Staying Connected: A Guide for Parents on Raising an Adolescent Daughter

Violence

Verbal aggression such as bullying, teasing, shunning, and backbiting is increasing among girls. Overt violence remains mainly a male thing, but an adolescent girl might accept violent behavior because of low self-esteem or because she believes she deserves it. If she has been a victim of violence herself or observed it at home, she may think that getting beaten up is a way of life.

Another kind of violence aimed at women is date rape. Again, young girls exposed early to abuse are especially at risk, as are those with low self-esteem and poor communication skills. An overpossessive or controlling boyfriend are signs that often precede physical abuse.

Compounding these factors are alcohol or drugs, including Rohypnol, or “roofies,” tablets that, when slipped into a girl’s drink, render her unconscious or semiconscious and susceptible to attack. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that adolescents have the nation’s highest rate of rape, with one in five high school girls sexually abused by her date in 1999.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest government data suggest that a disturbing number of adolescent boys “have adopted attitudes that men are entitled to their girlfriends through violence.”

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