In Session with “Mean Girls”

December 3, 2020

On Thursdays, we wear pink and listen to Freudian Scripts. That’s right. This week, Dr. Sam and Fran are reenrolling at North Shore High School to meet up with Cady Heron, Regina George and the rest of the Plastics. This is going to be so fetch!

We’re not “pushers” like Ms. Norbury, but we’d highly encourage you to listen to this episode if you’re interested in learning about adolescent relationships and friendships, cliques and bullying as well as body image. At the very least, we promise you’ll learn way more than in one of Coach Carr’s health classes.

Find out what impact being “popular” has on teens, the best way to address bullying in schools and whether a school-wide trust fall exercise is really recommended. Hint: we’re putting it in our own Burn Book.

How much will you enjoy this week’s episode? The limit does not exist.

Glossary of Terms

Adolescent development – biological, cognitive, and social changes occurring during the transition from childhood to adulthood

Peer crowd affiliation – the groups of other adolescents that one is involved with; key aspect of adolescents’ peer culture

Clique – a group of 2 to 12 people who interact with each other more regularly than others in the same setting and often have common interests, views, or purposes

Bullying – unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by others that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated

Relational aggression – intent to hurt, harm or injure another person using the relationship or the threat of removing the relationship as the means of harm (think: “you can’t sit with us!”)

School climate – reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures of the school, students, parents, and staff

References

Read more about adolescent development in this article

Dr. Sam shared some interesting research on the impacts of peer crowd affiliations on mental health and behaviors–learn more here

Ever wanted to hear more about the science behind cliques? Here’s your chance!

Dr. Fran discussed different types of aggressive behavior, with a focus on how relational aggression is portrayed in Mean Girls–read more here

The anti-bullying efforts portrayed in Mean Girls were not the most effective… see what psychologists really recommend for addressing this issue in schools

Unfortunately, body image continues to be a major concern among adolescents. Check out these two articles for more research and statistics on this important topic.