According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Georgia, middle and high school age boys are actually meaner to others than girls of the same age.
According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Georgia, middle and high school age boys are actually meaner to others than girls of the same age.
The researchers based their findings on seven years worth of annual surveys from 620 subjects starting in sixth grade and continuing through their senior year in high school.
Boys reported being more aggressive, while girls who participated in the survey said they were more often victims of mean behavior.
Results of the study found that more than 90 percent of subjects had experienced relational aggression from other students, and 96 percent said that they had passed on a rumor or insulted someone at their school.
Pamela Orpinas, a professor of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia is quoted as saying: “In the end, I think we need to ask how we can focus on increasing the positive interactions among kids rather than the negative ones, because the kids that students admire are often the ones who are fun and positive about others.”
Exhibiting mean behavior, or being the victim of relational aggression is also often related to feelings of depression and anxiety.
