Posted on 05/19/2006 8:31:27 AM PDT by presidio9
Teenage girls are now more likely than boys to drink, smoke, steal and take drugs, a survey has shown.
In a disturbing confirmation of the spread of the 'ladette' culture, it found violence, aggression and self-destructive behaviour has spread alarmingly among girls over the past 20 years.
Are girls really more troublesome than boys? Tell us in the reader comments below
While boys appear less likely to be drawn towards crime or drugs than they were, psychological and social problems are stacking up among teenage girls, who are now expected to compete on equal terms with boys for educational opportunity and jobs.
The study of 14 and 15-year-olds was conducted by questionnaire, in schools under exam conditions, and the results compared with a similar one from 1985.
Professor Colin Pritchard, who led the research, said: 'Girls now significantly smoke and binge-drink more than boys. They truant, steal and fight at similar rates, and start under-age sex earlier than boys.'
He said binge-drinking, which was admitted by nearly a third of girls in their early teenage years, drove other anti-social behaviour such as stealing, fighting, taking drugs and engaging in risky sex.
'There is an element of following role models set by the media,' he said 'We can look back to the Spice Girls where girls were set an example in which aggressive behaviour was considered praiseworthy.
'It is also the case that girls are expected to behave differently today than they were in the past, and that has affected the of boys too.'
The study comparison found that the number of boys admitting to smoking has nearly halved to just over a quarter, while the number of girls who smoke has risen to nearly half. The number of girls who admit having smoked cannabis has gone up nearly fourfold, to one in five.
In 1985 around half of all boys and girls drank alcohol on a regular basis. Last year the numbers had shot up to 68 per cent of boys and an astonishing 85 per cent of girls.
Because researchers in the 1980s did not believe binge-drinking could be a problem among young teenagers, they did not include the subject in their questionnaire. But in the contemporary study, 15 per cent of boys and 29 per cent of girls defined themselves as binge-drinkers.
Girls were far more likely than boys to have had sex: 31 per cent against 17.
The research, produced by academics from the Institute of Health and Community Studies at Bournemouth University, suggested there had been improvements in behaviour among boys.
The number who admitted stealing had halved, as had numbers who were regularly in fights. Truanting was also down.
Professor Pritchard said: 'One thing we found among teenagers of all backgrounds was that those who said they liked school were the least likely to binge-drink, take drugs, or otherwise engage in bad behaviour. That is a challenge to schools and parents to make sure pupils are interested.' Martin Plant, professor of addiction studies at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said British teenagers were more likely to binge-drink than those anywhere else in Europe - and the problem was worse among girls.
His wife, and co-author of the book Binge Britain, Moira Plant, said many young women drink because it gives them a sense of power, and teenagers will often see drinking and even hangovers as a 'badge of honour'.
? The relaxation of licensing laws has been criticised by some of Britain's most eminent scientists.
Professor Jonathan Montgomery, an expert in healthcare law, said alcohol was potentially more dangerous than tobacco, yet the Government was making it much more available with 24-hour drinking.
And Sir John Krebs, principal of Jesus College Oxford, attacked the marketing of alcopops specifically for young people. 'The Government has stood by and let that happen, whereas it wouldn't have accepted the alcopop equivalent of cigarettes targeted at children,' he said.
U remember HS, typically, all these girls are having sex with the same boys...thus...the school click of guys that are popular are bedding a lot of girls.
Damn those Chess Club studs!
Easy "good" or easy "bad"? 8^)
HAHAHHAHAAH! I guess the chess club guys were getting all the action.
I was captain of the debate team, which was a very lonely place to be.
Could've been worse, imagine being a Math-lete...
Did someone say "bad girls?" Donna Summer. About 27 years ago? Bueller? Anyone?
Bad girls
Talking about the sad girls
Sad girls
Talking About bad girls, yeah
See them out on the street at night, walkin'
Picking up on all kinds of strangers
If the price is right
You can't score if you're pocket's tight
But you want a good time
You ask yourself who they are
Like everybody else, they come from near and far
Bad girls
Talking about the sad girls
Sad girls
Talking About bad girls, yeah
Friday night and the strip is hot
Sun's gone down and they're out to trot
Spirit's high and legs look hot
Do you wanna get down?
Now don't you ask yourself who they are?
Like everybody else, they wanna be a star
Now you and me we're both the same
But you call yourself by different names
Now your mama won't like it when she finds out
That her girl is out at night
Street talkin', street walkin'
Hey, mister, have you got a dime?
Mister, do you want to spent some time? Oh, yeah
I got what you want, you got what I need
I'll be your baby, come and spend it on me
Sad Girls, you such a dirty bad girl
Beep-Beep uh uh
You bad girl you sad girl
you such a dirty bad girl
Beep-Beep uh uh
I was in a coffee shop on the Upper East Side not too long ago when the debate team of one of NYC's most upscale private schools came in wearing t-shirts that said, "Debaters Do It Orally"
"from what I've seen, in the US it is the boys who are in big trouble and the girls are doing quite well."
I could send you a 17 year old that would change your mind instantly!
BUMP
I dated the drama team girls from other schools I met at tournaments since, as you can imagine, the dudes on the drama teams...weren't, exactly, interested in girls.
I went to HS in the eighties...the girls were bad then. The only thing new now is the girls are a lot better looking.
We have enough troublesome people in the military. It may have been at one time that the military instilled discipline, but now it's more along the lines of a personal choice, to a great extent.
My daughter was just outside the view finder...
Classy.
That's the story of life. Women who want the "Alpha Male", then realize that if they want to get married, the "Alpha Males" are having too much fun to settle down with just one woman.
the dudes on the drama teams...weren't, exactly, interested in girls.
Ah yes, the Bob Fosse strategy. I know it well.
Ever stumbled across a photo-sharing site like webshots.com? Check out the "college parties" category on a site like that. Every other picture shows girls kissing or groping one another. "Lesbian chic" is how I've heard it described.
Well, just think of the upside to that analysis...when you're ten years older.
Being a high school boy once, I can vouch for the validity of that stat.
Only if that stat finishes "with other people." ;)
Teenage girls LOVE older guys (mid 20's)
That is who they are having sex with, not the HS boys.
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