Are Girls More Difficult to Work With? Youth Workers' Perspectives in Juvenile Justice and Related Areas

Abstract

This research explored the frequently heard, but virtually unexamined, comment in juvenile justice practice that “girls are more difficult to work with.” The qualitative methodology entailed interviews with youth workers in juvenile justice and related programs in Victoria, Australia. Virtually all interviewees concurred with the judgment. Explanations were in terms of perceived differences in the complexity of the problems involved and in the behavior of young men and women. The relatively small number of young women affected both the extent of workers' experiences with and the range of services available to young women. The degree to which workers' assessments reflected gendered assumptions, or actual differences in behavior, could not be determined by this research. Nevertheless, the extent and intensity of this understanding revealed in this research indicates the need for further research so that its potential ramifications can be identified and addressed in juvenile justice policy developments.

Do We Know Which Interventions are Effective for Disruptive and Delinquent Girls?

“…These accounts frequently comment on the difficulties of working with girls with disruptive and delinquent behavior (Baines and Alder, 1996;Belknap et al, 1997;Kersten, 1990). For example, Baines and Alder (1996) noted that staff in correctional institutions tended to view girls as having more complex problems, more difficulties in forming trusting relationships, and as being more verbally abusive than juvenile male offenders. Other investigators have reported that girls are more emotionally expressive than boys in treatment settings and that this can be difficult for some youth practitioners to manage (Alder and Hunter, 1999;Chesney-Lind and Frietas, 1999).…”

“Sugar and Spice But Not Always Nice”: Gender Socialization and its Impact on Development and Maintenance of Aggression in Adolescent Girls

“…The verbal altercations that have long been a part of girlsÕ fighting can accelerate into physical incidents of aggression (Baines & Adler, 1996;Talbott et al, 2002). When reactions to slights and rejections are extreme, feelings of shame may accompany the incident and result in physical forms of fighting in an effort to save face amongst peers (Hardy, 1998;Purdie & Downey, 2000).…”

“…Girls have historically used verbal rather than physical means of expressing their anger and asserting power and control over others (Bjorkvist, 1994;Crick & Grotpeter, 1995). Research now suggests, however, that the highly personal, hostile verbal expression of aggression, so characteristic of girls, may additionally lead to increased provocation and ultimately physical altercations (Baines & Adler, 1996;Talbott et al, 2002).…”

Examining Sex Differences in the Use of Direct and Indirect Aggression

“…Social outrage and alarm at perceived female gender transgressions have been in evidence since the early 1990s, after females' use of violence became more widely documented. Since that time, girls who use aggression and violence have been variously described as "a contemporary crisis" (Alder & Worrall, 2004, p. 1), much harder than to deal with than boys who use violence (Artz, Blais & Nicholson, 2000;Baines & Alder, 1996), devoid of the feminine and therefore demonic (ChesneyLind, 1999;Chesney-Lind & Irwin, 2004), mean, manipulative and far more deviant than boys (Simmons, 2002;Tannenbaum, 1999), and generally so much worse. deviates from a group's prescribed sex roles or ways of doing gender, is ultimately less of a concern than male behavior that deviates from a group's prescribed sex roles ways of doing gender.…”