

A Dec. 8 article on the news website livecitizen.com reported on the research:

Health experts claim that teens would rather learn about sex from their parents and that they are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and practice safe sex if their parents talk to them about it.

The study, published in Pediatrics, involved 141 families enrolled in the Talking Parents, Healthy Teens program. Parents and their teens, aged between 13 to 17, responded to questions about 24 issues regarding sex and sexuality, pregnancy, puberty, birth control, and homosexuality. ...

Families were surveyed four times, once at the beginning of the study, then again at three, six and 12 months.

The results of the study were staggering: more than half of the parents reported that they had not discussed 14 of the 24 sex-related topics by the time their adolescents had begun genital touching or oral sex with partners.

Author Extolls Value, Power of Educating Girls

In an interview with the book-focused website Goodreads, author Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea; Stones into Schools) emphasized the necessity of increasing educational opportunities for girls around the world:

Today there are 78 million female children who can't go to school (120 million children in total) because of slavery, poverty, religious extremism, gender discrimination, and human trafficking.

When a girl gets an education to at least a fifth-grade level, three important things happen: Infant mortality drops significantly, population explosion is curbed, and the basic quality of health improves dramatically.

From my own perspective, the first thing that happens is that girls teach their mothers how to read and write. ... That's very powerful because a woman can then understand what's going on in the outside world.

Are Some Colleges Discriminating Against Female Applicants?

In a Dec. 14 Washington Post article, Daniel de Vise reported that federal investigators will soon begin looking into accusations that colleges and universities in the Washington, D.C., area have been discriminating against female applicants as a means of retaining gender balance among students:

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some schools are favoring men by admitting them at higher rates than women to try to preserve a male-female balance on campus. Conventional admissions-office wisdom dictates that colleges dominated by either sex are less appealing to applicants in general.

De Vise noted that four prominent schools in the area all admitted a higher percentage of male applicants than female applicants in 2008:

• William and Mary admitted 43 percent of its male applicants and 29 percent of its female applicants in fall 2008, according to its institutional data.
  
• Vassar College in New York's Hudson Valley admitted 34 percent of the men who applied and 21 percent of the women.
  
• Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania admitted 19 percent of male applicants and 14 percent of female applicants.
  
• Wesleyan University in Connecticut admitted 30 percent of the men and 25 percent of the women.
  
• Female applicants far outnumbered male candidates at all four schools.

Study: Overweight White Women Earn Less

Many teen girls who are struggling with their weight got some bad news recently, as studies conducted by Cornell University and the US Department of Labor Statistics revealed that overweight white women earn less money than do their slimmer colleagues.

• According to the studies, if a white woman gains 64 pounds or more, her wages are likely to drop by 9 percent.
  
• Being obese causes a wage loss of 12 percent.
  
• Also, taller women earn more money. Dr. Gordon Patzer found that women who are 5 feet seven inches or taller make $5,000 a year more than women of average height (5'3")
  

Half of Teen Girls at Risk for STI Exposure

Researchers with the Indiana University School of Medicine have determined that as many as 50 percent of teen girls may be exposed to one of three common types of sexually transmitted infections within two years of becoming sexually active.

A Dec. 7 article by Megan Brooks of Reuters Health provided the following information about the study:

• Researchers followed 386 urban adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 for up to 8 years.
• Within two years of becoming sexually active, half of the girls were infected with at least one of three common sexually transmitted organisms that cause chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis, respectively.
• The researchers found that a quarter of the women had acquired their first STI by age 15, most often Chlamydia.
  

"Repeated infections were very common," study investigator Dr. Wanzhu Tu said in the Reuters article. "Within 4 to 6 months (depending on the organism) after treatment of the previous infection, a quarter of the women were re-infected with the same organism."

NFL Flag Football Program Proving Popular Among Young Girls

A flag football program sponsored by the National Football League is luring thousands of young people out of the stands and onto the gridiron. And many of those new players are girls.

New York Daily News sportswriter Kristie Ackert described the program’s growth – and the increased participation of girls – in a Nov. 27 article:

NFL-funded programs have more than 100,000 boys and girls playing in co-ed leagues, and the demand for girls-only leagues is growing quickly, according to Samantha Rapoport, manager of the NFL's flag football program.

Florida elevated the sport to interscholastic varsity status in 2002, and Alaska soon followed. Now the NFL is funding start-up high school programs in 10 other states.

The middle school girls would like the city to be next.

"If they don't have flag football, I think I will go to the principal and ask for it," said 13-year-old Fizza Masood, who plays for the team from Q217 in Queens. "Maybe if they advertised they'd see when girls learn that they can play football too, they want to play."

Sexting-Related Harassment Causes Florida Teen to Kill Herself

The September suicide of a 13-year-old Florida girl is believed to be the second teen suicide in the nation that is connected to “sexting,” or the transmission of explicit photos via cell phone or computer.

Andrew Meacham of the St. Petersburg Times reported on the tragedy in a Nov. 29 article:

At the end of the school year at Beth Shields Middle School, the taunting became so bad that Hope Witsell's friends surrounded her between classes. They escorted her down hallways like human shields, fending off insults such as "whore" and "slut."

A few days before, Hope had forwarded a nude photo of herself to a boy she liked … The image found its way to other students, who forwarded it to their friends.

School authorities learned of the nude photo around the end of the school year and suspended Hope for the first week of eighth grade, which started in August. About two weeks after she returned to school, a counselor observed cuts on Hope's legs and had her sign a "no-harm" contract, in which Hope agreed to tell an adult if she felt inclined to hurt herself, her family says.

The next day, Hope hanged herself in her bedroom. She was 13.

A Dec. 2 article by Michael Inbar of TodayShow.com reported that Witsell's death was similar in nature to the March suicide of 18-year-old Jesse Logan who "killed herself in the face of a barrage of taunts when an ex-boyfriend forwarded explicit photos of her following their split."

Pop Star Says Global Education Essential to Secure Future

Many of the world’s poorest children have no access to an education – and many societies still struggle to educate girls and young women. The challenge of providing a quality education to all young people remains both a danger to society and a path toward a more peaceful future.

In a Nov. 13 article on the website of The Economist, pop star Shakira described her efforts to end the education gap:

In today’s world there are still 72 [million] children who are denied the opportunity to go to school and 226m adolescents who don’t attend secondary school.

My foundation in Colombia, Pies Descalzos ("Barefoot"), has proved that the poorest children can be educated. For less than $2 a day per child, our schools provide food, education and counselling services to thousands of students. Our schools help underprivileged children grow in sustainable ways and provide them with the tools they need to break out of the cycle of poverty. …

I refuse to believe that it isn’t possible to educate every child. By establishing a Global Fund for Education in 2010 we will invest in these children’s future -- and help to secure our own.

Girls as Young as 3 Worry About Weight

A study that examined how little girls ages 3 to 6 years old react to images of small-waisted, beautiful princesses like Disney's Belle (from "Beauty and the Beast") or "Cinderella" has revealed a troubling prevalence of weight worries among girls as young as age 3:

• Researchers had half the 121 girls in the study watch a princess movie while others watched films without images of beautiful women.
  
• After the movies were over, the little girls tended to "play Princess" but they did not fixate on the characters' appearances.
• However, the researchers noted that 31 percent of the girls in the study told them they always worry about being overweight, and 18 percent said they sometimes worry about being too fat.
  

"We need to help our children challenged the images of beauty, particularly thinness, that they see and idolize, and encourage them to question how much appearance should be part of their self worth," said Dr. Stacey Tantleff-Dunn of the University of Central Florida, author of the study. "We should help them build a positive self image with an appreciation for many different types of body attributes."

This study appeared in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.

Is Chemical Exposure or Obesity to Blame for Early Puberty Among U.S. Girls?

For many adolescent girls in the United States, changes associated with the onset of puberty (such as breast development and the appearance of body hair) appear to be occurring at younger-than-expected ages.

Some experts believe early puberty may be the result of exposure to certain chemicals, while others say it could be another effect of the nation’s childhood obesity problem.

Meagan Kelleher of WDAF-TV (Fox4) in Kansas City addressed the topic in a Nov. 9 article on the station’s website:

Some believe [early puberty] can be linked to chemical exposure, specifically Bisphenol-A. It's the substance known as BPA that's been in baby bottles and is still in some other plastics.

But the doctors believe earlier puberty is largely related to the growing obesity problem in kids.

"The more adipose tissue or fat cells there are in the body, the higher the circulating estrogen levels," Dr. [Daryl] Lynch said.

Those higher levels result in the female changes. Dr. Lynch said earlier puberty puts girls at higher risk of sexual abuse, teasing or bullying, mental health disorders and short stature as adults. Those are more reasons to help kids control their weight since it might help delay puberty.

Philly Man Continues to Fight for Girls’ Rights to Play School Sports

For the past 20 years, Robert H. Landau has waged a series of legal battles with Philadelphia-area school districts to ensure that girls have equal opportunity to play sports.

According to a Nov. 29 New York Times article by Katie Thomas, Landau didn’t intend to become a community activist – but he hasn’t shied away from many challenges since he began to fight for girls’ rights:

Landau estimated he had filed at least 30 complaints, most contending unfair treatment of girls, with the Office for Civil Rights, the division of the federal Education Department that enforces the gender-equity law known as Title IX. His work has led to a change in practices at the school and district level in suburban Philadelphia.

Landau's activism began in 1989, when his daughter started playing field hockey at Cheltenham. ... Landau learned that many of the boys’ coaches had full-time jobs as teachers in the district, but the girls’ coaches did not. "In my own limited way, I somehow realized this was not good," he said. …

A neighbor who worked for the Office for Civil Rights encouraged Landau to file a complaint. He did, and the school district eventually added girls’ soccer and volleyball, and built softball fields. …

Soon, parents at other schools enlisted his help, and Landau continued to spot unfair treatment.

5 Words of Advice for Raising Healthier, Happier Teens

Despite the negative news that swirls around adolescence, a team from Tufts University has found that positive attributes like confidence and compassion can be developed during the teen years.

A Nov. 23 article by Debbie Glasser of examiner.com provided the following details on the Tufts research -- and what it can mean for parents who are looking for guidance in their efforts to raise happier and healthier teens:

Instead of focusing on negative teen behaviors, Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D. and his colleagues decided to examine teens' strengths. What they found was encouraging.

"Rather than defining kids as doing well because they 'lacked problems,' we wanted to explore their strengths and capacity to thrive," Lerner explained. He and his colleagues questioned 1,700 children about their confidence, compassion and contributions towards others. "We found the vision of positive youth development is, in fact, a reality," Lerner said.

When teens are involved in their home, school and community, they are more likely to experience success in life. The Tufts researchers identified five key characteristics ("5 C's") that contribute to positive youth development: Connection, Caring, Character, Competence and Confidence.

All British Students to Learn About Domestic Violence, Gender Equality

The British government has announced plans to teach all students about the dangers of domestic violence and the value of gender equality.

A Nov. 25 BBC article provided the following information about the educational effort:

Under the plans, from 2011 children will be taught from the age of five how to prevent violent relationships. …

From 2011, lessons in gender equality and preventing violence in relationships will be compulsory in the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum.

Before qualifying, trainee teachers will have to learn about teaching gender awareness and domestic violence.

Schools minister Vernon Coaker said lessons would be age appropriate.

Adult Mentors Improve Teens' College Chances

Teenagers who have adults in their lives who provide positive help and attention are much more likely to go to college, according to a new study from Brigham Young University.

• Dr. Steve McDonald and his colleagues studied data from more than 14,000 teenagers who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
  
• Having an adult mentor doubled the chances of a disadvantaged student attending college -- but less than half the disadvantaged teens in the study had such mentors.
  
• Having a mentor increased the likelihood of college for all students in the study by 50 percent.

Dr. McDonald found that teachers were particularly effective as mentors.

This study appeared in the journal Sociology of Education.

CDC Report Contains Troubling Stats for Health of Girls, Young Women

A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections remains disturbingly high in the United States. As Mary Elizabeth Williams noted in her Nov. 16 post on Salon.com, the report contains particularly bad news regarding the health of girls and young women:

In 2008, we clocked in an all-time high of 1.2 million new cases of chlamydia and an estimated 6.2 million of HPV. Syphilis, which once looked to have gone the way of Prohibition and ragtime, has also mounted an impressive comeback with 13,500 new cases last year.

The CDC says 19 million new cases of STDs are transmitted annually in the U.S., almost half of which are in people under the age of 24. And chlamydia and gonorrhea are highest among girls aged 15-19.

And thanks to far-reaching potential side effects like cervical cancer and pelvic inflammatory disease, the report noted that "Women and infants disproportionately bear the long term consequences of STDs."

Indiana Event Helps High School Girls Explore Tech-Related Careers

Thousands of teen girls traveled to 18 college and university campuses across Indiana Nov. 12 to learn about career opportunities in fields that have been historically dominated by men. Marion Star writer Kurt Moore reported on the effort in a Nov. 14 article:

About 3,000 junior high and high school girls converged on the campuses to participate in We Are IT Day. The objective of the event was to increase girls' interest in traditionally male-dominated programs in information technology and similar careers.

About 140 students from school districts in Marion and surrounding counties headed to the Marion campus, where they got a look at such technology as the photo editing software Adobe Photoshop and GPS devices.

"It promotes the fact that technology fields aren't just for males but for females too," Cardington-Lincoln High School student Julya Faulkner said. "Just because you are a girl it doesn't mean you can't be successful."

Scout-Sponsored Program Helps Washington Girls Develop Healthy Self-Image

A school-based program that is sponsored by a Washington state chapter of the Girls Scouts of America is helping adolescent and teen girls resist media-generated pressures and develop a healthy self-image.

In a Nov. 14 Spokesman-Review article, writer Marcy Stamp described the program and interviewed program coordinator Keely Eschenbacher:

The program helps girls from 8 to 17 years old "embrace a wider definition of beauty" than they absorb from the culture. It focuses on mentoring, education and activities to foster self-esteem, with four programs geared to different ages.

Activities led by volunteers from Gonzaga University and Whitworth University help girls recognize their strengths and attributes; handle peer pressure; identify their values and interests; develop positive body images, healthy eating habits, personal hygiene, general wellness and physical fitness; and engage in community service.

"A teenage girl looks at TV and thinks it shows how life should be or how she should look. Most girls think they do not look good enough," Eschenbacher said …

"Girls see news about Britney Spears and think that’s how they should be," she said. "Middle-school girls are obsessed with celebrities who party and do stupid things. Girls receive mixed messages about what is acceptable."

PBS Documentary Takes Honest Look at Romantic Lives of Teen Girls

When a television show or film is advertised as featuring the intimate relationships of teen girls, the result is unfortunately often salacious or sensational. A new PBS documentary, Boyfriends, takes a decidedly different approach, according to an Oct. 27 article by Robert Philpot of The Star-Telegram:

"We wanted to do a project about girls and mental health," says Sujata Dand, who directed and co-produced the documentary. "I thought that maybe for the documentary piece, we would have something that followed five girls as they make different choices in their relationships: How did they come to these choices, what led them to make these choices, how did these choices impact their well-being and their self-confidence and their mental health?"

Boyfriends shifts back and forth among the young women, all of whom are identified by first name only.

They include Kelly, who has a relatively stable relationship with her parents as well as her boyfriend, but isn’t sure she wants to stay with him; Asha, a pregnant 17-year-old who learns that her boyfriend is cheating on her; and Liliana, who began dating her current boyfriend when he was 25 and she was 13 (she told him she was 18). Now 18 with two children, she’s looking to get out of the relationship but isn’t sure how to go about it.

The film’s pieces fit together to form a cross section of various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, with the girls having widely varying attitudes about sex and romance.

AIDS Remains World’s Leading Cause of Death Among Impoverished Young Women

A recently released report by the World Health Organization identifies AIDS-related illness as "the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age in low and middle income countries.”

A Nov. 9 article about the report on the UNAIDS website provided the following information related to the WHO findings:

• Globally only 38 percent of young women are able to describe the main ways to avoid infection and they are less likely to know that condoms can protect against HIV than young men.
• Data from 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 2001-2007 also show that HIV prevalence is generally higher among adolescent girls aged 15-19 than their male counterparts.
• A significant cause of this is young girls partnering with older men who are more sexually experienced and more likely to be infected.

“Violence against women is also a major cause of their increased vulnerability to HIV,” the UNAIDS article reported. “[Violence and other forms of intimidation] can make it difficult or impossible for [women] to control their sexual lives, abstain from sex or get their partners to use condoms.”

Study Says Obese Teen Girls May Have Greater Risk for Multiple Sclerosis in Adulthood

Researchers with the Harvard School of Public Health have discovered an association between teen obesity in girls and the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system) in adulthood.

A Nov. 9 article by Caroline Wilbert of WebMD Health News provided the following details about the study:

• Researchers examined data on more than 238,000 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study, which began in 1976, and the Nurses' Health Study II, which began in 1989.
• Participants self-reported what their height and weight were at the start of the study and what they had been at age 18. They also chose silhouettes to describe their body shapes when they were ages 5, 10, and 20 years old.
• The women's body mass index (BMI) at age 18 and the way they described their overall body shape at age 20 were linked to the likelihood of developing MS in adulthood.
• Women who had a BMI of 30 or larger (considered obese) at age 18 had more than twice the risk of women with a BMI between 18.5 and 20.9. Normal weight BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.

"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS," researcher Kassandra Munger, ScD, said in a release.

N.C. Program Provides Financial Incentive for College-Bound At-Risk Girls Who Don’t Get Pregnant

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the University of North Carolina Greensburg (UNCG) are among the leading sponsors of “College Bound Sisters,” a program that hopes to motivate at-risk girls to stay in school and not get pregnant.

The following information appears on the College Bound Sisters website:

Younger sisters of teen mothers are at risk for unplanned pregnancy. The College Bound Sisters Program is designed for them. Two groups of girls (ages 12-14 and 15-18) meet separately each week for 1.5 hours with adult leaders.

A girl is eligible for CBS if she meets the following criteria:

• Is between the ages of 12-16
• Has a sister who had a baby before age 18
• Has never been pregnant
• Wants to attend college
• Is willing to attend a 1.5 hour meeting each week at UNCG

Each member who attends the meetings, is not pregnant, and is still in school has $7.00 placed in her college fund weekly. The money is released upon enrollment in college

Members receive $5.00 transportation expenses when they attend a meeting. Other incentives are offered at intervals to encourage girls to stay in school and to continue participation in the program.

Teens Girls Form Team to Research Health Issues in Southern California

A group of teen girls in southern California has spent the past year researching topics related to teen health in the area. According to an Oct. 27 article by Leslie Griffy of TheCalifornian.com, the data that the girls collected will be used to support grant proposals for teen education programs:

The research program, Girls Health in Girls Hands, was conceived about a year ago, said Tobi Marcus, director of the Women's Fund of Monterey County. Teens applied to join the program, which was paid for largely through a $107,000 California Endowment grant. Women's Fund contributors covered the balance of the project's approximately $120,000 total cost.

The researchers found that girls have a hard time getting information about healthy relationships, maintaining a positive body image and eating well. The consequences of that lack of information are serious: A majority of the girls interviewed know peers who have been pregnant, suffered depression and battled eating disorders and addiction.

"Even though we are a couple of girls, we are speaking for every girl in the county." said one of the researchers, 17-year-old Maraia Vosaki.

Parents' Lifestyles, Relationships Influence Teens' Sexual Choices

Parental lifestyles influence teenagers’ sexual choices, according to a study from the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada.

• Strong, nurturing relationships with parents, attending worship services, and participating in volunteerism correlated with teenagers being sexually inactive.
• Children of parents who smoked and drank tended to be sexually active.
• Boys who lived with unmarried couples and girls who came from divorced and separated homes were also more likely to be sexually active.

"A large body of research reveals that a parenting style that is warm, communicative, supportive, and involves supervision and setting limits, protects teenagers against risk behavior and helps young people develop into healthy, autonomous adults," the report's authors wrote.

Teens, ‘Tweens Not Immune to Breast Cancer

The vast majority of breast cancer patients are adult women, but as an Oct. 26 CNN article about 11-year-old Hannah Powell-Auslam and 13-year-old Taylor Thompson indicates, even teens and ‘tweens are at risk for developing the disease:

While Taylor and Hannah's cases are rare, they're extreme examples of a troubling trend emerging with breast cancer, medical experts say. Younger women are getting a disease that usually strikes around menopause -- and no one knows why.

"The breast is a very sensitive, vulnerable organ," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder of Breastcancer.org, a breast health Web site. "The breast is the only organ in men and women that is formed after you're born." Most of the breast forms during adolescence, she said. "It's while organs are formed that they are most vulnerable to changes and insults."

Breast cancer could theoretically occur at any age and for either gender.

"You have breast tissue, so at any point, if you have that tissue in your body, it can become cancer," said Dr. Jennifer Litton, an assistant professor in the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Study Links Perceived Body Weight with Sexual Activity among Teen Girls

A study led by Dr. Aletha Yvette Akers of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania has revealed an association between perceived body weight and sexual activity among teenage girls in the United States. An Oct. 21 Reuters article provided the following details about the research:

The study, of nearly 7,200 U.S. high school girls, found that in general, sexually active girls who were underweight were less likely than their normal-weight peers to use condoms.

The same was true of girls who viewed themselves as overweight — accurately or not — when compared with girls who perceived themselves as normal-weight.

The findings, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics, "add to a growing body of literature that girls at the weight extremes may be at increased risk for engaging in sexual risk-taking behaviors."

Exactly why this is the case is not fully clear. And the current study found that the question becomes more complicated when race is considered — with weight and perceptions of weight having different effects on white, black and Latina girls' sexual behavior.

"We speculate that girls with a negative body perception may have a limited capacity or willingness to negotiate effectively with partners," the researchers wrote in Pediatrics, "resulting in higher rates of sexual risk behaviors."

Tennessee Teen Calls for Greater Access to Accurate, Appropriate Sex Education

In an Oct. 19 letter that was posted on Tennessee news website knoxnews.com, an area teenager who is active in the Knoxville Planned Parenthood’s peer education program called for greater access to medically accurate and age-appropriate information about sex:

A nationwide study found that teens who had comprehensive sexual education were less likely to become pregnant than teens who had no sex education or were in abstinence-only programs.

The study also found that teens who get open, honest information about sex had better sexual health their entire lives.

The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among the most developed countries in the world. At least one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection.

This year, an estimated 729,000 American teens will become pregnant, and nearly 4 million will contract a sexually transmitted infection.

This is why many elected leaders, including President Barack Obama, are supporting medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education that helps reduce teen pregnancy and prevent [sexually transmitted infections].

The letter-writer, Olivia Spooner, is the advocacy coordinator for FYI, a Planned Parenthood-affiliated program that trains teens to inform peers about sex, teen pregnancy, birth control and related topics.

Actress/Activist Calls Attention to Scourge of Teen Relationship Violence

In a Sept. 30 speech at Emory University, actress Jane Fonda addressed the continuing problem of violence within teen relationships.

According to an Oct. 11 article by Muriel Y. Vega and Stephanie Ramage of The Sunday Paper, Fonda (who is the founder and CEO of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention) touched on a topic of particular interest in Georgia:

One in six Georgia high school students has been abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s nearly twice the national average for teenage dating violence. ...

"Besides doing physical harm and even causing death, teen dating violence and abuse is associated with higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, unplanned pregnancy, STDs, depression, and suicidal tendencies," says Fonda. "This is a problem that impacts more than one million young people each year, crossing all race and socioeconomic boundaries, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of violence and abuse."

Violence Prevalent in Lives of Chicago Girls

According to a Sept. 30 Chicago Tribune article by Joanna Broder, violence is a prevalent factor in the lives of many girls and young women in Illinois:

A report released earlier this month found that many girls in Chicago and Illinois "face serious violence in their lives," including physical and sexual abuse, threats and injury in school, and assault on the streets.

The report, "Status of Girls in Illinois," -- notes that 10.7 percent of girls in Chicago's high schools skipped school in 2007 because of safety concerns -- nearly double the national average of 5.6 percent -- and that "many girls also report a pervasive feeling of threat and lack of security."

The report pulls together existing survey data about girls in Chicago and Illinois and makes recommendations about a variety of development, health and wellness issues such as access to health care, mental and emotional health, sexuality, safety and substance abuse. It also found that depression and other forms of mental illness pose a serious health issue for area girls.

Teen, Tween Girls Worried, Misinformed About Breast Cancer

According to an Oct. 12 article by MedPage Today senior staff writer Crystal Phend, girls as young as age 8 are worried about breast cancer -- but many are misinformed about the causes of the disease:

Nearly a third of teens and 'tweens reported they've already worried about whether the disease will strike them personally, Marisa Weiss, MD, founder and president of Breastcancer.org, and colleagues reported ... at the ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium.

These girls "had misinterpreted a normal breast finding as a sign of breast cancer or thought they had breast cancer because someone close to them had been diagnosed and they thought automatically they would have it," Weiss said.

Among the girls ages 8 to 18 surveyed before an assembly at 13 schools in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, more than 23 percent believed that infection, drug use, stress, and tanning cause breast cancer.

From 10 percent to 20 percent said they thought caffeine, antiperspirants, or getting bumped or bruised in the breast were causes. According to 7 percent, breastfeeding increased the risk of breast cancer. None of these are known to increase the risk of a developing a breast tumor.

Teens More Likely to Get Sex Info from Friends than From Parents

You've been trying to ensure that the lines of communication between you and your teen remain open and productive. But it seems as though your child is more likely to turn to her friends to get information about important topics such as sex.

Though this is understandably frustrating, it may help to know that you're not alone.

• A study from the nonprofit organization Austin LifeGuard found that teenagers are more likely to get information about sex from their friends, not their parents.
• The organization collected data from 223 people ages 14 to 18 years old, as well as from 142 parents.
  
• The parents believed that they were the ones providing their teens with the most information.
  

But even though teens may not appear to place a premium upon parent-delivered information, experts emphasize that such communication remains effective.

"Data is overwhelming in showing that when parents do communicate, it is a tremendous influence on teens," Art Coleman, CEO of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, Texas, said in a Sept. 2 article in the Daily Texan. However, he noted, many parents don't feel adequately prepared to talk about sex with their children.

Older Teen Girls Like Deep Voices; Younger Girls Fear Them

A study that was conducted by researchers with the University of St. Andrews in Scotland found that older teenage girls like deep male voices, but younger girls are afraid of them.

• Researchers played two tapes of a male voice to 300 girls ages 11 and 15 years old, lowering the pitch on the second tape.
• Younger girls associated low-pitched male voices with villains like Darth Vader.
• On the other hand, the older girls in the study found deep voices more attractive than the higher pitched ones.

This study appeared in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

Very Few Teens Eating Enough Fruits & Veggies

Only one in 10 teenagers is meeting the government's requirements for fruits and vegetables, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A Sept. 29 Associated Press article provided the following details:

Less than 10 percent of U.S. high school students are eating the combined recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, a finding that the [CDC] called "poor" in a report.

The report based on 2007 data found that only 13 percent of U.S. high school students get at least three servings of vegetables a day and just 32 percent get two servings of fruit. Less than 1 in 10 get enough of both combined. ...

Federal nutrition goals for 2010 call for at least 75 percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruit each day and at least 50 percent to eat three vegetable servings.

"This is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption," said Heidi Blanck, a CDC senior scientist who worked on the report.

Female Students Experience Sexual Harassment in Elementary, Middle Schools

In a Sept. 27 article in the Arizona Daily Star, writers Rhonda Bodfield and Carmen Duarte reported on the disturbing prevalence of sexual harassment directed at female students in area elementary and middle schools:

Sexual harassment at school happens at surprisingly young ages. A case of student-to-student sexual harassment was reported last year at Sunrise Drive Elementary School, in the Catalina Foothills district, and school officers responded to several elementary schools in [Tucson Unified School District] for sex-related offenses.

In Vail, there were more reports of sexual harassment at middle schools than at high schools.

Researchers from the University of Southern Maine published a study in the journal Sex Roles in July 2008. It indicated 35 percent of 522 students ages 11 to 18 reported they had experienced some form of sexual harassment.

"We have a lot of sexual violence going on in school, and it's happening at younger and younger ages," said Nan Stein, a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women. Stein specializes in the subject and has written a book on it. "It impedes equity in school, and it impedes achievement. If you're worried about being sexually assaulted in school, you're not going to be thinking too much about your coursework."

If you suspect that your child is being bullied, hazed, sexually harassed or otherwise abused in school, don't assume that this experience is either a "phase" or rite of passage. Students deserve to be educated in an environment that is free of harassment and abuse -- and if these inappropriate behaviors are allowed to continue, the damage can be both significant and long-lasting.

Female Students Now Outnumber Males on Many College Campuses

In a Sept. 28 article on the website GreenvilleOnline, staff writer Anna Simon noted that women are now in the majority at many U.S. colleges and universities:

The declining number of men compared to women attending the nation’s colleges is a phenomenon that carries profound social and economic implications as comparatively more female graduates enter the workplace. Experts aren’t really sure why it’s happening.

Clemson is 54 percent male and 46 percent female. The University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus is 44 percent male and 56 percent female, a more typical ratio. Officials at USC and on other campuses including Furman University and Erskine College are taking steps to recruit, retain and graduate more men. ...

Female enrollment outpaced male enrollment 29 percent to 22 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education.

In the decade ahead, enrollment among women is projected to grow by 16 percent versus 9 percent among men, according to new education department projections through 2018.

Women's Issues Emphasized at Global Conference

In a Sept. 30 Huffington Post article, Maria Eitel noted that the recently concluded annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) placed a significant emphasis on the importance of investing in issues that affect girls and women:

For the first time in its five-year history, CGI included a cross-cutting focus called "Investing in Girls and Women." That means that for every single session no matter what the topic, CGI's planners included solutions designed for girls and women to accelerate progress.

Now this isn't a total win. Anyone who's ever met me has probably heard me talk about how girls and women can't be lumped into the same category. That's one of the ways we make the mistake of thinking our efforts are reaching girls when they really aren't.

That said, this is an enormous step in the right direction and there was a ton of momentum at CGI this week around both the importance of investing in girls and women for global prosperity.

"Simply having a plenary session called 'Girls and Women' with male CEOs and heads of multilateral organizations was a symbolic victory for girls actually being seen and considered on the global stage," Eitel wrote.

DHSS Promotes Girls' Health with 'Best Bones Forever!' Website, Campaign

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has launched a new website that is designed to promote girls' health and reduce their risk of developing the bone disease osteoporosis later in life.

A Sept. 1 DHHS news release provided the following details about the website and associated promotional campaign:

• Childhood and adolescence are the key windows of opportunity for building strong bones and warding off osteoporosis.
• In girls, close to 90 percent of bone mass is built by age 18.
• Research shows that bone fracture rates are increasing, and few adolescent girls get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D—the building blocks for strong bones.
• Osteoporosis is four times more common in women than in men, and adolescent girls consume calcium and participate in physical activity at lower rates than boys do.
• HHS recommends girls look for foods with calcium and vitamin D, which is necessary to help bones absorb calcium. One recent study found 70 percent of kids in the U.S. had below-normal levels of vitamin D, with deficiencies increasing as kids age from childhood to adolescence.

"We want girls to know that if you're older than nine, now's your time!" DHHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in the release. "Building strong bones now will help you stand tall for a lifetime."

South Carolina Schools Celebrate Successes of Single-Sex Classrooms

According to a Sept. 7 article by Anna Lee of Greenville.com, a number of administrators and parents are crediting single-sex instruction for improved test scores and better discipline in several South Carolina public schools:

The 11 public schools that now offer single-gender classes in Greenville County are seeing students better behaved with higher test scores than those in the coed classroom, and administrators are singing its praises.

In a coed classroom, some girls are reluctant to show how smart they are, and some boys slack off because it seems cool, said Lee Givins, principal at Northwest Middle, which was one of the first schools in Greenville County to test the waters of same-sex education in 2007.

By separating the genders, social distractions and peer pressure are reduced, especially at the middle school level where the relentless focus is on who’s cute and how you look, [Dr. Leonard Sax, founding director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education] said.

Wisconsin YMCA Program Designed to Empower Young Girls

A YMCA in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is offering a weekly program designed to boost the self-image and self-esteem of girls in grades 3 to 5.

A Sept. 10 article on northwestern.com provided the following details about "GET UP" (Girls Exercising Their Unlimited Potential):

• The program will be led by female volunteers from the YMCA and the community.
  
• Participants will develop self-awareness and positive body image through class sessions that vary each week.
  
• Each session will include principles of health & wellness, a healthy snack and activities that incorporate the weekly theme.
• GET UP sessions will be held Mondays, 4 to 5:30 p.m., in the 20th Avenue YMCA.
  
• For more information e-mail Shauna Coleman at shaunacoleman@oshkoshymca.org.
  

Even at the elementary and middle-school levels, girls who struggle with low self-esteem and poor self-image can experience setbacks that may impact their healthy development for years if not decades.

Atlanta Organization Working to Rescue Abused Girls, End Child Prostitution

Every day in the United States, young girls who are being abused or neglected at home decide to run away. But though this decision may provide temporary relief from their dysfunctional home life, the result may involve even greater degrees of abuse and violation at the hands of men who buy and sell them for sex.

According to a Sept. 4 article by Mashaun D. Simon of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one Atlanta organization is working to rescue these girls and end the scourge of child prostitution:

According to the Governor’s Office for Children and Families, any where between 200 to 350 girls are prostituted each month in Georgia. And it is not just on the streets anymore. Today girls are also exploited over the Internet, through escort services and in hotels. ...

Some of the common risk factors are parental neglect, physical and sexual abuse, behavioral issues and substance abuse, said Jen Bennecke, executive director of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families.

While most major cities are working to eradicate this problem, a statewide effort has been in existence for the last couple of years to address this issue in Georgia. Created in 2007, A Future. Not A Past., a public-private partnership also led by the Juvenile Justice Fund, works to build a barrier between potential victims and those focused on exploiting young children. ...

During the first two years of the "A Future. Not A Past." effort, organizers focused on increasing awareness, raising funds, and developing more effective legislative solutions to the problem of child prostitution, Simon reported. During the next 12 months, the group will be working to educate doctors, law enforcement officials and other interested parties about ways to identify and report cases of suspected child victimization and prostitution.

Questions Remain about Purpose, Effectiveness of HPV Vaccine

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that all young girls receive the Gardasil HPV vaccine.

But comments that were featured in a Sept. 7 National Public Radio (NPR) story indicate that doctors and parents have a number of questions about the function and effectiveness of the inoculation:

• Brenda Wilson (NPR): Two-thirds of the physicians surveyed had no problem offering the vaccine to girls between the ages of 13 and 17. Other national studies had similar findings. But Kahn says physicians may not realize that the three-shot regimen has to be done before the girls are sexually active.

• Dr. Jessica Kahn (Director of trainee research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center): They don't understand how common HPV infection is in adolescents, and how often adolescents acquire HPV within a few months of sexual initiation. And they may not understand that the vaccine is not effective in girls who are already infected with vaccine-type HPVs at the time of vaccination.

• Dr. Diane Harper (Family Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Missouri-Kansas City): What I tell them is that the vaccine is proven effective. And I tell them that for most women it is safe, but there are real risks associated with it and that there have been some young women, a very small number, that have died. And so, they need to understand that it's not a risk-free vaccine.

Texas Woman Helps Girls Discover 'Beauty Within'

Holly Myers was "that girl" in high school; the cute, bubbly cheerleader whom all the boys liked and all the girls envied -- but she wasn't always thrilled with how she looked or who she was Twenty years later, Holly is married, has two kids, and is finally able to celebrate who she is.

Her experience prompted her to start an event called "Searching for the Beauty Within," and her program was featured in a Sept. 11 column in the Gaston (Tex.) Gazette:

"Growing up I was so involved in dancing, so involved in cheerleading and clogging and doing those things I never even identified that I struggled with self-image," Myers said. "Even though I wasn’t overweight, there was something inside of me that when I looked in the mirror, I didn't see, pretty, I didn't see a masterpiece. I saw gross. I saw ugly."

This year's [Searching for the Beauty Within] seminar takes place Sept. 19 at Gaston College. The daylong event, for girls ages 12-19, will include dramas, worship and singing, giveaways, goodie bags and more. It will also feature female speakers talking frankly about issues ranging from relationships to eating disorders to depression to self-image.

The theme is "I’m a Masterpiece," which was inspired by Ephesians 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Study Says UK World's Worst for Alcohol Abuse by Teen Girls

According to a Sept. 1 article on the BBC News website, drinking by underage girls occurs more often in the United Kingdom than in any other nation.

This revelation, the BBC reported, was contained in a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

Drunkenness in the UK is the highest among 24 OECD countries, measured in terms of the proportion of 13 and 15-year-olds having been drunk at least twice.

The UK's figure for these under-age drunks - 33 percent - is more than double the rate for countries such as the United States, France and Italy.

Among girls the gap between the UK and other countries is even wider. One in five 13-year-olds in the UK reports having been drunk twice - four times higher than countries such as the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Among 15-year-old girls in the UK, 50 percent reported getting drunk, almost three times higher than their counterparts in France. The rate for boys in the UK in this age group getting drunk is 44 percent.

Expert Advises Caregivers to Be on Lookout of Symptoms of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders can affect boys, girls, men and women of virtually every age. But teen girls and young women comprise the majority of disordered eaters.

Because few individuals are able to ask for help with their eating disorder, it is important that parents, teachers and other caregivers identify symptoms that a girl may be struggling with an eating disorder.

In an Aug. 31 article in the Salisbury (N.C.) Post, health and fitness expert Ester Marsh advised being on the lookout for the following signs:

• Obsession with weight
• Weighing oneself numerous times a day, especially before and after eating
• Eating very little
• Eating a lot, then immediately disappearing to the bathroom
  
• Extreme unhappiness with appearance
• Brushing teeth many times per day
• Exercising more than three hours or more a day most days of the week

People with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder have an illness that can kill them. If you suspect that someone you know is experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder, contact a physician or other trained health care provider immediately.

Parental 'Food Interference' Can Contribute to Girls' Weight Problems

Girls with poor impulse control at age seven are more likely to be overweight by age 15. If their parents impose rules around food, such as forbidding them to eat certain foods, the situation gets worse and their chances of being overweight increase even more.

• Stephanie Anzman and Leanne Birch of the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Pennsylvania State University reached these conclusions after studying 97 non-Hispanic Caucasian girls starting at age five.
• The researchers checked up on them every two years until they were 15 years old.
• Girls who gained the most weight had the highest levels of parental food restrictions and the lowest levels of self-control.

Dr. Anzman said it may be better for parents to allow children to choose from a variety healthy options and not keep restricted food in the house.

"Parental attempts to help children with lower self-control by restricting access to their favorite snack foods can make the forbidden foods more attractive, thereby exacerbating the problem," she said.

This study and Dr. Anzman's comments appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics.

SAT Scores Continue to Drop in U.S.; Girls Trail Boys Slightly

Male high school students in the United States scored higher than their female counterparts did during the last round of SAT college entrance exams.

The difference was 27 points, mostly due to higher scores in the math section by males. The average SAT score dropped one point in both the reading and writing sections, but remained steady for math.

Average SAT scores have been trending downward since 2004 because the pool of test takers has widened to include more children of parents who had never graduated from college, and more students who report that English was not their first language at home.

The average score for students whose family income is over $200,000 a year was 1702, an increase of 26. A perfect score on the SAT is 1800.

Editorial Expresses U.S. Government's Commitment to Global Girls' Education

An Aug. 17 editorial on the Voice of America News website indicates that the U.S. government is strongly in favor of increased educational opportunities for girls throughout the world:

Girls' education brings enormous benefits far beyond improving the lives of the girls themselves. Once an educated girl becomes an adult, there are many continuing benefits of her education, not only for herself, but also for her community.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, a woman’s wages in developing countries will increase by 20 percent, on average, for each additional year of education she receives beyond grade three or four. ...

Her chances of contracting HIV will be greatly diminished, and she will be more likely to participate in local politics. A literate woman's children will have a greater chance of surviving past the age of five, because a mother who can read is more likely to take her children to a clinic, and to be able to follow a doctor's directions.

Her children will also be more likely to go to school. And education is the single most effective way to break inter-generational cycles of poverty and providing a path out of poverty.

This message of support for girls' education is similar to statements made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in recent visits to South Africa and other nations where the effort to educate girls does not always receive the support it deserves.

Critic Blasts Film for Sending Harmful Message to Female Students

In an Aug. 20 review of the film "Post Grad," critic Rafer Guzman says that even though it was written and directed by women, the film sends a harmful message to female students:

The premise of "Post Grad," a recession-era comedy about a chronically unemployed college graduate, sounds timely. But the film's typically Hollywood message is timeless: If you're a woman, your dreams and plans are meaningless without a man.

That "Post Grad" would telegraph this to an audience of young girls -- who, like the film's central character, Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel), might want to use their education to establish fulfilling careers -- seems almost as insidious as encouraging children to smoke.

Screenwriter Kelly Fremon and director Vicky Jenson, Guzman writes, were "too busy sticking to convention" to create an alternative to what he believes is the film's anti-empowerment message.

South Carolina County to Eliminate Single-Sex Classrooms in Public Schools

A South Carolina county school board has narrowly voted to end a gender-specific education experiment in a public middle school -- but supporters of the program argue that the decision is an unwise move that denies students the opportunity to benefit from the advantages of single-sex education.

John Sweeney, editor of scnow.com, provided the following details in an Aug. 7 article:

Williamsburg County District School Board voted to discontinue the single gender education program currently in place at Kingstree Middle with a vote of three for, two opposed and one abstention.

Those who opposed the program said sufficient evidence did not exist to justify the method of education’s continuance. Others speaking in favor of single gender pointed out that the program was working and if given more time, additional statistics would support that claim.

The philosophy behind the technique is that students are able to focus more intently on lessons when members of the opposite sex are not around. According to some statistic presented, a female’s brain capacity is further developed than a males earlier on in life. Therefore, the males learn at different rates than females and should be put in settings conducive to that end.

Bishop Desmond Tutu Calls for Increased Efforts to Educate Girls

On Aug. 12, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was one of 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the United States government can bestow upon a civilian.

In conjunction with Tutu's presence in Washington, D.C., to receive the award, the Washington Times published an article in which, among other topics, the renowned bishop called for increased support for the effort to educate girls -- an effort that he said was necessary for both economic and humanitarian purposes:

A recent study looked at what it cost 65 countries around the world that were failing to educate their girls to the same level as their boys. What they found is that those countries consequently lose $92 billion every year for this mistake.

While the rest of the world is combating the economic crisis by investing in goods and services, one of the most pragmatic economic stimuli for the continent of Africa, and indeed for the rest of the world, is to invest in the education of our youth -- especially our girls. A small investment now will yield huge dividends in the future. ...

Education has also been called a "social vaccine" for preventing HIV/AIDS. Not only do children, particularly girls, learn how to protect themselves, but they are also less likely to be forced into prostitution to provide for their families if they are in school, and able to earn a living wage as a result of their education.

Finance Expert Says 'Princess Syndrome' Threatens Girls' Independence

In an article that appeared in the Aug. 9 edition of The Washington Post, Janet Bodnar of Kiplinger's Personal Finance argued that the "princess syndrome" threatens the independence of girls who are inadequately educated about financial matters:

The princess syndrome starts early, with lines of clothes for toddler girls emblazoned with the word "princess." One friend watched in horror as her 5-year-old had an in-store meltdown because she wanted a Snow White outfit.

As girls get older, they assume that there will be a prince who will pay the bills. A recent study by Capital One found that among graduating high school seniors, two-thirds of the male students rated themselves "highly" or "very" knowledgeable about personal finance. That compares with slightly less than half of the female students.

The news about girls and finance isn't all bad, Bodnar reports: "A recent study by Women & Co. ... found that among affluent women, 94 percent discuss financial topics with their daughters, and that mothers and daughters talk about finances more often than sex, drugs or politics."

Study Associates Childhood Abuse with Early Sexual Activity

According to an Aug. 10 MedPage Today article, researchers with University of Maryland School of Medicine have determined that children who experience physical or emotional abuse are more likely to engage in early sexual activity than are non-abused peers -- with girls appearing to be more strongly affected by the abuse:

At 14 years of age, adolescents with a history of maltreatment other than sexual abuse were 2.15 times more likely to report having had sexual intercourse than teens with no maltreatment history ...

Both boys and girls were more likely to have sex by age 14 if they were sexually abused, but girls reported more emotional distress as a result of sexual abuse. Girls were also more likely than boys to have early sex if they were physically abused.

"This study confirms our first hypothesis that child maltreatment, defined as sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect, before the age of 12 years predicts adolescent sexual intercourse at 14 years, when sexual intercourse is less common (21 percent), and at 16 years, when sexual intercourse is more common (51 percent)," the authors wrote in their report, which was published on the website of the journal Pediatrics.

Experts Concerned About Teens' Willingness to Bare All Online

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have made it much easier for teens to communicate and keep in touch with each other, but concerns have arisen about the degree to which these sites facilitate (and record) words and behaviors that young people may later regret.

San Francisco Chronicle writer Jill Tucker took a closer look at this potential problem in an Aug. 10 article:

From behind their bedroom doors, more than one out of every 10 teenagers has posted a nude or seminude picture of themselves or others online -- a "digital tattoo" that could haunt them for the rest of their lives, according to a poll being released today. ...

"We've got to stop kidding ourselves about this," said James Steyer, chief economic officer and founder of San Francisco-based Common Sense Media, which commissioned the study. "There are enormous consequences from inappropriate behavior online." ...

It's a "playground with no parental supervision," said Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, George Adkins Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington, who found in a study released earlier this year that 54 percent of teens demonstrate risky behavior online.

British Study Finds Young Girls Outdo Boys in Several Key Academic Areas

A survey of about 230,000 British five-year-olds has revealed significant discrepancies is the early development of boys and girls. According a July 30 article by Daily Telegraph Home Affairs Editor Tom Whitehead, the researchers discovered that girls outdo boys in a number of basic tasks:

Three in 10 boys have trouble reciting the alphabet, while nearly one in five cannot count to 10, compared with only 23 per cent and 15 per cent respectively among girls.

While three in four girls (74 percent ) could write a simple shopping list, or a letter to Santa, only half of boys (54 percent) could do so at the same age.

The results, which were released for the first time today, also showed almost eight in 10 girls could hold a pencil by the age of five, compared to about six in 10 boys.

The research, which was conducted under the guidance of Britain's Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), was designed to measure the progress of students who participated in Early Years Foundation Stage education.

The data in this study were collected before September 2008, when enrollment in EYFS became compulsory, the Daily Telegraph reported..

Mom Warns Others After Daughter's Dangerous Internet Experience

It's among every parent's worst nightmares: Your teenage daughter disappears after developing, online, a relationship with a much older man. Linda Squires experienced this nightmare firsthand, and now she's warning other parents about the dangers of the Internet.

According to an Aug. 4 article in England's Daily Mail newspaper, 14-year-old Claire Squires had recently returned home after disappearing for seven days with a 23-year-old man that she had met online. When they first struck up their online friendship, the man claimed to be a girl who was the same age as Claire:

The pair were finally spotted on a Norfolk beach miles from her home and she was escorted back by police officers at 4 a.m. [Aug 3] ...

"Claire is a beautiful young girl with an attractive slim figure and she has been putting pictures of herself online. It's worrying." [Linda Squires said]. "I don't want to suffocate her but I am going to monitor what is going on."

Worried about your teen daughter's ability to make good decisions and avoid engaging in dangerous behaviors such as this? Check out the Copper Canyon website to learn more about how a private boarding school for girls can help your daughter develop the self-esteem and sense of responsibility that will decrease her likelihood of putting herself at risk.

British Politician Proposes Ban on Altered Images in Ads Directed at Teens

According to an Aug. 3 article by the United Kingdom's Press Association, a movement is underway in Great Britain to ban the use of airbrushing and other forms of photographic manipulation in advertisements that are designed for young consumers.

The effort, proponents say, is intended to help offset body-image problems that some believe are the result of unrealistic beauty standards established by manipulated photographs.

"We need to achieve a change in the media and in the way women are pressured to conform to a narrow image of beauty -- it's a lofty ambition but it's important to make a start." Member of Parliament Jo Swinson said in the Press Association article. "It's part of our culture now but it's a very damaging culture. It's not even as though these airbrushed images are attainable -- it's not how they look."

Swinson's proposal is slated to be discussed in further during a Liberal Democrats' conference in September.

Summer Program Designed to Spark Girls' Interest in Math, Science

For the past decade, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has partnered with Stanford University to create a summer program designed to increase girls' interest in math and science.

According to a July 21 article by Shannon Burkey of the Saratoga News, the "Tech Trek" program bring students to southern California for a week that is filled with academics and inspiration:

During the weeklong overnight camp, the girls will attend classes and labs in math and various categories of science, including computer robotics, DNA extraction and veterinary science, take field trips and meet women in math- and science-related fields.

In addition to the broad range of classes the girls take, they also have the chance to pick a main interest such as marine biology, solar energy or space science and focus on that during the week. Each of the disciplines is taught by high school and middle school math and science teachers or professional women in those fields.

"The most crucial time is in the middle school years," Nancy Hobbs, a member of the Los Gatos-Saratoga branch of the American Association of University Women, told the Saratoga News. "That is the time when they start to think math and science is not girly and they want to do something else."

Commentary: Engineering Industry Must Increase Efforts to Attract Female Students

Writing in the July/August edition of E: The Environmental Magazine, editorial intern Julie Karceski argued that the industry needs to follow the lead of programs that are designed to attract female students:

The fraction of engineering degrees that go to women hovers around 20% and has not changed significantly in the past decade. ... This gender gap is hampering technological advances in environmentalism. ...

To appeal to young women, the focal points need to be shifted to the people-side of engineering: working in teams, solving problems in a community, helping people connect through better technology.

Additionally, programs such as Engineers Without Borders, which improves the quality of life in third-world countries, can draw in those women who are led by their ideals, and a desire to impact the lives of those in need.

"Young women need to understand that engineering is not just about motors, circuits and fancy calculators," Karceski wrote. "It’s a profession that’s directly responsible for creating cleaner waterways, greener homes and a safer food supply. Bringing more women into the fold moves our communities and our environment in the right direction."

Congress Explores Gender Inequities in Math, Science, Technology Education

According to a July 22 press release from the House Science and Technology Committee, the organization's Research and Science Education Subcommittee recently held hearings on ways to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among female students in primary and secondary schools:

According to a recent assessment by the National Association of Educational Progress, there is a small but persistent gap in performance within STEM education between boys and girls in primary and secondary schools -- less than one percent for math and less than three percent for science.

Many researchers believe that issues such as self-confidence and perceived expectations negatively affect the achievement of girls on standardized tests.

"We need to make sure that we have the scientific and technical workforce we need if we are to remain a leader in the global economy," said Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), "and it is not possible to do this without developing and encouraging all the talent in our nation."

Many Teen Girls Experience Sexual Harrassment at Work

Does your daughter have a part-time or summer job? If so, you should talk to her about sexual harassment and safety issues.

A study from the University of Southern Maine found that 46 percent of teenage girls had been sexually harassed at work, and 3 percent were raped. Lawyers from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who report an increase in the number of sexual harassment cases all over the country, are responding with educational programs to protect young women in particular.

Dr. Christie Nicholson, an expert on adolescent sexual trauma, said predators often target polite, obedient, well-behaved girls. "These are the ones who say, 'Please, can I do anything for you?'" she said. "Men know they can manipulate these girls because they are likely to respond with silence."

Indiana University law professor Jennifer Drobac agreed.

"They're used to doing what mom and dad say, what their teachers say, and what their coaches say," she said. "Yet the legal system expects these girls to confront their workplace authority figure and say, 'That's completely inappropriate conduct on your part.'"

Boys are less likely than girls to face sexual harassment at work, but they are not immune from the problem.

Peer Judgment Affects Girls More as They Age

A study by Dr. Amanda E. Guyer of the National Institute of Mental Health has revealed that the influence of peer pressure on girls becomes more intense as the girls age.

A July 15 Reuters Health article provided the following details:

In her research at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Guyer used a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at oxygen consumption within specific regions of the brain, with the goal of finding out how teens' brain activity corresponds to the dramatic changes that are happening in their social behavior. ...

Among the girls, the researchers found, the difference in activation of emotion-related brain areas between when they thought about a "high-interest" peer evaluating them and when they thought about a "low-interest" peer doing so increased as a girl got older.

While a younger girl's "socioeconomic calculus" might be directed toward avoiding low-interest peers, the researchers suggest, older girls may focus more on approaching high-interest peers.

Guyler's study involved 34 boys and girls ages nine to 17. The brains of the boys who were studied did not appear to be affected by age in the manner that the girls' brains were.

CDC Releases New Teen Sex Statistics

Data release by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate troubling trends in teen sexual activity and sex education. According to a July 16 Reuters article, the CDC evaluated hundreds of studies involving subjects ages 10 to 25 to make the following determinations:

• Among 18 and 19-year-olds, 49.8 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys had talked with a parent about methods of birth control.
• Thirty percent of girls aged 15 to 17 reported they had engaged in sex; this rose to 70.6 of girls aged 18 to 19.
• Nearly 10 percent of young women aged 18 to 24 said their first intercourse was involuntary.
• Among boys aged 15 to 19, cases of HIV infection rose from 1.3 cases per 100,000 in 1997 to 2.5 cases in 2006.
• After having decreased dramatically between 1997 and 2005, syphilis rates for females aged 15 to 19 rose from 1.5 cases per 100,000 in 2004 to 2.2 cases per 100,000 in 2006

On a somewhat positive note, the CDC discovered that more than eight out of 10 survey respondent said they had received formal instruction on how to say no to sex. Also, almost 70 percent of teen girls and 66 percent of boys had received instruction on methods of birth control.

Punishments, Peer Pressure Impact Girls' Clothing Decisions

A study from Brock University in Canada found that peer group pressure keeps girls from dressing too sexy.

Dr. Rebecca Raby conducted focus group interviews with girls ages 13 to 21 years old.

• The girls told Dr. Raby that they were afraid to dress too provocatively because they would be called names like "slut," "whore," or "skank."
• They also said that school dress codes were unfairly enforced.
• For example, girls with larger breasts were more likely to face consequences if they dressed in a provocative way.
• School authorities were more likely to reprimand girls with alternative fashion styles than the "cheerleader" types.

"Girls still have to negotiate a really difficult place, and that's that they are expected to look attractive and they are expected to wear popular fashions, and yet if they err just a little bit one way or another -- just a little bit too much cleavage or too much skin in one place or another -- then they risk being called a slut," Dr. Raby said.

Arizona Counselors Use Equine Therapy to Help Veterans Overcome Combat Trauma

A June 21 Associated Press article reports that therapists in Arizona are incorporating horses into therapeutic efforts to assist war veterans who are suffering from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other forms of combat-related trauma:

"When I first heard about it, I thought, 'Are they kidding?' " said Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Richard Quinn, who returned from Iraq in 2007 with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But after a recent weekend spent communing with Kairos, a hulking black draft horse, Quinn is a believer in the power of equine-assisted psychotherapy.

Almost immediately, he said, "I started feeling more relaxed and at ease" -- a boon because Quinn, who served as a convoy commander overseas, has had few peaceful moments postwar. "My wife says I cry in my sleep," said Quinn, 48, of Bisbee, whose convoys were hit twice by roadside bombs.

The AP article notes that horses and other animals have been used to help individuals who are struggling with a variety of physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

A study that was conducted at Copper Canyon Academy has documented the many benefits of equine therapy for girls.

Pregnancy Prevention Program Pays Girls to Not Get Pregnant

A pregnancy prevention program in North Carolina is taking an innovative -- and controversial -- approach toward motivating young girls (ages 12 to 18) not to get pregnant.

According to a June 25 article by Joshua Rhett Miller of FOX News, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's College Bound Sisters program pays participants a dollar a day for not getting pregnant:

Girls in the program attend 90-minute meetings every week at which they receive lessons in abstinence and the use of contraceptives — and they receive $7 every week they do not get pregnant. The money is deposited into a fund that's collectible when they enroll in college. ...

To participate, girls must have never been pregnant, be enrolled in school, have a desire to attend college and have had a sister who gave birth before age 18. ...

But not everyone thinks paying kids to stay childless is the right way to lower the teen pregnancy rate. They say the program sends mixed messages, specifically to parents, that incentivizing good behavior is the way to go.

"It makes me a bit uneasy," said Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "I do have mixed feelings. It's hard to pay people to do something that we think they should be doing regardless. It would be like if you didn't want young people to experiment with marijuana, you'd pay them not to do it."

Dr. Hazel Brown, one of the program's co-directors, told Miller that only six of the 125 girls who have been enrolled in the program for six months or longer have gotten pregnant. College Bound Sisters has been in operation since 1997.

College Student Benefits from Service with Troubled Teen Girls

Two years after a tutoring program matched her with a resident of a home for at-risk girls, Penn State University student Eliza Zimmerer continues to return to Stormbreak, a home that is run by the Centre County (Pa.) Youth Service Bureau.

According to a July 7 Centre Daily Times article by Gail Franklin, the Stormbreak residents aren't the only ones who have benefitted from Zimmerer's volunteer service:

[Zimmerer] has made it a point to be as consistent as possible, to listen to the girls, helping when she can and knowing when she can't. Stormbreak serves girls in transition, and includes a therapeutic component.

"Being a teenage girl, it's a really powerful time in your life. So much is going on, especially with school," Zimmerer said. "Even though I was from a well-to-do family with supportive parents, I struggled with the normal teenage things."

Zimmerer, who said that she plans to become a teacher, told the Daily Times that her service at Stormbreak has taught her "more than any class or textbook."

Films Encourage Teens to Try Tobacco

It does not matter if a movie character is a "good guy" or a "bad guy" -- either one can persuade teenagers to start smoking, according to a new study from Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth College.

Dr. Susanne Tanski and her colleagues found that some teenagers are actually more influenced by "bad guy" movie smokers.

"It is true that bad guys are more often smokers in the movies, but there really are not that many bad guys compared to good guys," Dr. Tanski wrote in the journal Pediatrics, which published her study. "Episode for episode, youths who saw negative characters smoking were more likely to start smoking, but since overall there is so much more exposure to good guy smokers, the net effect is similar."

Dr. Tanski suggested that parents limit the number of movies their children watch, and that they restrict their child's viewing of R-rated movies, which feature more smokers.

Smoking among teen girls is on the rise -- and has surpassed the prevalence of tobacco use by teen boys. Many experts believe that rising rates of smoking are associated with increases in alcohol and drug abuse by teen girls.

Dads Play Important Role in Helping Daughters Develop Healthy Self-Esteem

More and more parents are worried about the impact our culture is making on young girls' self-esteem, and much has been written about the positive impact that moms can have on their daughters. Dads, however, may not realize that they can make a strong, positive impact as well.

That might be because dads don't see themselves as that important to their daughters, writes father-daughter relationship expert Linda Nielsen ...

However ... research has found that daughters who have healthy relationships with their dads tend to be more self-reliant, self-confident and successful, and less likely to develop eating disorders. (Source: PsychCentral)

Dads are uniquely positioned to address bad and inaccurate messages in the media with their daughters, help their daughters analyze and understand marketing strategies, and sift through the misinformation about beauty and self-confidence -- all of which can go a long way toward helping girls develop healthy self-esteem.

Boston Group Uses Equine Therapy to Help Girls Overcome Emotional Challenges

Copper Canyon Academy has long recognized the many benefits of equine therapy for girls.

According to a June 14 article by Jesse Bunchan of the Record-Journal newspaper, a non-profit group in the Boston area has also found success incorporating horses into therapeutic programs for girls who are struggling with a number of emotional challenges:

Soul Friends [is] a non-profit company begun in 2003 that provides animal-assisted therapy to children with depression, grief, trauma and emotional disorders.

Soul Friends founder and president Kate Nicoll said the six-week Horses Inspire program has been run twice before, and last month received a $3,000 grant from the Meriden-based James H. Napier Foundation.

Nicoll, a social worker, said she doesn't "use" animals in her therapy. "I prefer 'partner,'" she said. "It has to be a partnership." ...

Animal-assisted therapy can act as a link between the child and her therapist. Children who have attachment issues can build a relationship with the animal to rebuild confidence, according to Nicoll.

"Animal-assisted therapy is very effective when talk therapy hasn't worked or when talk therapy is too threatening," Nicoll told the Record-Journal. "It's not just sitting in the office and talking ... you can talk, talk, talk and sometimes not change your behavior."

Student Says Her Boarding School Promotes Unhealthy Attitudes Toward Women

In a June 16 post on the Feministing blog, registered community member CassidyF (who identified herself as a student at a coed private boarding school for students in grades nine to 12) expressed her frustration at being treated like a second-class citizen because she is female:

Boarding schools have rebranded themselves in the past few decades as diverse, inclusive, egalitarian institutions. And this is, to a large extent, true. ...

Last year, my school celebrated its 25th year of coeducation (it is nearly 200 years old), touting the achievements of its female students, both past and present. Indeed, it is girls and not boys who dominate on campus. For example, the prize awarded to the dorm with the highest GPA has gone to a girls' dorm every year since 1991.

Yet female students have been largely failed by the institution that benefits so much from their personal success. Just look at our recent Senior School Meeting. It was boys who directed it, boys who starred in it, and boys who left feeling good about it. I can't speak for every girl in the audience that, but I for one (plus my friend, two) could not feel good about it at all.

"I don't think I've ever been in a room so testosterone-filled in my entire life," I said later to my friend.

Not every boarding school experience is this frustrating for female students, of course. For example, a number of highly respected and effective boarding schools for girls have helped female students to achieve academic success while boosting their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth.

Author Warns Against Promoting Excessive Aggressiveness in Female Students

In a June 24 article on The Huffington Post, author Rachel Simmons argues that boarding schools that teach girls to stand up for themselves need to be careful that their confidence-boosting efforts don't cross the line into encouraging aggression or unacceptable levels of competitiveness:

Teaching girls to be tough can be accomplished in more humane ways, and certainly not at the expense of hurting or beating someone else. Resilience is not about being better than or stronger than; it is something found within the self in response to the daily stresses of life -- not stresses that are artificially designed.

Sports fields and classrooms are training grounds for how girls will take on the world as young women. Aggression in the workplace and a willingness to win at any cost become the very behaviors that limit female potential.

Simmons, who is the author of the New York Times bestseller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, is an expert on empowering girls and combating bullying.

Young Adult Novel Features Positive Message for Weight-Conscious Girls

The protagonist of the new young adult novel "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies," is an overweight 13-year-old girls who is desperate to lose weight in order to avoid winning the Miss HuskyPeach modeling competition for plus-sized girls.

The novel's author, Erin Dionne, told Cate Lecuyer of The Salem News that although she didn't set out to write a book about weight and body issues, she made sure the character she created has a positive message for young readers:

Girls today are so bombarded by the media and images of beauty. You never see anything less than perfection. It was very important to me that Celeste didn't lose a lot of weight. She's not skinny at the end. In no way did I want to send the message that thin equals happier. ...

Instead of eating her Oreos, she has an apple for a snack. At one point, she does try a diet drink and throws up all over the gym teacher's shoes and says never again will I take the easy way out.

In her June 23 article, Lecuyer reported that Dionne's novel has been chosen to be a featured title by Scholastic Book Fairs, and has also been nominated for the American Library Association's 2010 Popular Paperbacks List.

Psychiatrist Advises Parents to Help Prepare Teens for Challenges of Dating

Among the many nerve-wracking experiences of parenting a child is the moment when you realize that your teenager is (or soon will be) dating. However, according to an article by psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz on the MSNBC website, teen dating doesn't have to be a disastrous experience for young people or their parents.

One of the most important factors, Dr. Saltz wrote, is that parents take an active role in guiding and advising their teenage children:

Teen dating can be a wonderful and fun time where self confidence is built up, and dating techniques are learned. Teens also learn how to be both assertive and compromising, how to be giving to another and how to expect the same in return. All of this is a sort of practice session in order to find Mr. or Miss Right.

Unfortunately, too often teens start dating with no preparatory talks from their parents and then they can get into trouble. According to Planned Parenthood, about 10 percent of teenage girls in the U.S. become pregnant before age 20. And the U.S. Attorney General reports that 38 percent of date rape victims are girls between the age of 14 and 17.

"Talk to your children," Dr. Saltz advises parents of teens who are of dating age. "Teach them how to date, how to have respect for one another and how to protect themselves from emotional and physical hurt."

Several studies have shown that teens who have positive relationships with their parents, and who have developed healthy levels of self-esteem, are better prepared to deal with the many challenges of the teen years and beyond.

If you have been less-than-successful in communicating with your teen, don't give up. It's not too late to re-establish healthy parent-teen communication, and help your child pursue the brightest possible future.

Close Monitoring may Help Troubled Girls Avoid Pregnancy

A team a researchers who were evaluating foster care programs for troubled teen girls has discovered that specialized foster care programs that closely monitor teen girls' activities appear to help keep these girl from getting pregnant. A June 17 Health Day News article provided the following details:

Researchers directed 166 girls aged 13 to 17 who were ordered by the courts to receive treatment for criminal behavior to either specialized foster care or a group-care facility.

The specialized programs, called Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC), were developed in the 1980s to provide severely delinquent youths one-on-one care and supervision from foster parents trained in behavior management.

Techniques include awarding points for positive behavior (completing chores, attending school regularly) and losing points for negative behaviors, such as not completing homework, according to the non-profit Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy.

After two years in the specialized program, just 26 percent of the girls had unwanted pregnancies, compared with 47 percent of teen girls who lived in group homes. While it costs about $7,000 more to care for a teen in the specialized programs, studies have found that the reduction in criminal activity saves taxpayers about $78,000 per teen.

This study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

FDA Issues New Warning for Gardasil

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new warning about the potential of the HPV vaccine Gardasil to cause fainting immediately following injections. Jennifer Corbett Dooren reported on the new warning in a June 10 article on the Wall Street Journal website:

In a posting aimed at health-care professionals posted on the agency's Web site, the FDA said all vaccine recipients should remain seated or lying down and be closely observed for 15 minutes following vaccination, "to prevent falls and injuries." ...

The FDA said that since October 2007 a discussion about fainting has been in Gardasil's labeling for both the health-care provider and the patient. However, warnings about fainting have been strengthened and moved to a more prominent place on the drug label and on information that is supposed to be given to patients before they are vaccinated.

Gardasil was approved for use in the United States in 2006, and experts recommend that girls aged 11 and 12 receive a series of three doses in order to be protected from four HPV strains that cause the majority of cervical cancer cases.

Groups Promote Sports Opportunities for Urban Girls

According to a June 14 New York Times article by Katie Thomas, advocacy organizations and sports groups throughout the United States are undertaking innovative efforts to encourage sports participation among young girls who live in urban areas:

A study published by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2002 reported that girls accounted for 49 percent of Boston’s young people but made up only 33 percent of participants in after-school sports programs. The results surprised the leaders of the youth sports community, and led to the creation of the Boston Girls’ Sports and Physical Activity Project, financed by a local foundation, to evaluate opportunities for girls in the city’s sports programs. ...

Several other groups around the country are increasingly singling out urban girls. In 2000, the Women’s Sports Foundation, an advocacy group that had traditionally focused on policy issues and college athletics, created an initiative that provides grants to groups serving girls and offers a free, girl-centered curriculum to community organizations. The program, GoGirlGo!, has regional offices in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and San Antonio. ...

At some Boys & Girls Clubs ... organizers set up girls-only play times and papered over the windows in the gym door to keep boys from looking in. In New York City, education officials have widened the options available to girls. In the elementary and middle schools, the Office of Fitness and Health Education has begun to offer girl-friendly activities like fitness clubs and yoga classes. High schools have added varsity girls teams in activities like golf, lacrosse and double Dutch.

According to the Women's Sports Foundation, sports participation has been associated with improvements in girls' health, self-esteem, academic performance, and psychological well-being.

Government Website Helps Parents, Girls, Prepare for Teen Years

Most parents would agree that the teenage years come with unique emotional challenges for girls. While the pressure for both boys and girls is high, some of the issues are gender-specific.

To help parents and girls prepare for the challenges of the teen years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created www.girlshealth.gov, a website that the Honolulu Advertiser has described in the following terms:

Full of fitness and nutrition tips for growing girls, [the website] also offers plenty of ideas to boost self-esteem, learning how to handle stress, and dealing with illness or disability.

While the DHHS website may not answer every question a parent (or teenager) will have, the site is designed to get important conversations started, and help keep the lines of communication open between daughters and parents.

Finnish Researchers Say Female Students at Increased Risk of School Burnout

After evaluating 1,800 young people, a Finnish research team concluded that female students are at increased risk for experiencing school burnout.

A May 14 article on the medical news website ScienceDaily indicates that the burnout problem is both prevalent and potentially damaging to the likelihood that female students will continue their education:

Success-oriented female upper secondary school pupils are at the greatest risk: up to 20 percent of them suffer from school burnout.

"These girls are high achievers but they also develop burnout. They tend to develop feelings of inadequacy, in particular, in upper secondary school. By contrast, boys who enter upper secondary school tend to develop more of a cynical, negative stance towards school," says Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro of the University of Jyväskylä, who is in charge of the research. ...

According to Salmela-Aro, school burnout in upper secondary school tends to complicate the transition to further studies, while an enthusiasm for school tends to predict a successful transition to the next education level.

The ScienceDaily described school burnout as "a chronic school-related stress syndrome which manifests as exhaustion, cynicism about school and feelings of inadequacy," and noted that it has been associated with other serious problems, including teen depression.

Study Says Single-Sex Schools Increase Girls' Willingness to Compete

German researchers have determined that girls who attend single-sex schools are more willing to compete against both boys and other girls than are girls who are enrolled in co-educational schools. A June 8 article on the Australian news website The Age described the behavior differences between single-sex students and those from co-ed schools as "stark," and noted that students at girls-only schools may be better prepared for future career challenges:

"Our major finding is that single-sex schooling can affect economically important preferences," say the study's authors, economists Professor Alison Booth, of the Australian National University, and Dr Patrick Nolen, of Essex University, in a paper published by the Institute for the Study of Labor, an international research centre in Germany.

"A single-sex environment makes girls more competitive than girls at co-ed schools ... the benefit of single-sex education -- in terms of increasing competitive behavior -- is being realized primarily by females."

Prof. Booth said that the relative lack of competitiveness among female students from co-ed schools could be the result of pressure on girls in mixed-gender schools to conform to more stereotypical expectations of feminine behavior.