CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE PREPARING EIGHTH GRADE GIRLS in CATHOLIC SCHOOLS for SUCCESS a Graduate Project Submitte

Home , Catholic guilt

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

PREPARING EIGHTH GRADE GIRLS IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FOR SUCCESS

A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of Master of Science in Counseling,

Marriage and Family Therapy

Emma Jaegle

December 2016

The graduate project of Emma Jaegle is approved:

______Kim Appel, LMFT Date

______Mary Kay Munroe, M.A. Date

______Shari Tarver Behring, Ph.D. Date

______Mark Stevens, Ph.D., Chair Date

California State University, Northridge

ii Dedication

To all the girls who have dreams,

May you become women with vision.

iii Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank my amazing mother, Marcella Heslov, for being my biggest support throughout my life. Without you, I would not have pursued my dreams. Here’s to becoming “a woman of independent means.”

Thank you to the entire CSUN EPC department. I have learned more in the last 2 years than I have in my lifetime. Most relevantly, thank you to my committee chair, Mark

Stevens. This project has been quite the journey, and I truly appreciate your patience and guidance.

Thank you to my awesome Monday/Wednesday cohort. I have never experienced such genuine, good people. You bring hope to the world.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank the love of my life, the cheese to my macaroni, my ride-or-die, my biggest fan, my cat, Milo. Especially through grad school, you have been by my side during the overwhelmed days, the long nights of writing, the inconsolable tears from rough days at my field site, the inadequate boyfriends who came and went, the odd jobs at odd hours, the attempts of balancing my social life with my career. You have shown me unconditional love.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

SIGNATURE PAGE ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 2 Importance of the Problem 3 Purpose of the Project 4 Terminology 5 Summary 7

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8 Introduction 8 Catholic Values 8 Catholic Homes 10 Marriage 11 Discipline 11 Abstinence 12 Substance Abuse 12 Developmental Processes 13 Biological 13 Social-Emotional Challenges 15 Developmental Tasks 16 Media’s Role in Peer Pressure, Bullying, and Self-Image 19 Cyberbullying 21 Female Bullying 24 Protective Factors 26 Self-Esteem and Relationship Authenticity 26 Environment 28 Parental Impact 29 Synthesis of Literature Review 33

CHAPTER III: PROJECT AUDIENCE AND IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS 34 Introduction 34 Development of Project 34 Intended Audience 36 Marketing 37 Special Procedures Associated with The Project 37 Personal Qualifications 38

v Environment and Equipment 38 Formative Evaluation 38 Project Outline 39

CHAPTER IV: PROGRAM EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION 42 Evaluator Credentials 42 Summary of Evaluator Feedback 43 Incorporation of Feedback 47 Conclusion 49

REFERENCES 52

APPENDIX A: THE WORKSHOP 57

APPENDIX B: PARENT MEETING MATERIALS 76

APPENDIX C: WORKSHOP MATERIALS 90

APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS FOR PROGRAM EVALUATORS 99

vi Abstract

PREPARING EIGHTH GRADE GIRLS IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FOR SUCCESS

Emma Jaegle

Master of Science in Counseling,

Marriage and Family Therapy

This project develops an informational workshop for parents and three-day workshop for their eighth grade daughters at Catholic schools before embarking on their high school experience. The girls will be educated on changes that occur during their teenage years physically, emotionally, and socially based on the theoretical model, 10

Developmental Tasks of Adolescence (Simpson, 2010). In addition to the challenges of navigating the developmental tasks of adolescence, Catholic-schooled girls may be burdened with additional emotional conflict because of the expectations associated with

Catechism. Catholic education during teenage years means potentially feeling “Catholic guilt” or shame for engaging in what society views as typical teenage behavior to discover one’s identity. The goal of the workshop series is to have the girls walk away with a higher sense of self-esteem as they take on some of the most challenging years of their lives as a Catholic female. There is hope that this project will be put to action under the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

vii

Chapter I: Introduction to the Project

Introduction

“Adolescence is society’s permission slip for combining physical maturity with

psychological irresponsibility.” –Terri Apter

Adolescence can arguably be the hardest years in a woman’s life. The onset of puberty starts a ten-year journey of changes- hormones are pumping, adult bodies are developing not-so-gracefully, more responsibilities are being entrusted, and peer pressure is omnipresent. Self-esteem is bound to decline during this awkward phase, but because of society’s expectations of females, girls actually struggle twice as much as boys do

(Robins, Trezesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, & Potter, 2002). Teenagers naturally have a self- centered mindset because their brains are still developing, which can make them feel like they are going through their experiences alone. A few of the biggest concerns that parents have for their children are peer pressure, bullying, and the possibility of them engaging in unhealthy decisions because of the many dangerous influences their children are exposed to in the world as they start to gain personal independence. The quality of the parent-child relationship is related to children’s self-esteem and susceptibility to peer pressure (Chan

& Chan, 2011). Not all parent groups have the same concerns.

Catholic parents want to make sure that their children are safe and practicing morality when they are not around, which is why the idea of sending their children to

Catholic school is so appealing and popular. Coleman & Others (1982) researched the cognitive outcomes of Catholic schools compared to public schools. In public schools, children are able to choose easy classes, whereas Catholic schools hold the same high expectations for all, promoting success in passing classes and securing college admission.

The study also found that Catholic schools have successful students because they offer more structure and discipline, as well as provide guidance and a community, which promotes cognitive growth (Coleman & Others, 1982). Many parents work hard to afford

Catholic schooling for their children, or have their children apply for scholarships so that they can get the best education possible while being in a protected environment. What one does not reflect on is how protected their children could be from modern reality.

In addition to the challenges of navigating the developmental tasks of adolescence, Catholic-schooled girls may be burdened with additional emotional conflict because of the expectations associated with Catechism. The workshop created from this project aims to prepare 8th grade girls in Catholic schools for their transition to Catholic high school by providing emotional and cognitive tools they need to navigate the next phase of their adolescent development.

Statement of the Problem

There are many outside social-emotional intervention type programs that come to public school campuses and create a sense of cohesion with girls, boost their self-esteem, and create empowerment. Examples of this are: The Girls Empowerment Workshop,

REALgirl, and FearlesslyGiRL. However, Catholic schools do not employ such modern interventions that address the social-emotional needs of their students. Catholic-schooled girls need to address the aspects of being raised Catholic, while undergoing the transition to adulthood, within the context of the challenges that are not typically addressed through their Catholic education. For example: when learning about changes in their bodies, girls are not taught that females can masturbate. Other topics might include: discovering

sexuality, sex or pregnancy before marriage, the commonality of divorce, homosexuality, etc. These girls need to know that though they have expectations to uphold as a Catholic, they also have developmental tasks that they must accomplish to become an adult, which may or may not cause what would be considered “sin.” This workshop will create a sense of normalization among the girls so that they will know that they are not alone in their feelings, and thereby lessen any sense of shame that may occur. In addition to that, this workshop is intended to teach girls how to relate to each other authentically and avoid girl bullying or drama, and interact in the manner prescribed in the Catholic scriptures.

Importance of the Problem

Eighth grade girls in Catholic schools need preparation for what they may be faced with in high school such as relational changes with friends and family, discovering their own identity, gaining more responsibilities, etc. The transition from eighth grade to high school is drastic; they are coming from middle school, usually the same campus where they attended kindergarten, to a new, bigger school as full-fledged teenagers. This could potentially be a fresh start as most Catholic high schools are not attached to middle schools and not all classmates decide to attend the same Catholic high school. It would be beneficial if these girls reflected on what four more years of Catholic education will hold for them. These girls need tools to identify and monitor their feelings regarding how their school is structured, and develop coping skills to deal with the guilt that may be caused by “oppressive” religious teachings or strict rules. Catholic education during teenage years means potentially feeling “Catholic guilt” or shame for engaging in what society views as typical teenage behavior to discover one’s identity. The project is situated in the

theoretical model developed by Simpson (2010). The 10 tasks associated with adolescent development will be discussed further in Chapter II and will serve as a major source in the development of workshop interventions. Adolescent girls in Catholic schools may have difficulty completing these tasks without sinning or breaking school rules. For example, adjusting to sexually maturing bodies could mean wanting to dress sexier to embrace new curves, something that is against school dress code and the Catechism’s belief in modesty (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994, para. 2522). Separation- individuation challenges in the context of relationships with their parents is often a difficult task. Whether it is provoked by teenage angst or parents refusing to accept that their little girl is now a young woman, the commandment of “honor your father and mother,” is bound to be broken (Exodus 20:12, New Revised Standard Version). Eighth grade girls in Catholic schools could benefit with an awareness and understanding that pushing the boundaries established by their parents does not make them a bad person.

When going against Catholic norms, be it school rules or with regard to how they treat each other, girls may feel like they are being viewed as “bad girls,” “sluts,” or

“drama queens.” This can create a sense of guilt or shame, harming their self-esteem.

One of the ways to prevent low self-esteem and bullying amongst the girls is to teach them how to acknowledge their feelings when situations occur and react accordingly, also known as “relationship authenticity,” which will be explained further in Chapter II.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project is to develop a workshop series for eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. The facilitator of this program will visit their campuses and educate

them on changes that occur during their teenage years physically, emotionally, and socially. The goal of the workshop series is to have the girls walk away with a higher sense of self-esteem as they take on some of the most challenging years of their lives.

They will be educated about the development of their brains, in addition to the changes happening in their bodies, and how important it is to try to think about consequences regarding all situations with relationships and behaviors. This workshop series will allow for the opportunity for an easier transition through their adolescence into adulthood with greater knowledge, along with a practical set of tools to employ. The girls will learn how important it is for them to have their parents as a source of support and create an agreement with their parents, concerning how they want to live their lives as they grow into healthy adults. To make sure that the parents know how best to support their daughters in their teenage years without becoming overly involved, a meeting will be held before the workshop for psychoeducation and collaboration.

Terminology

Ongoing terminology in this project will be defined here for clarification. Specific terms that are not found in this section will be further explained in the literature review following this chapter.

The term adolescence will be defined as “the period of development from the onset of puberty to the attainment of adulthood, beginning with the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, usually between 11 and 13 years of age, continuing through the teenage years, and terminating legally at the age of maturity, usually 18 years of age,” (A Dictionary of Psychology, 2015).

Bullying is a widely agreed upon term as: “a specific type of aggression in which

(1) the behavior is intended to harm or disturb, (2) the behavior occurs repeatedly over time, and (3) there is an imbalance of power, with a more powerful person or group attacking a less powerful one. This asymmetry of power may be physical or psychological, and the aggressive behavior may be verbal (eg, name-calling, threats), physical (eg, hitting), or psychological (eg, rumors, shunning/exclusion),” (Nansel et. al.,

2001).

Catechism is “a collection of questions and answers that are used to teach people about the Christian religion,” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2016).

The term emotional intelligence will be defined as the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior,” (A

Dictionary of Psychology, 2015).

The concept of peer pressure is “the psychological and social influence exerted on individual members by the peer group to encourage conformity to the group’s behavioral norms,” (A Dictionary of Psychology).

Self-esteem is defined as the collective thoughts and emotions regarding one’s self

(Rosenberg, Schooler, & Schoenbach, 1989).

A sin is “an offense against religious or moral law,” (Merriam-Webster.com,

2016).

Summary

In order to better understand the struggles that Catholic adolescent girls face, it is necessary to review previous studies and research to support the need for this workshop.

Chapter II will cover topics of: Catholic schools and their ideologies, the commonalities of female bullying that can ensue as a result of the physical and socio-emotional changes during adolescence, and protective factors that are empirically supported to raise a young woman who makes healthy choices.

Chapter II: Review of Literature

Introduction

Adolescence is a time in one’s life to take into account their upbringing and influences, and develop an identity. Parenting has had many different approaches throughout the years, and this current generation is working on extinguishing “helicopter parenting,” parents who are more inclined to intervene at the first sign of trouble

(Lythcott-Haims, 2015), while staying involved in their children’s lives. The current younger generation is the first to have been born into a world with multiple advanced media platforms that influence their image of an ideal adult female. Girls in the Catholic school system may have more difficulty with the transition to young womanhood, and the lessons that they are brought up with may conflict with the media to which they are exposed. The sources in this literature review will discuss the traditional values embedded in Catholic schools, and the importance for girls in the eighth grade to receive education focused on how their relationships, peers and family may change during high school. This is due to many factors such as the wide spectrum of bullying, their relationship with their parents, and how their upbringing and surroundings can influence them as they begin to discover their own identity.

Catholic Values

Figlio and Ludwig (2012) offer reasons why Catholic schools may be more effective than public schools in regards to decreasing risky behavior. Religious instruction may change the preferences of teens for certain activities with lessons such as

“The Golden Rule,” “The Ten Commandments,” and Biblical parables. This is where the

term “Catholic guilt” can come into play. The term “Catholic guilt” is very common in the Catholic community; it is usually used in a joking way. However the existence of it is very real, and Catholic children get their first sense of it during high school years when they realize that some behavior that they are told is wrong is actually very common in the society at large. Religious instruction may also inhibit the students from learning about emotional identification and regulation. The teachings set extreme, polarizing standards of what is right and what is wrong, but they do not acknowledge that one may experience emotional conflict. An example would be in Matthew 5:9, “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also,”

(New Revised Standard Version). This is a lesson about forgiveness. Catholic schools preach the lesson, but do not acknowledge the emotional struggle to find forgiveness or let go of a grudge in a relational conflict. In addition, they do not encourage the students to look at the bigger picture and explore reasons as to why someone would wrong a person. Especially in adolescence when bullying occurs out of primal competitiveness, as explained later in this literature review, it is important to learn how to not personalize the insults.

Mocan, Scafidi, & Tekin (2002) posed the question on whether school type impacts risky behavior in youth. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

(Add Health) data set was used to control for different individual and household characteristics that may be associated with risky behavior. For example, there are measures that gauge the risk-aversion of the student and the level of parental supervision.

This study focuses on Catholic schools because the number of students in non-Catholic private schools is too small of a population to create meaningful analysis. It was not a

shortcoming because most research on comparing school choice focused on differences between Catholic schools and public schools, and according to the U.S. Department of

Education in 1999, “Catholic school students constitute about 49 percent of all private school enrollment,” (Mocan, Scafidi, & Tekin, 2002). Though the school policies institute strict moral rules, Catholic-schooled children still experience peer pressure, bullying, and other stressors associated with growing up just like everyone else in society. The following subsections will explain different aspects of every-day life in a

Catholic home and how they could result in conflicted emotions, ultimately causing shame for not being a “good Catholic.”

Catholic homes. After having students answer questions regarding their risky behaviors, the study by Mocan, Scafidi, & Tekin (2002) concluded that compared to public school students: “Catholic school students are more likely to have used or sold drugs... On the other hand, Catholic school students are less likely to have had sex or attempted suicide,” (Mocan, Scafidi, & Tekin, 2002). Based on questionnaire data obtained from parents, Catholic families tend to have higher incomes, high educational backgrounds, and are more likely to be white. In regards to their parenting, “parents of

Catholic school students tend to be more lax with their children at home. They are more likely to report that they allow their children to decide what time they can come home at night, who to ‘hang around’ with, and how much television to watch,” (Mocan, Scafidi,

& Tekin, 2002). This could be because the parents rely on the Catholic schools to help instill a sense of morality in their children, and feel that it is no longer their responsibility.

Marriage. Mark 10:11 states, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her,” (New Revised Standard Version).

Catholicism does not approve of divorce and believes that when a couple marries, they enter a sacred union “till death do [them] part.” Catholic schools do not acknowledge the conflicts that may ensue in marriages. This may include how people can grow apart, what may cause divorce beyond infidelity. Children develop an idea that divorce is bad, that their families should be ashamed, and that their home is broken because they are not united like The Bible instructs. Catholic school students are aware of how common divorce is through media and outside influences, but cannot help but feel embarrassed when it happens in their families because of the stigma that has been instilled in them from the Catechism.

Discipline. Figlio and Ludwig (2012) also argue that Catholic schools tend to offer stricter discipline than public schools. Parents who are aware of their children’s behavioral problems may be more inclined to enroll their child in a firmer disciplinary school. Another reason why Catholic schools may be more effective with preventing risky behavior than public schools is the fact that they regulate who attends, and may be able to offer children better peer groups. This may be part of the reason why Catholic parents are more lax at home and allow their children more freedom socially. There are many theories why the results of this study have the outcome of the students’ higher likeliness to have used or sold drugs. With the freedom from their parents and means from the family’s higher income, the students may have more access to opportunities of engaging in those risky behaviors. Harsh punishments at school and imposing religious teachings could cause the students to want to rebel outside of the school environment.

Abstinence. According to Catholic doctrine, “abstinence is the only appropriate behavior for unmarried couples,” (Catholic.org, July 7, 2016). Most Catholic high schools do not educate about birth control and contraceptives because they promote abstinence. If an adolescent fails to be abstinent and becomes pregnant, “it is no longer a moral issue. The church’s response is total charity. [They] do everything [they] can to convince a teen they have other options than abortion,” said the Rev. Scott Ardinger,

M.Div., M.A., S.T.L., Pastor, Incarnation of Our Lord Parish, Bethlehem, PA

(Catholic.org, July 7, 2016). Exact rates of pregnancies among Catholic schools can not be determined due to the lack of reporting from shame of breaking abstinence or having an abortion. One study concluded, “At the state level, conservative religious beliefs strongly predict teen birth rates, in a relationship that does not appear to be the result of confounding by income or abortion rates. One possible explanation for this relationship is that teens in more religious communities may be less likely to use contraceptives,”

(Strayhorn & Strayhorn, 2009). Catholic teens may avoid contraceptives in fear of their devout parents finding it. The Catholic doctrine also states its stance against recreational drugs and alcohol because it is harmful to people’s health and wellbeing

(CatholicEducation.org, 2001).

Substance abuse. In 2012, the National Center on Addiction and Substance

Abuse at Columbia University conducted a survey about schools, substance use, access to illegal drugs, and social media use and administered it to 1,003 teens in the United States.

The results show that reported drug use in private schools had risen from 36% to 54% within the last year. 60% of students surveyed in both public and private schools reported drugs on campus. This could be attributed to increasing availability of drugs, lack of

parental involvement, and social media influences. Another aspect to consider is that because families in Catholic schools tend to come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds as mentioned by Mocan, Scafidi, & Tekin (2002), they may have more access to medication that can be potentially abused. Examples of this would be using or selling their parents’ painkillers or Xanax, or medications prescribed to them for learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Developmental Processes

Not only is there chaos with new chemicals and developments in a pubescent girl’s body, but she also experiences social changes amongst her peers in school. This section will explain the biological process of female puberty, and how it evokes socio- emotional changes. It will also explain the developmental tasks that girls must complete to get through adolescence successfully.

Biological. Puberty for girls can begin between the ages of 8 and 14, depending on various theories such as genetics, nutrition, environment, etc. Puberty is defined as:

“the condition of beings or the period of becoming first capable of reproducing sexually marked by maturing of the genital organs, development of secondary sex characteristics, and in the human and in higher primates, by the first occurrence of menstruation in the female,” (Merriam-Webster.com, July 29, 2016). About a year before experiencing their first menarche, girls may experience headaches, stomachaches, moodiness, and weight gain. This is due to hormones called gonadotropins being released into the bloodstream from the pituitary gland. Gonadotropins stimulate about six times the previous amount of estrogen and about twenty times the previous amount of androgen by their ovaries

(PAMF.org, July 29, 2016). The new chemicals in their body causes them to experience soreness and aches in their bodies, also known as “growing pains,” from their last big growth spurt before reaching their optimal height two years after the onset of puberty.

They also experience tenderness in their breasts as they begin to develop, hips becoming rounder, size increase in the uterus and vagina, pubic hair begins to appear, and of course the legendary period begins to make its monthly visits (KidsHealth.org, July 29, 2016). It is common for developing women to acquire new behaviors such as sleeping for frequently or for longer durations, feeling moody, and starting to explore masturbation

(PAMF.org, July 29, 2016).

In addition to all that is happening, it is important for one to keep in mind that adolescents’ brains are still developing. In puberty, the brain is essentially being rewired, undergoing a major synaptic pruning to make room for myelination, the formation of myelin sheaths around nerves to allow them to move more quickly. This reconstruction of the brain can induce “impulsive behavior and neurobehavioral excitement during adolescent life,” (Arain et. al, p.449). In addition to the immature limbic system, the prefrontal cortex is not due to be fully developed until age 24. The prefrontal cortex is the front lobes of the brain that control the executive function, the capacity of: “selection attention, decision-making, voluntary response inhibition, and working memory,”

(Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). This causes adolescents to have impulsive behaviors because they are unable to properly think decisions through. An enabling factor to their impulsiveness could be the peer pressure they start to experience in early adolescence.

Socio-emotional challenges. If the onset of puberty wasn’t distressful enough in an adolescent girl’s life, the changes in her social life that come with it can be an additional hardship to endure. As girls mature physically at different rates, they begin to compare themselves to others and become more self-conscious. Slumber parties start to include conversations such as: which boys are the most desirable, who has gotten their periods so far, who started wearing bras and shaving their legs, and who “isn’t cool” because their parents won’t let them wear makeup or go out unsupervised yet. Girls start to become preoccupied with popularity. In the journal article, The Meaning of Meanness that follows the progression of a popular clique in junior high, there is a girl named

Gretchen who “became popular” when her attractiveness to boys increased from her physical transformation after sixth grade. Gretchen reported that her friends “were angry with her because she had changed, but they did not tell her what changes offended them,”

(Merten, p. 181). They shifted the focus of their threatened popularity by saying that she was picking on a classmate to “undermine Gretchen’s increased popularity indirectly,”

(Merten, p. 181). “The Female Bullying Spectrum” section in this literature review will go further into detail on the peer-relationships are changed after the onset of puberty.

Girls who reach menarche before the age of 11 are considered early to mature.

Mrug et al. (2014) studied the affects of early puberty on peer influence and problem behaviors in adolescent girls. They interviewed 2,600 girls at ages 11, 13 and 16 years old, and their parents. The girls were asked about their behavior, their best friend’s behavior, and incidences of physical or nonphysical aggression. 16 out of every 100 girls that were interviewed were considered early to mature. Mrug et al. concluded that early puberty is associated with emotional problems, such as symptoms of depression and low

self-esteem, as well as problem behaviors, such as delinquency, aggression, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. Early developing females could feel more inclined to interact with boys because of the attention they are given for becoming more attractive, or to older peers because they identify with them physically. Because physical maturation is not always in time with emotional maturation, they could be more susceptible to negative peer influences. Lower self-esteem and depressive symptoms are associated with a sense of alienation from their peers who have not yet started experiencing the changes that they are enduring in their bodies (Stice, Presnell, & Bearman, 2002).

Developmental tasks. A. Rae Simpson, Ph.D and The Harvard Project at Harvard

School of Public Health (2001) researched the parenting of adolescents. Through analysis of literature on adolescent development, Ten Tasks of Adolescence were identified to help parents understand how to support their children:

1. “Adjust to sexually maturing bodies and feelings,” (Simpson, p.31)- This is

self-explanatory with the physical changes described previously. Adolescents

also have to decipher for themselves which peers they like merely as friends

or if they have sexual feelings. They learn how to navigate their feelings for

each other; how to deal with rejection or competition for their romantic

interests.

2. “Develop and apply abstract thinking skills,” (p.31). During this time,

adolescents are being challenged to exercise the developing prefrontal cortex.

They are asked to create hypotheses at school, and introduced to philosophical

ideas.

3. “Develop and apply a more complex level of perspective taking,” (p.31).

Adolescents are learning how to navigate human relationships and conflict

resolution. They are developing empathy and being able to hold their own

perspective while taking another’s into account at the same time.

4. “Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as decision-making,

problem solving, and conflict resolution,” (p.31). Adolescents are starting to

strategize for their future. They are engaging in more complex ways to

problem solve and make decisions that help them achieve long-term goals. An

example would be participating in community service opportunities earlier in

high school so that their application for their dream college will be more

advantageous. On an emotional level, adolescents are learning how to self-

cope in times of crisis. They are realizing that certain activities or behaviors

help them regulate their emotions when they are trying to make decisions,

solve problems, or resolve conflicts. Examples of healthy coping skills are

exercising, meditation, and drawing.

5. “Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems,”

(p.31)- Adolescents start questioning beliefs that were introduced to them

during childhood, and decide which values and belief systems they want to

utilize when making their own choices in life. This can be trying for families

in Catholic schools because curiosity or experimentation with other beliefs

could be interpreted as disrespectful or rebellious behavior. Adolescents may

also experience resentment for beliefs being “forced” onto them.

6. “Understand and express more complex emotional experiences,” (p.31)-

Adolescents are starting to understand that there may not always be “black

and white” emotional experiences; it is possible for one to hold conflicting

feelings. They also recognize the emotions of others in more sophisticated

ways. They analyze character development in their literature classes and

debate over controversial topics.

7. “Form friendships that are mutually close and supportive,” (p.31)-

Children usually develop friendships through shared hobbies and interests.

When they reach adolescence, they look for deeper connections in friends

such as shared ideas or feelings. They start to value aspects such as loyalty

and trust in their relationships.

8. “Establish key aspects of identity,” (p.31)- Adolescents are discovering

their individuality and develop an identity that connects to their valued people

and groups. The Project adds, “Another part of this task is developing a

positive identity around gender, physical attributes, sexuality, and ethnicity

and, if appropriate, having been adopted as well as sensitivity to the diversity

of groups that make up American society,” (p.31). For female Catholic

schooled teenagers, their goal is to go against the common stigmas of being

“slutty,” “goody two shoes,” naïve, over-privileged, or sheltered. They begin

to learn that their peers come from all different socioeconomic statuses and

backgrounds.

9. “Meet the demands of increasingly mature roles and responsibilities,”

(p.31)- Between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, adolescents are taking on

responsibilities such as managing their own timeliness with curfews,

becoming licensed drivers, obtaining their first jobs, etc. They practice

accountability for their actions.

10. “Renegotiate relationships with adults and parenting roles,” (p.31)- This

can mean different things depending on the family’s culture, but the main idea

is to transition from a parent-child relationship to a parent-young adult

relationship. Parents must learn how to gradually let their children become

independent. The parental relationship during teenage years is still very

important. Adolescents should feel self-sufficient, yet supported by their

parents. If an adolescent feels that they have made any mistakes, having a

secure relationship with their parents ensures that they will come back to them

and seek advice on how to navigate their situation. More information on the

parental impact will be included in the section, “Protective Factors.”

Each adolescent addresses these developmental tasks at their own pace; some do not accomplish them all until later in life. Successful completion of these tasks may depend on their support systems, environment, and outside influences such as the media.

Media’s Role in Peer Pressure, Bullying, and Self-Image

Media has a huge influence on female adolescents. It shows girls what looks are trendy and what modern society views as attractive and acceptable behavior. This may lead to unhealthy choices, succumbing to peer pressure, and damaged self-esteem

(Sidani, Shensa, Radovic, et. Al., UPMC.com). The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

(2006) released Evolution, a time-lapse video of the process of turning an average woman

into a Photoshopped supermodel to create awareness of the unrealistic ideas of beauty.

They had edited her eyes to be abnormally large and lengthened her neck to look tall and lean. Surgically altered celebrities and graphically altered, unhealthily thin models fill our media outlets, causing young girls to feel that those people are who they should be like.

The current idol of adolescent girls is Kylie Jenner, a 19-year-old celebrity with over 50 million social media followers, who has already undergone plastic surgery to enlarge her breasts and buttocks, rhinoplasty to narrow her nose, multiple lip injections to create an oversized pout, eyelash extensions to create a more feminine gaze, and hair extensions to create a fuller head of hair (OKmagazine.com, April 23, 2015). Television shows, music, advertisements, social media, etc. show young girls how they should behave to be “cool” and accepted. All too often are teenagers and young adults portrayed as partying, sexually active, and making risky choices for the sake of entertainment, thus causing young girls to feel that they need to mimic the behaviors. Sidani, Shensa, Radovic, et. al. (2014) studied 1,787 adults ages 19 to 32 about their use with 11 of the most popular social media platforms, along with a depression assessment. Through questionnaires, they found

“significant and linear associations between social media and depression whether social media use was measured in terms of total time spent or frequency of visits,” (Sidani,

Shensa, Radovic, et. al., UPMC.com). More of their findings include:

“Exposure to highly idealized representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier, more successful lives…Engaging in activities of little meaning on social media may give a feeling of “time wasted” that negatively influences mood… Social media use could be fueling “Internet addiction,” a proposed psychiatric condition closely associated with depression…Spending more time on social media may increase the risk of exposure to cyber-bullying or other similar negative interactions, which can cause feelings of depression,” (Sidani, Shensa, Radovic, et. Al., UPMC.com).

It is not taught in school how to perceive and react to media, and because it is an ever- developing commodity, parents find themselves struggling to keep up with the latest ways that their children access their information.

Cyberbullying. Even if parents were kept up to date with the latest social media trends and how the different platforms worked, they would still be unable to protect their children in the cyber world. Depending on the cyber bully’s motives, there are many different kinds of unpreventable cyber bullying that can occur. Sheri Bauman’s book,

Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to Know identifies the different types:

The most obvious form of cyberbullying is cyberstalking, which can have legal action taken because stalking is illegal. To tell if someone is cyberstalking, they must be repeatedly harassing the victim with the intention to scare or hurt them, leaving the victim “distressed and fearful,” (Bauman, p.57). Most offenses among adolescents are intended to be a prank, but victims and their families have no way to know whether it is to be taken seriously or not.

Flaming is not an attack planned in advance. The offense disregards facts or reason; it is subjective. Flaming occurs on group chats, forums, comment sections, anywhere open for outsider input. It is often conveyed in all capitol letters to draw attention and come across as yelling if it were to be read aloud (p.53). An example of this would be if a girl posted a picture of herself and someone commented, “YOU’RE A

SLUT.”

Harassment is defined as “hostile actions based on someone’s gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and so forth and is against the law,” (p.53). Technology enables the perpetrators to have easy and persistent access to their victims, which can be threatening, slanderous, or upsetting. Though one can block numbers and emails when the sender is known, simply Googling “send texts anonymously” gives access to many websites that can send text messages to a phone from an unknown number. An example of this would be an older sibling of a girl’s friend who cannot control his inappropriate thoughts or desires.

Denigration is “the practice of demeaning or disrespecting another person using technology,” (p.54). This can go as far as creating an account devoted to posting hurtful content about the individual. This can be especially harmful to an adolescent girl because it can be created anonymously and be public.

Another version of cyberbullying is called masquerading, which is when someone pretends to be someone else online with intentions to humiliate or harm the victim (p.54).

This can happen when passwords are shared amongst peers, or an account can be made with another person’s pictures or information. An example of this would be: David’s girlfriend, Amber learns that Jenny has a crush on David. Amber has David’s Facebook password and logs into his account with her friends to get Jenny to admit to liking him and then send her insults.

Outing and trickery “involves persuading an individual to provide confidential information or material- and then sharing it with other via e-mail, text message, or posting on a website,” in a malicious manner (p.55). In the previous example, if Amber

were to post screenshots of her conversation with Jenny under David’s name on social media platforms, she would be committing outing and trickery.

Cyberbullying can also be indirect. Social Exclusion is “a deliberate and pointed action to make it clear to an individual that they are not part of a group and that their presence is not wanted,” (p. 56). This is very common in group chats. An example of social exclusion is a group of friends posting a picture of everyone but one person together with a caption along the lines of “having so much fun without the fly around J.”

Another example of social exclusion is: in reaction to a rumor of Nancy being a “narc,” a noticeable portion of her school blocked her from viewing their social media platforms.

The Department of Psychology at University of California (2016) assessed online bystanders’ reactions to cyberbullying on Facebook. They concluded that bystanders are less likely to intervene online than in person because of how public the platform is. They also discovered that bystanders feel less empathy and place more blame on victims when they have high personal disclosure on Facebook (Greenberg, Juvonen, Schacter, 2016).

Similar to rape victims who dress more provocatively, the bystanders feel that when the victim discloses thoughts or pictures that receive negative comments, they were “asking for it” by calling attention to themselves. Davis (2012) found that teenage girls reported higher disclosure and more intimate conversations online than boys. They also reported that they felt more comfortable communicating their feelings through technology than in- person (Davis, 2012). Because girls usually do not resort to physical violence like boys do, they are more inclined to react verbally, leaving social media platforms a great set-up for bullying.

Female Bullying

Why do girls bully each other? The “typical mom” answer would be, “they’re just jealous.” In short, that answer holds truth. In 2006, Valerie E. Besag conducted a 16- month long study of 20 girls between the ages of 10 and 12 in their school setting to examine the patterns of friendship stability among girl groups. Through questionnaires, videotaping, and interviews with the girls and the school staff, Besag uncovered some themes about the girl on girl bullying. The girls reported that the most anxiety-provoking part of school was the breaking of friendship (Besag, 2006). Some were afraid to miss school out of fear of being ostracized by their peers or having their friends “stolen” from them. One of the questions asked the girls to identify their best friend. The results showed the dynamics between dyads and threats of triads- potential drama. Groups of adolescent girls have hierarchies and are always fighting and defending their power. The need to be hierarchical and competitive with their peers comes from a primal origin that is fueled by the feminine socialization process (Gilligan, 1982). Girls are expected to have harmonious relationships and not show the emotion of anger- the emotion expected from boys. When something happens that upsets a girl, she may mask her anger and delay her reaction so that it is a calculated, manipulative revenge such as divulging a secret. In the movie Mean Girls, there are scenes when the characters daydream of growling and attacking each other like animals when someone gets offended or betrayed. Those parts of the movie refer to how humans have primal instincts of obtaining power and selecting the best mate that they can.

Girls want to prove that they are desirable among their competition, so they call attention to each other’s flaws or create reasons why people should not like someone that intimidates them or threatens their power. Besag discovered that even the ten-year-old girls at the school were motivated by ‘rights’ to the most attractive boys on the playground, regardless of whether or not the boys were aware. A form to prove oneself as desirable among their peers is the term, “popular.” In The Meaning of Meanness, popularity is defined: “first, that the student was widely known or recognized by classmates, and second, that he or she was sought after as a friend,” (Merten, p. 179).

This may seem conflicting with the idea of popular girls being mean girls. Merten explains: “established members [are] not looking for competitors. They [are] willing to accept girls who [are] grateful for the opportunity to associate with them, but [do] not hesitate to be aggressive in putting them in their place if they overreach their acceptance,” (p.179). This means that while everyone thinks that the popular girl is nice, her closer friends may know a conniving side of her that attacks when she feels that her spot in the hierarchy is threatened. This concept defines “keep her friends close, and enemies closer”- the girls that threaten the popular girls most are kept close to them and put through psychological manipulation to believe that they could never be as pretty, nice, smart, etc. Bullying like this among cliques is far more common than the original idea of someone making fun of another. The traditional term of what bullying entails has extended over time. The most well-known forms of bullying among girls are “name- calling, teasing, rumors, rejection, and taking of personal belongings,” (Nansel et. al., p.2094). Cyber-bullying over social media has also been gradually increasing because it

“allows the bully to hide behind a cloak of anonymity,” (Daily Mail, December 23,

2002). Adolescence is when girls discover their identities and become autonomous from their parents, which increases their reliance on feedback and approval from their peers, affecting their self-worth, feeling of attractiveness, and self-esteem (Gilligan, 1982). Girl on girl bullying can cause a lot of damage with how one views herself because it is psychological and not physically aggressive, as opposed to the physical violence that boys are more inclined to engage in.

Protective Factors

Schokman et. al. (2014) studied 284 males and females ages 11-18 in secondary school. The students were given the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test, the Peer Relations Questionnaire, and the Revised Pro-victim Scale. The study concluded that students with higher levels of emotional intelligence were less likely to engage in bullying, and if they were victims or knew a victim, they could better diffuse the situation. This means that if early adolescent girls had higher levels of emotional intelligence, they would be capable of communicating their emotions instead of creating drama among themselves; they would be able to see situations in a “big picture” mindset with empathy to all parties involved. Protective factors such as self-esteem, environment, and parental impact during middle school can influence how girls handle themselves in the primal world of high school.

Self-esteem and relationship authenticity. Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, &

Potter, (2002) found that higher self-esteem is correlated with the healthy choices that one makes in their life. Though it is common for self-esteem to drop during adolescence, girls experience a drop twice as much as boys do (Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling,

& Potter, 2002). After age 13 to young adulthood, most girls show a steady increase in self-esteem (Baldwin & Hoffmann, 2002). The University of Cape Town conducted a study on “the associations among adolescents’ self-esteem in 6 domains (peers, school, family, sports/athletics, body image, and global self-worth) and risk behaviors related to substance abuse, bullying, suicidality, and sexuality,” (Wild, Flisher, Bhana, and

Lombard, 2004). They learned that low self-esteem in the family and school domains, coupled with the apparent high self-esteem of their peers is “significantly independently associated with multiple risk behaviors” in both genders of adolescents (p.1454). They also found that specifically in girls, risky behaviors are associated with low body image self-esteem and global self worth (p.1454). Though it is unrealistic for adolescents to excel in all six domains, having relationship authenticity in these realms can generate high levels of self-esteem. Relationship authenticity is defined as “the congruence between what one thinks and feels and what one does and says in relational contexts,”

(Impett, Sorsoli, Schooler, Henson, & Tolman, p.722). Pre-pubertal children normally speak their mind and voice their feelings, both good and bad. Once puberty ensues, girls

“feel pressure to act in ways that are inconsistent with their actual thoughts and feelings,”

(p.724). Because girls feel the primal competitiveness to be popular as explained in the

“Female Bullying” section, they stop voicing their own needs, emotions, or desires in order to prevent any conflict in their relationships. A study using Latent Growth Curve

Modeling over a 5-year course of adolescence from 8th grade through 12th grade revealed:

“Girls who scored high on the measure of relationship authenticity in the 8th grade experienced greater increases in self-esteem over the course of adolescence than girls who scored low on relationship authenticity. Further, girls who increased in authenticity

also tended to increase in self-esteem over the course of adolescence,” (p.722). Formally teaching girls emotional confrontation could very likely prevent emotional turmoil from the subliminal female bullying spectrum and improve their self-esteem in their environments, thus promoting success.

Environment. The social development model (SDM) is an integration of the social control theory, social learning theory, and differential association theory, and is used to prevent juvenile delinquency (Hawkins & Weis, 1985). The model believes that behavior is influenced by socialization in the domains of community, schools, peers, and family.

The SDM hypothesizes that interacting with pro- or antisocial others is predictive of developing pro- or antisocial behaviors through rewards of involvement with them. The

School of Social Welfare at University of California, Berkeley argues: “when families provide opportunities for children to contribute to family life and reward children for their skillful participation, children are expected to become bonded to their families and be more likely to adopt the behavioral standards of their families. If the families communicate prosocial standards and norms, bonded children are likely to adopt these norms and to engage in prosocial behaviors and avoid behavioral health problems,”

(Catalano, Hawkins, Kim, & Oesterle, p.27). The Catholic community and school domains are protective factors in themselves because they set prosocial standards such as attending mass, celebrating holidays, requiring community service for graduation credit, etc. They encourage prosocial relationships by providing mentors such as godparents in the community and pairing younger students with the older ones for orientations and events.

The Catholic school system is also very competitive in extracurricular activities and encourages all their students to be involved by enforcing elective classes and rewarding students who show school spirit (i.e. extra credit for attending sporting events or art performances, “free dress” for donating canned goods, etc.). High school is a time when adolescents experience more independence by obtaining driver’s licenses and requiring less supervision. It is important for them to learn early on to look for prosocial attributes in their peers in order to make healthy choices and have healthy beliefs.

Parental impact. Parent-child relationships have been ever changing. Linda Pollack explores some of these relational changes in her book, Forgotten children: Parent-child relations from 1500 to 1900. Historical family pictures in the 1500’s to 1700’s had children dressing in suits and dresses like the adults from an age as early as 5. The relationship between parents and their children in the 16th and 17th centuries is described as detached, mostly because the survival of infants and young children was at a much lower rate than it is today due to disease and lack of vaccinations. Events such as the industrial revolution had an impact on the concept of childhood because children were being sent to work in factories instead of going to school. It wasn’t until later in the 18th century that there was an increase in empathy for children, and in the 19th century pediatrics was established along with laws for children’s rights (Pollock, 1983).

The 20th century had a huge influence on the concept of childhood; the average amount of years spent in school increased, parents started to wait longer than the age of sixteen to marry their children off, and “American adolescents were displaying traits unknown among children and adults,” (UShistory.org, November 14, 2015). In the

1920’s the concept of the teenage stage came into light, though the actual term “teenager” was not coined until the 1940’s. Around the 1950’s, the media and birth of rock and roll played a big part of the separation between teenagers and children and adults because it inspired a sense of rebellion and independence from what was expected in their parents’ generation. Gary Cross in Picturing childhood: what images tell us about the modern history of parenting (2013) argues that the development of childhood toys such as the

Barbie doll in 1959 had an impact on what young girls aspire to be- it “did not encourage girls to remain in a world of child companions or imitate their mothers by pretending to be mothers.” Instead, it inspired sexuality with the figure of the doll, and had the concept of being “single, sometimes a career ‘girl,’ and always a carefree consumer.”

Parenting took another turn in the 1980’s when awareness of child abductions and

“stranger danger” began, along with the self-esteem movement where parents started valuing their children as people, and not merely because of their successes. Instead of children walking home from school alone and playing unsupervised, parents started enrolling their children into daycares and arranging play dates. The concept of play dates created parental involvement in the children’s play. Baby boomers from the 1960’s are the most educated and wealthy generations of parents and strive to give their children

“the best,” (Kantrowitz & Tyre, 2006). This then led to the development of the term,

“helicopter parenting” in 1990, which refers to “a parent who hovers over a child in a way that runs counter to the parent’s responsibility to raise a child to independence,”

(Cline & Fay, p. 18). Helicopter parenting has been argued to be the contributor to the reputation of Generation Y as having a lazy and entitled mindset. “Each subsequent year would bring an increase in the number of parents who did things like seek opportunities,

make decisions, and problem solve for their sons and daughters- things that college-aged students used to be able to do for themselves,” (Lythcott-Haims, 2015). The current generation of parents and children often has trouble redefining their relationship from parent-child to parent-young adult during their teenage years.

Now that society has created an awareness of over-parenting and the struggle to shift their roles as the children grow, new strategies of teaching independence while being supportive are being trialed. This research is assumed towards middle-to-upper class parents who potentially have the resources to provide for their children. In 2011, Siu Mui

Chan and Kwok-Wai Chan conducted a research study to measure “how adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure is related to their relationships with mothers and emotional autonomy from parents.” 550 secondary school students in Hong Kong filled out questionnaires about their relationships with their parents and peers. The researchers used structural equation modeling to determine that “mother’s behavioral control and psychological control predicted adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure in negative and positive directions respectively,” (Chan & Chan, p. 286). This means that helicopter parenting was effective in implementing parental warmth because of its benefits of creating emotional intelligence and communication, but taking too much control can deplete children’s’ emotional autonomy and self-esteem which can lead to high risk behaviors such as drugs, drinking, and sex.

The Journal of Youth and Adolescence states: “With substantive evidence suggesting that adolescents’ disclosure is likely a protective factor against problem behaviors, as well as evidence that many adolescents will go to great lengths to avoid sharing

information with parents, one may conclude that parents face a formidable task. Previous studies have identified parents acceptance as a concurrent correlate of adolescents’ behavioral disclosure, but have neglected to investigate potential ways that parents could encourage their adolescents to feel comfortable disclosing emotional information,” (Hare,

Marston, & Allen, p.744). Hare, Marston, and Allen claim that though emotional disclosure is an ongoing process, it can be fostered in early adolescence. They hypothesized that if adolescents’ perceive their mothers as being highly accepting, there will be increases in emotional disclosure. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that their intent has been received. When controlling variables of age, gender and family income in a longitudinal study, adolescents who reported high levels of maternal acceptance at age 13 “were predictive of greater relative increases in subsequent adolescents’ reported emotional communication at age 16,” (p. 747). This means that when a mother shows acceptance early on in her child’s life, the child is more likely to come to her and discuss emotional issues later in adolescence.

Consistency in parental monitoring has also been an effective protective factor when raising adolescents. In 2012, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at

Columbia University conducted a survey on teenagers ages 12-17 and their attitudes on substance abuse. They found that “teens who say their parents are indifferent about drug or tobacco use are significantly more likely to smoke or drink,” (Johnson & Shapiro,

2012). They also found that the 30% of teens who reported being left alone overnight are

“twice as likely to have used alcohol or marijuana than teens that have never been left alone at night,” (2012). Parental involvement and communication has been proven to be an effective factor in the prevention of risky behaviors in teens. The concept may be

subjective, which is why outside resources and interventions may be helpful to guarantee success.

Synthesis of Literature Review

This research supports how adulthood can be reached successfully through a healthy environment and socio-emotional education. It supports the idea that bullying and succumbing to peer pressure can be prevented by parental warmth, relationship authenticity, and a sense of autonomy. If eighth grade girls in Catholic schools attend an educational workshop about what causes bullying and why they are wired to be competitive with each other, they can gain an emotionally intelligent insight on their interactions with their peers before entering high school. This research also supports how vital a role parents can play in creating the protective factors for raising responsible and healthy teenage girls. Hosting a workshop for parents before the eighth grade girls’ workshop can ensure that the parents will be informed about the education their daughters are receiving and learn how they can best support their daughters in the coming years as their relationships shift from parent-child to parent-young adult. Creating a united front with the community, school, and parental system may promote healthy relationships, and healthy choices in the women of our future.

CHAPTER III

Project Audience and Implementation Factors

Introduction

This graduate project presents an informational workshop for parents and three- day workshop for their eighth grade daughters at Catholic schools before embarking on their high school experience. First, I will describe how the project was created and then developed into an interactive workshop for eighth grade girls and their parents. I will then identify the target population and conditions for consumers of said project. Second, I will describe the qualifications one must have in order to conduct the workshops. Third, I will delineate the logistics of environment and equipment needed for the workshops to take place. In conclusion I will provide an outline of the workshops’ content, activities and procedures.

Development of Project

Having been raised Catholic, I can vouch for the benefits of the community that is formed around a family. The ritual of attending Church services, Parish-wide celebrations and prayer requests, the availability of various support groups, and helping families in crisis. Many Church related community activities that evolved from a community in constant contact contributed to the enriched experience of my upbringing. It did seem that it took a village to raise a child. The transition from a 300-student population from kindergarten to eighth grade to a 1,200-student population in high school was a very difficult transition. As I reflect back on my experience in Catholic school, I realize that

although there were many support forces within the community, I was still exposed to a number of dangerous influences and behaviors, especially among my closest friends.

The movie Mean Girls had been released the summer of 2004. As I watched, I realized that had just spent 9 years in grade school with 12 other girls who emulated all that was depicted on the big screen. I immediately bought the book that it was based on,

“Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman, and became fascinated with the dynamics of individuals in cliques, and the many reasons behind why girls are mean. It was validation that my closest friends had bullied me in middle school to the point of depression and low self-esteem. The book had provided me with the knowledge of why they behaved as they did, and how to react should it occur again in high school (which it naturally did). During these difficult years of adolescence, I had my mother’s support and guidance, but we had no clinical or expert opinion as to what had been happening in my class.

My family’s home was a safe haven for my friends, and those of my brother. At multiple times in my childhood, they had said that they wish my mom were theirs. Our friends had always been able to speak candidly with my mother and sought her guidance, often before or instead of approaching their own parents. I recall many conversations about choices, relationships, communication, current events, and even sexual clarification taking place. As I have researched and prepared for this project, I have come to understand that my mother somehow naturally knew how to parent me (and them) with the right amount of warmth and authority, while promoting self-esteem and independence.

A parent’s decision to enroll and pay for their child to attend private school shows that they wish to provide the best for their child. I’ve noticed that Catholic school parents are always willing to participate, but directionless. There is a spectrum of parental involvement; some have great fear that their child would participate in or attend an event or party without parental supervision, while others have no grasp of how to communicate with or supervise their own children once they are adolescents.

When speaking with former Catholic-schooled peers, we agree that though we were exposed to all the same dangerous influences as public schools, the difference seemed to be that we were sheltered from understanding the physical development of our bodies and urges, and emotional growth that we were experiencing. Instead we seemed to be conditioned to feel shame and guilt about perfectly normal life events such as sexual exploration, female orgasm, sex or pregnancy before marriage, etc. This made it difficult for us to adapt to the world of our Catholic education. I believe that over time, these suppressed or ignored developments could lead to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Behavioral deviants may also be traced back to this stunted conversation about how a healthy adolescent develops. This project has been created with the consultation of former Catholic-schooled peers, Catholic schoolteachers, Catholic school parents, Catholic school administrators, and mental health practitioners.

Intended Audience

This workshop is intended to prepare eighth grade girls in Catholic schools for their high school experience. It is also intended to prepare and aid the parents of these girls as they help their daughters’ transition from an early adolescent to a late adolescent.

Marketing

I plan on marketing my project through the Catholic school network that I had been a part of growing up. I am fortunate to have several strong relationships with teachers and administrators within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. One now holds the highest position supervising kindergarten through eighth grade schools. I plan on collaborating with him on an effective plan to approach each of the local school principals (individually or collectively) to implement this workshop.

Special Procedures Associated with The Project

In order to create a therapeutic setting with a group of minors, parental consent and participation is imperative. A meeting will be held for the parents of the eighth grade girls a week before the workshop is commenced. This meeting will inform new parents and perhaps provide seasoned parents with more information about the transition their relationship with their daughter will entail as they become full-fledged teenagers. The meeting will provide lessons their daughters will be learning, and answer any questions they have about the workshop process and exercises that their daughters will experience.

In addition, parents will be asked to participate in a letter-writing intervention for their daughters to be read during the workshop. This will provide the child with a permanent record of communication and assurance as they begin one of the most difficult phases of their life. Parents will be given the option to refuse their daughter’s participation in this workshop.

Personal Qualifications

The person facilitating this workshop must be licensed in the mental health field as a Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist or Psychologist. Training in counseling would be helpful as the participants in the workshop are likely to share their emotions. It would also be beneficial if the facilitator is female because it naturally suggests experience and wisdom on the topics discussed. The facilitator being female may also make it easier for participants to open up about vulnerable topics around sexuality. In addition, it will also put the parents of these girls at ease knowing that the facilitator has a Catholic background to ensure that everything being taught is consistent with Catholic teaching.

Environment and Equipment

Since the workshop will be facilitated on campus, the environment needed would be a classroom big enough to seat the eighth grade girls (usually between 12 to 20). It would be useful if the desks and chairs were movable for different activities. An overhead projector will be needed to present PowerPoint slides, audio, and video clips.

Since the workshop will be about 5 hours including a lunch break, it will require restrooms and water fountains available for the comfort of the participants. Full lists of materials needed is provided in the Appendix.

Formative Evaluation

I received feedback regarding the research and written aspects of my project from professors in the Marriage and Family Therapy program as well as from other mental

health practitioners working with adolescents. I also was able to share ideas and get input from my peers in my cohort of the Marriage and Family Therapy masters program as well as former peers and mentors from Catholic school. Chapter IV will include formal feedback that I had obtained from a principal at a Catholic kindergarten through eighth grade school, an eighth grade teacher, and a parent of a seventh grade girl in Catholic school. Once this workshop is completed and being facilitated, I intend on giving questionnaires to the participants and their parents at the end of their workshops to obtain feedback and suggestions on improvement.

Project Outline

I. Parent Meeting

a. Introductions

b. What is GPS?

c. The 10 Developmental Tasks of Adolescence

d. Physical changes in puberty

e. Female bullying

f. Protective factors

i. Self-esteem

ii. Environment

iii. Parental impact

g. Overview of GPS workshops

h. Letter activity

i. Parental Consent forms

j. Final questions

II. Workshop 1: My Peers

a. Introduction/ icebreakers

b. The Crisis Thermometer

c. Girl friendships vs. boy friendships

d. Mean Girls

e. Open discussion about Catholic beliefs on how to treat one another

f. Education on why girls are mean and relationship authenticity

g. Group break-out with bullying vignettes

h. Workshop evaluation forms

III. Workshop 2: My Sexuality

a. Introduction to topic and activities of the day

b. Education on hormones and brain development

c. Discussion about feelings of embarrassment or shame regarding inevitable

female experiences

d. Group break-out and discussion about experiences of being a girl

e. Open brainstorm about media expectations of women physically,

emotionally, professionally, etc. Media clips will be played.

f. Open discussion about what is expected and assumed of Catholic women

g. Group break-out and discussion about sexuality

h. Lesson and reflection about image: vignette about Catholic schoolgirl in

public

i. Empower Her activity

j. Workshop evaluation forms

IV. Workshop 3: My Identity, My Future

a. Introduction to topic and activities of the day

b. Who I Am activity

c. Open discussion about how identity changes

d. Open brainstorm about upcoming roles and responsibilities. They will also

identify how their relationships with adults change as they grow.

e. “Choose Your Own Adventure” game

f. Open discussion about importance of having coping tools and a support

system

g. Parent letters will be distributed and debriefed

h. Who I Want to Be activity

i. Workshop evaluation forms

j. Debrief about GPS and termination

k. “Be Authentic” wristbands will be handed out

CHAPTER IV

Program Evaluation and Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the previous chapters and describes how feedback was collected from field evaluators that have experience working with or raising eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. The evaluators were sent a copy of the workshop along with a list of questions (Appendix C) that inquire about the development and potential success of the proposed program. Their feedback and implementation ideas will be summarized in this chapter, along with recommendations for future research.

Evaluator Credentials

Evaluator One is an educational professional with over 15 years of experience working in both public and private education. She has a Doctorate in the field of

Education, and is currently working on a Masters degree in Administration. Evaluator

One has experience teaching grades K-8. In addition, she has been a curriculum consultant in developing innovative curriculum for students in areas of technology, science, and math. Currently, Evaluator One is a principal for a Catholic elementary and middle school under the Los Angeles Archdiocese. She was particularly glad to help evaluate this program because she was Catholic-schooled as well.

Evaluator Two is also a female who went through Catholic schooling. She holds a

Masters in Education, and is currently working towards a second Masters in

Administration. She has five years of experience teaching in Catholic schools under the

Los Angeles Archdiocese, and is currently in her third year teaching eighth grade at her alma mater.

Evaluator Three is also a female who went through the Catholic school system.

She has experience being a second grade teacher at a public school, but has been a full- time mother for the past twenty years. All three of her children have attended her husband’s alma mater Catholic elementary/middle school, and went to/are going to the same Catholic high school where she had attended and met her husband. Her youngest child, a daughter, had just completed eighth grade and is now in her freshman year of high school.

Summary of Evaluator Feedback

This section includes the feedback received from the three evaluators. The questions they were given in the program evaluation (Apendix C) are listed below along with their responses.

Question One: Do you believe that this program would be helpful to 8th grade girls in Catholic schools?

Evaluator One thinks that this program will be beneficial to girls in Catholic schools. She has observed that she is seeing more students in middle school struggling with low self-esteem and depression, and feels that social media magnifies it. She especially likes the idea of addressing how the image of a school uniform could come across in public. She expressed importance in educating the girls that though dressing sexier does not make you “bad,” there are certain occasions and circumstances when it is

more appropriate. She wishes that the dress code were more neutral for both genders in her school so that there are not so many rules stacked up against the female students.

Evaluator One also observed that though helicopter parenting is present, there is also a sense of reliance on the school taking care of moral issues. She says that it is very common for the students to be given complete freedom at home, especially with social media, and then if a conflict occurs they turn to the school to solve the problem. She has noticed that her office has an increasing amount of time spent on healing social issues.

Evaluator One agrees that it is important to educate the parents on this life transition in their family. She also thinks that providing education on how bullying occurs out of primal competitiveness would be helpful in provoking the girls to think more complexly and be able to soften the attacks with depersonalization.

Evaluator Two absolutely thinks that the program would be helpful to eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. As an eighth grade teacher, she notices that the girls have a hard time adjusting and coping with all of the changes that occur in adolescence. She feels that this program will help them learn them strategies to help them adjust. She especially likes that the examples with social media capture the common situations that occur. She believes that this program can help the girls build and keep their self-esteem.

Evaluator Three thinks that this program should be required for all eighth grade girls in Catholic schools because of its benefits. She says that especially in this day and age, laying so much of this out in an open, honest, and authentic way, especially with anonymity, would be invaluable.

Question Two: Are there any additional topics that would be beneficial to include?

Evaluator One thinks that it might be helpful to include a piece about depression, suicide, and cutting. She has mental health practitioners come in to educate the students, but thinks that adding it into this workshop could be more cost effective for the school if it could be incorporated into this workshop series. She also suggests that a piece on gender identity, gay, bisexual, and transgender would be helpful because coming out earlier has become more common.

Evaluator Two believes that there are always more topics that can be talked about, but the proposed program has a grasp on the most important topics. She suggests that adding a piece on how to stand up for oneself in a bullying situation would be helpful.

Evaluator Three feels that the topics outlined are very valuable and applicable.

She imagines that different workshops might bring up even more topics that are current with particular groups. She suggests to have time built in for other topics to arise.

Question Three: Do the selected activities and lessons match the goals provided?

Evaluator One believes that the activities and lessons match the goals provided beautifully.

Evaluator Two thinks that the activities and lessons match the goals provided. She added that this year a therapist had come in and presented on the changes in the brain.

The students found the concept very interesting, but did not enjoy his presentation. She said that if the educational piece about the physical changes during adolescence in this program is more entertaining or interactive, it would be a success.

Evaluator Three believes that the activities and lessons are very well synchronized and creative. She says that as a parent, it is hard to come up with activities that start conversations such as these.

Question Four: If you had the authority to do so, would you authorize this workshop series to be applied to your school?

Evaluator One would authorize this program at her school upon approval from the

Los Angeles Archdiocese. She said that there has been an ongoing issue in bringing any type of sexual education course because of the church’s stance that only abstinence and pro-life courses can be taught. Extra care would have to be put into what would be allowed for discussion.

Evaluator Two said that she would absolutely authorize this program in her school.

She also added that it might be more beneficial to enact in the beginning of the school year before the high school entrance exams in January because they get easily distracted and wild during the last semester in eighth grade.

Evaluator Three says that she highly recommends implementing a program like this in Catholic schools. She offered to be an advocate, especially to those parents who might not be willing to pay, or may not have considered the value in spending the time on such important topics.

Question Five: Any additional feedback you would like to provide?

Evaluator One expressed concern about the cost and length of the workshop series. Monthly tuition at her school runs about $500 per student, and the cost of $300 for a three-day workshop series could prevent some families from joining. She says that typically the school only pays up to $700 for an outside professional to present on their campus. Any mental health practitioners that she has experience bringing onto her campus have not charged, or minimally charged in hopes that they would gain clients through referrals after developing a professional relationship with the school. Evaluator

One suggests offering alternative courses with shortened content to save time and money.

She also says that offering consecutive weekend sessions might be another route to take.

Because it is not happening during school hours, the Archdiocese might be more lenient on which topics are discussed as well.

Evaluator Two does not have any additional feedback other than to be kept updated on if the program becomes actualized so she can introduce it to her school.

Evaluator Three is concerned about the cost and availability of time. She says that all the Catholic schools have different budgets for outside programs, and because GPS caters to only half of the population, schools may not find it practical. She also believes that this program should be required, not optional, so that parents and their daughters can dedicate the time in their busy schedules. She also expresses concern with room on the school calendar because there already has been struggle to balance the curriculum with the many eighth grade privileges and activities at the school her children attended.

Incorporation of Feedback

All three of the evaluators were very supportive and positive with their feedback.

There were a few suggestions regarding content of the program, and a consensus regarding logistics. The following section will describe implementations that would be made in future revisions of GPS in order to make it more effective.

While GPS covers a wide range of topics relevant to female adolescence, there were some additional aspects that should be mentioned either in their own sections or incorporated into others. One of these is the reality of mental health issues that can arise in adolescence. In Workshop 1, when the facilitator is providing education on why girls

are mean and the importance of relationship authenticity, the facilitator should also discuss the effects of bullying. They can address how it can lead to low self-esteem, depression, and self-harm. When talking about these topics, the facilitator can also tell the girls that those issues would be considered big problems on their Crisis Thermometers and explain what they can do to get help. Another suggestion of topics to be addressed is the concept of sexual identity and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). In

Workshop 2, the facilitator will teach the girls that part of your discovering your sexuality is gender identity and whom you are attracted to. When addressing the Catholic views of sexuality, the facilitator will also recognize the historical reservations of the

Catechism about LGBT in addition to being female while normalizing the process of one’s discovery of identity.

Another prominent concern of the evaluators was the cost of the proposed program. Though it was noted that the price is negotiable, there are many compromises and alternative solutions that can be made. Each school has it’s own funding for outside programs and workshops. The schools can pay for a portion of the program so that the parents will have a lower cost. Parents may also be given the option to donate anonymously to help pay for another child’s participation. Also, when being approved, the Los Angeles Archdiocese, can decide to sponsor or fund a portion of the program so that the schools will have a lower cost and trickle down to the parents paying less as well.

Because the facilitator will be offering this program as a part of her private practice, she is also flexible with the pricing if there is incentive for client referrals.

The length of the proposed program was another concern from the evaluators.

Though there was consensus that every topic and activity was valuable, many schools cannot afford to set aside three full days for their eighth grade girls to participate in the program. If it is to occur during a school day, a workshop for the boys will have to co- occur, or else it would not be considered “fair” among the students and their parents. The idea of breaking the program up into multiple mini workshops is reasonable so that the schools can shift schedules easier or pick and choose which topics they would want addressed. Another idea of holding the workshop series on consecutive Saturdays or even over the summer before eighth grade seems plausible so that the girls can gain the full experience with additional time can be built in to address other topics that may be brought up. Having the program occur outside of school hours may eliminate the concern about occupying the eighth grade boys. It also may bring more flexibility with the topics that are discussed because it would not be considered part of the school’s curriculum.

Conclusion

The needs of eighth grade girls in Catholic schools upon embarking on their high school experience were addressed extensively throughout the four chapters of this proposed program. The following section will summarize the main topics covered in each of the chapters.

Chapter I discussed the statement of the problem, which is the need to address the challenges of navigating the developmental tasks of adolescence as Catholic-schooled girls before entering high school. In addition, they need to be made aware that they may be burdened with additional emotional conflict because of the expectations associated

with The Catechism. The workshop series created from this project established the goal of providing emotional and cognitive tools eighth grade girls in Catholic schools need to navigate the next phase of their adolescent development. Chapter I concluded with brief descriptions of the theories used to support the foundation of the proposed program.

Chapter II addressed the many themes in Chapter I through the form of a literature review. The research that discussed the various aspects of adolescent girls in Catholic schools such as their values, puberty, and social constructs confirmed the need for the proposed workshop series. The theoretical model proposed by April Simpson (2010) presents as a valid guide for the adolescent girls in Catholic schools as they accomplish the developmental tasks associated with adolescence. Impett, Sorsoli, Schooler, Henson,

& Tolman (2008) provided evidence on the positive effects of relationship authenticity.

In addition, the protective factors discussed such as parental involvement, high self esteem, and environment also contribute to girls making healthy choices during and after adolescence.

Chapter III provided a description and justification of the GPS workshop series including: goals, staffing, logistical requirements, interventions used, and materials needed. The program is designed to educate eighth grad girls in Catholic schools about the changes happening in their lives physically and socio-emotionally through psychoeducational lectures, group discussions, and self-growth activities. In addition, it is designed to provide an increased sense of support among each other and with their parents. Participants are expected to embark on high school and beyond confidently with the right coping tools.

Chapter IV described the credentials of the three selected evaluators as well as their feedback. Possible future implementations to the program were discussed based on their input.

Finally, the Appendix will present the workshop series in its entirety including a parent meeting beforehand, goals, materials needed, and outlines of the three workshops.

Each intervention will be described, and worksheets will be provided.

The parent meeting and 3-day workshop series proposed within this project demonstrates an attempt to address the many issues that adolescent girls in Catholic schools and their parents face in the transition to high school. Parenting and adolescence research are continually changing, and it is suggested that if this program were to be actualized, that the most recent findings are to be explored before implementation. By providing these girls and their parents with education about physical and socioemotional changes along with resources and coping tools, this proposed program will allow for an easier transition to high school, and a higher likelihood of engaging in healthy choices in their futures.

References

Arain, Haque, Johal, Mathur, Nel, Rais, Sandhu, Sharma, and Sushil. "Maturation of the Adolescent Brain." NDT Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (2013): 449- 61. NCBI. Web. 2 Aug. 2016.

Baldwin, S. A., & Hoffmann, J. P. (2002). The dynamics of self-esteem: A growth-curve analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 101–113.

Bauman, S. (2011). Cyberbullying: What counselors need to know. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Besag, V. (2006). Bullying Among Girls: Friends Or Foes? School Psychology International, 535-551. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from SAGE Journals.

Blakemore, S., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. J Child Psychol & Psychiat Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3-4), 296-312. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01611.x

Catechism [Def.1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catechism.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1994). Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a9.htm

Chan, S. , & Chan, K. (2013). Adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure: Relations to parent– adolescent relationship and adolescents’ emotional autonomy from parents. Youth & Society, 45(2), 286-302. doi: 10.1177/0044118X11417733

Cline, F., & Fay, J. (2006). Parenting with love and logic: Teaching children responsibility (Updated and expanded ed.). Colorado Springs, CO: Piñon Press.

Coleman, J. , & Others, A. (1982). Cognitive outcomes in public and private schools. Sociology of Education, 55, 65-3), p.65-76.

Cross, G. (2013). Picturing childhood: What images tell us about the modern history of parenting. Hedgehog Review, 15(3), 42-53.

Davis, K. (2012). Friendship 2.0: Adolescents' experiences of belonging and self- disclosure online. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1527-1536.

Dove Evolution | With some images, all is not what it seems. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2016, from https://youtu.be/Q5qZedMTkkE

Episode Interactive (2013). Episode – Choose Your Story, feat. Mean Girls (4.81). [Mobile Application Software]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ episode-choose-your-story/id656971078?mt=8

FearlesslyGiRL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://www.fearlesslygirl.com/

Figlio, D. , & Ludwig, J. (2012). Sex, drugs, and catholic schools: Private schooling and non-market adolescent behaviors. German Economic Review, 13(4), 385-415.

Fleming, C., Catalano, R., Oxford, M., & Harachi, T. (2002). A test of generalizability of the social development model across gender and income groups with longitudinal data from the elementary school developmental period. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18(4), 423-439.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gordon, T. (2000). Parent effectiveness training: The proven program for raising responsible children. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Growth and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/growth-13-to-18.html

Hare, A., Marston, E., & Allen, J. (2011). Maternal acceptance and adolescents' emotional communication: A longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(6), 744-751.

Here's Why You Need to Stop Being a Helicopter Parent. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://time.com/3904527/helicopter-parent-study-controlling-students- kids-children/

Impett, E. A., Sorsoli, L., Schooler, D., Henson, J. M., & Tolman, D. L. (2008). Girls' relationship authenticity and self-esteem across adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 722-733. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.722

Introducing a very important class for parents of teens and 'tweens. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.activeparenting.com/Teens_parents

Johnson, T., PhD, & Shapiro, R., PhD. (2012, August). National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVII: Teens (Rep.). Retrieved August 21, 2016, from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse website: http://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/national-survey- american-attitudes-substance-abuse-teens-2012

Kantrowitz, B., & Tyre, P. (2006, May 22). The fine art of letting go. Newsweek, 147, 48–49, 52–54, 56–58.

Kim, B., Oesterle, S., Catalano, R., & Hawkins, J. (2015). Change in protective factors across adolescent development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 40, 26-37.

Kipke, M., & National Academy of Sciences, W. (2000). Adolescent Development and the Biology of Puberty: Summary of a Workshop on New Research. n.p.

Kylie Jenner Spent $40,000 On Plastic Surgery To Upgrade Her Look-Get The Details! (2015). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://okmagazine.com/photos/kylie- jenner-40000-plastic-surgery/photo/1001243652/

Lythcott-Haims, J. (2015, July 9). The four cultural shifts that led to the rise of the helicopter parent. Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of- the-helicopter-parent-2015-7

Mersch, J., M.D., F.A.A.P. (n.d.). Teen Child Development: Get the Facts on Adolescence (D. Perlstein M.D, M.B.A., F.A.A.P., Ed.). Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://www.medicinenet.com/teen_child_development/article.htm

Merten, D. (1997). The meaning of meanness: Popularity, competition, and conflict among junior high school girls. Sociology of Education, 70(3), 175-191.

Michaels, L. (Director). (2004). Mean girls [Motion picture on DVD]. Paramount.

Mocan, H., Scafidi, B. , & Tekin, E. (2002). Catholic Schools and Bad Behavior. NBER Working Paper. n.p.: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mrug, S. , Elliott, M. , Davies, S. , Tortolero, S. , Cuccaro, P. , et al. (2014). Early puberty, negative peer influence, and problem behaviors in adolescent girls. Pediatrics, 133(1), 7.

Nansel, T., Overpeck, M. , & Pilla, R. (2001). Bullying behaviors among us youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA [H.W. Wilson - GS], 285(16), 2094. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094.

Pollock, L. (1983). Forgotten children: Parent-child relations from 1500 to 1900. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press.

Puberty. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.pamf.org/teen/health/puberty/

Puberty (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/puberty

Robins, R. W., Trzesniewski, K. H., Tracy, J. L., Gosling, S. D., & Potter, J. (2002). Global self-esteem across the life span. Psychology And Aging, 17(3), 423-434. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.17.3.423

Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., & Schoenbach, C. (1989). Self-esteem and adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociologi- cal Review, 54, 1004–1018.

Schacter, H., Greenberg, S., & Juvonen, J. (2016). Who's to blame?: The effects of victim disclosure on bystander reactions to cyberbullying. Computers in Human Behavior, 57, 115-121.

Scheidt, P., Ruan, W. , Pilla, R. , Overpeck, M. , Simons-Morton, B. , et al. (2001). Bullying behaviors among us youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA, 285(16), 2094 2100.doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094

Schokman, C., Downey, L. , Lomas, J. , Wellham, D. , Wheaton, A. , et al. (2014). Emotional intelligence, victimisation, bullying behaviours and attitudes. Learning and Individual Differences, 36, 194-200. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.013

Sidani, J. E., Ph.D., Shensa, A., M.A., Radovic, A., M.D., Miller, E., M.D., Ph.D., Colditz, J. B., M.Ed., Hoffman, B., B.Sc., Primack, B. A., M.D., Ph.D. (n.d.). Social Media Use Associated With Depression Among U.S. Young Adults. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from http://www.upmc.com/media/NewsReleases/2016/Pages/lin- primack-sm-depression.aspx

Simpson, A. Rae (2001). Raising Teens: A Synthesis of Research and a Foundation for Action. Boston: Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health.

Sin [Def.1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sin.

Strayhorn, J. M., & Strayhorn, J. C. (2009, September 17). Reproductive Health. Retrieved July 07, 2016, from http://reproductive- healthjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-4755-6-14

Stice, E. , Presnell, K. , & Bearman, S. (2002). Relation of early menarche to depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and comorbid psychopathology among adolescent girls. Developmental Psychology, 37(5), 608-619.

Teen Pregnancy Rates Fall? Hold the Applause! - Living Faith - Home & Family - News - Catholic Online. (2012, April 17). Retrieved July 07, 2016, from http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=45739

Terri Apter quote. (n.d.). Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/terriapter403050.html?src=t_adolesc ence

The Girls Empowerment Workshop - Cultivating Confidence, Self Respect and Assertiveness. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://thegirlsempowermentworkshop.org/

The Invention of the Teenager. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/46c.asp

What is REALgirl? (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://www.aneabogue.com/realgirl/about.php?What-is-REALgirl-3

Where the Church Draws the Line on Drugs. (2001, December 22). Retrieved July 07, 2016, from http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic- contributions/where-the-church-draws-the-line-on-drugs.html

Wild, L. G., Flisher, A. J., Bhana, A., & Lombard, C. (2004). Associations among adolescent risk behaviours and self-esteem in six domains. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45(8), 1454-1467. doi:10.1111/j.1469- 7610.2004.00851.x

Appendix A: The Program

This section outlines Girls Planning Success (GPS), a parent meeting and workshop series for preparing eighth grade girls in Catholic schools for high school and beyond. The average class size of a Catholic middle school under the Los Angeles

Archdiocese consists of about 30-40 male and female students, therefore each workshop series will have an anticipated amount of 10 and 20 girls participating. The program will accommodate to the number of participants enrolled in each class to promote cohesiveness within classes and prevent exclusion. The cost for production of the workshop series will depend on whether or not the school will be providing the funding or asking for parents to pay. Without school support, GPS will cost each girl $300 to participate in the program series. This will cover the cost of materials and facilitator’s services. This program begins with a two to three-hour long parent meeting which will educate parents about the workshop series and their daughters’ participation. In addition, the parents will be involved in an intervention to support and encourage their daughters’ growth. During this meeting, parents will learn strategies that will help to better support their daughters as they begin high school and go on to college. The girls will then attend a

3-day consecutive, social-emotional workshop series.

The developer of GPS, Emma Jaegle, a professional Marriage and Family

Therapist and former Catholic student, will be facilitating the program series. GPS is based off of a theoretical model of 10 tasks associated with adolescent development

(Simpson, 2010). Each task is not its own entity.

Four of the developmental tasks will be the focus of the workshop “topics of the day,” while the other six tasks will be integrated implicitly throughout the interventions.

The first day of the workshop will be centered on peer relationships. The focus on the second day will be sexuality. The last day of the workshop will concentrate on individual identity and preparation for the next eight years of their future. The following outlined meeting and workshops will identify the tasks that will be covered, goals to be achieved, estimated time needed, list resources needed, and procedures required. Slides, handouts, and resources referenced can be found in the appendices section in order of mention.

Parent Meeting

This meeting will take place ideally a week or less before the workshop for eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. One or more of the girls’ parents or guardians will be required to attend this meeting to be held on the school campus. Each attendee will receive a printout of the slides presented (Appendix B), a blank sheet of paper, and a pen.

Each parenting unit will receive a Parental Consent on behalf of their daughters

(Appendix B), and an envelope.

Time required: Approximately 2-3 hours (depending on amount of attendees)

Goals:

• Inform the parents of the eighth grade girls in Catholic schools about the

importance of GPS

• Provide education about the changes physically and social-emotionally that their

daughters might or are already experiencing in early adolescence.

• Create a sense of cohesion among the parents as they support their daughters

during this transitional period in their lives.

• Inform the parents of the interventions that will be used with their daughters and

what tools they will be taking away from the workshop series.

Materials and/or Resources Needed:

• A place hosted by the school that will seat occupants comfortably

• Projector for slides

• Copies of slides (Appendix B)

• Copies of Parental Consent (Appendix B)

• Pens

• Blank sheets of paper

• Envelopes

• Tissue box

Outline:

1. Parents will enter room, be greeted, sign in, and obtain resources from the

facilitator before seating themselves.

2. Once everyone has arrived, the facilitator will introduce herself and explain the

agenda for the night.

3. Icebreaker- parents will take turns introducing themselves and sharing the

following information to the group:

a.) Their name(s)

b.) Their daughter’s name? Is she the only daughter in the family? (If no,

what is her birth order?)

c.) How long has she been at this school?

d.) How has puberty/early adolescence affected their daughter so far?

e.) A description(s)of their relationship with their daughter? Has it changed?

4. 10 Developmental Tasks of Adolescence will be introduced and explained.

5. The facilitator will present physical and hormonal changes that the eighth grade

girls may be currently experiencing. She will then open the floor to questions and

lead discussion on what parents are doing to ease the symptoms or awkwardness.

6. The facilitator will present on female bullying. She will then open the floor to

questions and lead discussion on what parents are doing to prevent bullying or

intervene.

7. The facilitator will present on protective factors such as self-esteem, relationship

authenticity, community, and importance of appropriate parental involvement

during their daughters’ adolescence.

a.) The concept of the “Conduct Contract” will be introduced as a tool to set

boundaries between parents and child, and ensure support. The Conduct

Contract is a tool that parents can create to communicate with their

daughters their preferences on household rules, expectations with school,

expectations with peers, and plans in case of crises. It can list pre-

approved adults deemed as “safe people” for their daughters to confide in

during situations when she is not comfortable disclosing information to

her parents, but could potentially be in trouble. The contract can also

contain a “safe word” for their daughters when they are in crisis as a code

for: “I made a mistake, I don’t want to talk about it because I already feel

bad, and it will never happen again.” One example of how the safe word

can be used is if the daughter comes home far past her curfew because she

had to help a friend who had made a bad decision and put herself in

harm’s way. Another example of how the safe word could be effective is if

the daughter calls her parents late at night for a ride because she had

decided to try alcohol or drugs and can no longer drive herself home.

Having a contract in place like this will ensure that the girls will feel

comfortable without worry of immediate reprimand or consequences, and

will be more open to eventually share with their parents what had actually

taken place. The concept of the Conduct Contract helps open the

conversation of different instances before they occur so that if they do, the

child does not feel like it is a taboo topic to bring up, therefore lessening

any senses of guilt or shame.

b.) The facilitator will then open the floor to questions or discussion of other

parents’ ideas.

8.) The facilitator will provide an overview of the GPS workshop activities and lessons that their daughters will participate in. She will then be open to questions.

9.) The facilitator will explain the letter-writing activity to parents.

a.) Each parent will write a letter to their daughters expressing their feelings towards them transitioning to high school and promising unconditional love and support during their adolescent years.

b.) Letters will then be sealed in envelopes and addressed with their daughters’ names. If more than one parent per child attends the meeting, both letters will be put into one envelope.

c.) Parents will be told not to tell their daughters about impending workshop activities or letters that will be received. This will ensure cohesion by learning and experiencing everything for the first time together.

10.) The facilitator will ask if there are any final questions. She will then explain and ask parents to sign and pass forward the Parental Consents for their daughters to participate in

GPS before concluding the meeting.

Workshop 1: My Peers

Day 1 of GPS will involve the facilitator introducing the workshop series, building rapport with the girls, and educating them on how peer relationships change during adolescence. The girls will learn a thermometer technique to gauge their feelings towards crisis in their relationships, and learn how they can prevent conflict by practicing relationship authenticity. In addition, the girls will reflect on their own feelings regarding what Catholicism believes is the appropriate way to handle oneself in these situations.

Through video and vignettes, the girls will discuss with each other how to handle peer conflict in a healthy way.

Time Required: 6 hours (with a 15 minute break and 30 minute lunch)

Goals:

• Educate girls on forming healthy friendships that are mutually close and

supportive

• Develop and apply abstract thinking skills

• Develop and apply a more complex level of perspective-taking

• Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as decision-making, problem-

solving, and conflict resolution

• Understand and express more complex emotional experiences

• Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems

Materials and/or Resources Needed:

• Another adult, or faculty member that is familiar with the class should be

present at all times

• 2 tissue boxes

• Copies of Informed Consents (Appendix C)

• “Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice” bin containing:

o Candy

o Girl empowering/ themed pens and pencils

o Fun erasers

o Lipgloss and/or chapstick

o Nail polish (with warning about school dress code)

o Flat, elastic hair ties

o Hair bows

o Tampons and pads

• M&M’s

• Copies of blank thermometer worksheet (Appendix C)

• Extra pens in case girls forgot their school supplies

• Colored pencils in case girls forgot their school supplies

• Projector for slides

• Access to Mean Girls movie via online streaming or copy of dvd/ blue ray

• Vignette Activities (Appendix C)

• Day 1 Evaluation Forms (Appendix C)

Outline:

1. The facilitator will introduce herself, her credentials, and brief background of

attending Catholic school.

2. Informed consents (Appendix C) will be explained, distributed and collected after

girls sign. A conversation will be held about the importance of keeping each

other’s confidentiality and creating a safe environment in which honest

discussions can take place.

3. The facilitator will give a brief overview of GPS and agenda for the day. The

“Sugar, Spice, & Everything Nice” bin will be introduced as a means to

encourage participation throughout the series. She will explain that once a

member of the group answers a question or shares an activity or experience, the

facilitator will point at the bin and the girl is welcome to go take a prize.

4. The M&M icebreaker activity will be introduced and played. With the instruction

of withholding consumption, each girl will be given 3 random M&M’s and will

take turns going around the room introducing herself and answering questions

according to the colors she was given. The questions are:

a. Brown: Where is your favorite place in the world?

b. Orange: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

c. Red: What is the last song that you listened to?

d. Green: Who are your idols? (Name 1-3)

e. Yellow: If you could have any super power, what would it be?

f. Blue: What is your favorite holiday? Why?

5. The Crisis Thermometer (Appendix C) lesson: Each girl will receive a Crisis

Thermometer worksheet and be instructed to draw lines separating their

thermometers into three sections. The sections may be colored green (bottom),

yellow (middle), and red (top). The green section will represent smaller problems.

These will be identified as problems that are “no big deal,” or can go away on

their own. Feelings associated with these problems are: annoyance, a little worry,

a little disappointment, etc. The yellow section will represent medium problems.

These problems can often be solved by the girls alone or with the help of their

friends. Feelings that are associated with these problems are: confusion, sadness,

anger, worried, etc. The red section will represent big problems. Big problems

need someone in the position of authority (parents, the school, the police, etc.) to

get involved. Feelings that are associated with these problems are: fear for safety,

physical or serious emotional harm, helpless, defenseless, etc.

a. The facilitator will ask the girls to identify examples of each category.

b. The girls will be asked to keep their thermometer worksheets out for

prompts to plot different crises during a film that will be shown shortly.

6. The facilitator will hold an open discussion about girl friendships vs. boy

friendships.

7. Mean Girls movie will be shown. During the movie, the girls will be prompted to

record on their thermometers the levels of crises throughout viewing the movie.

8. The facilitator will debrief Mean Girls and have girls share their responses to the

thermometer prompts about various situations that had occurred in the film.

9. An open discussion will then take place about Catholic beliefs on how to treat one

another.

10. The facilitator will provide psychoeducation on why girls are mean and the

importance of relationship authenticity.

11. The girls will break out into groups with vignettes (Appendix C) to identify

feelings and responses. Groups will then share their scenarios and conclusions.

The facilitator will guide in processing any stirred emotions.

12. Workshop Evaluation Forms (Appendix C) will be handed out and turned in

before girls leave for the day.

Workshop 2: My Sexuality

Workshop 2 will focus on the topic of sexuality. The girls will reflect on their attitudes towards being female. They will discuss the roles and expectations of females in society and in the Catholic community. The girls will also be challenged to take a look at how they express their own sexuality and how others might perceive their image. Lastly, they will empower each other as they start the adjustment to sexually maturing bodies and feelings during adolescence.

Time Required: 6 hours (with a 15 minute break and 30 minute lunch)

Goals:

• Aid in knowledge about and adjustment to sexually maturing bodies and feelings

• Develop and apply abstract thinking skills

• Develop and apply a more complex level of perspective-taking

• Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as decision-making, problem-

solving, and conflict resolution

• Understand and express more complex emotional experiences

• Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems

Materials and/or Resources Needed:

• Another adult, or faculty member that is familiar with the class should be present

at all times

• 2 tissue boxes

• Blank paper

• Pens in case girls forgot to bring their school supplies

• Access to media clips (via streaming or saved to computer):

o Dove commercial

o Victoria’s Secret commercial

o News clip of a woman criticized for being stupid when they are actually

intelligent and successful (Sofia Vagara)

o News story on copycat plastic surgeries

o Before and after pictures of Kylie Jenner

• Catholic school girl character vignette (Appendix C)

• Small squares of paper with each girl’s name written on it and space for

compliment to be used during “Empower Her” activity

• Bag for “Empower Her” papers

• Workshop Evaluation Forms (Appendix C)

Outline:

1. Check in on reflections and feelings about Day 1.

2. Introduction to topic and activities of Day 2.

3. Psychoeducation about hormones and brain development.

4. The facilitator will notice “Sugar, Spice, & Everything Nice” bin items that have

not been touched (tampons and pads), and lead a discussion about the girls’

feelings of embarrassment and shame regarding inevitable female experiences.

5. Break out into groups and discuss:

a. What has your experience of being a girl been like?

The facilitator will ask for volunteers to share and process feelings.

6. Media clips will be played and the facilitator will host an open brainstorm about

media expectations of women physically, emotionally, professionally, etc.

7. An open discussion will be held about what it is like to be a girl in the Catholic

community. The girls will reflect on what is expected and assumed of Catholic

women.

8. Break out into groups and discuss:

c.) What is sexuality?

d.) When does someone realize his or her sexuality?

e.) How do you personally express your sexuality?

The facilitator will ask for volunteers to share and process feelings.

9. A lesson about image and how it can be perceived will be facilitated. A character

vignette (Appendix C) about a Catholic schoolgirl seen in public will be read and

girls will have open discussion about what an outsider might think. The facilitator

will ask:

a. How do you think the girls felt about their images to the public? Did they seem confident, carefree, etc.? b. What might a public-schooled girl of the same age think about them? (Ex:

Snobby, rich, bitch, etc.)

c. What might a boy in their class think about them? (Ex: Attractive, fun,

friendly, etc.)

d. What might an older girl in the local Catholic high school think about

them? (Ex: Naïve, stupid, slut, etc.)

e. What might a younger girl in their school think about them? (Ex: Cool,

confident, aspirational, etc.)

f. What might an older, single man think about them? (Ex: Porn fantasy,

“asking for it,” etc.)

10. Girls will break out into groups and reflect on themselves and their images. The

facilitator will ask for volunteers to share their thoughts.

11. “Empower Her” Activity: Facilitator will have each girl draw a name out of a bag

and write an anonymous compliment about that person’s image. Facilitator will

collect compliments and read them out loud for girls to feel a sense of

empowerment about their images.

12. Workshop Evaluation Forms (Appendix C) will be handed out and turned in

before girls leave for the day.

Workshop 3: My Identity, My Future

Workshop 3 will focus on the concept of identity and preparation for the future.

The girls will consider what makes up an identity and what causes an identity to

change. They will learn that as they gain increasingly mature roles and

responsibilities in their adolescence, their identities will transform, including the

decision of wanting to be recognized as Catholic. They will reflect on what their ideal

future identities would be, and realize the steps that need to be taken to make their

visions reality. They facilitator will also help them identify coping strategies and

support systems to help them along the way.

Time Required: 6 hours (with a 15 minute break and 30 minute lunch)

Goals:

• Aid in establishment of key aspects of identity

• Preparation for meeting the demands of increasingly mature roles and

responsibilities

• Education on renegotiating relationships with adults and parenting roles

• Develop and apply abstract thinking skills

• Develop and apply a more complex level of perspective-taking

• Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as decision-making, problem-

solving, and conflict resolution

• Understand and express more complex emotional experiences

• Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems

Materials and/or Resources Needed:

• Another adult, or faculty member that is familiar with the class should be present

at all times

• 2 tissue boxes

• Blank sheets of paper

• Glue sticks

• Pre-cut magazine images for collages

• Access to clean music playlist via streaming or AUX hook-up to play during

activities

• Pens in case girls forgot their school supplies

• Markers in case girls forgot their school supplies

• Letters from parents

• Action Plan worksheets (Appendix C)

• Workshop Evaluation Forms (Appendix C)

Outline:

1. Check in about Day 2

2. Introduction to topic and activities of Day 3

3. “Who I Am” activity: Girls will break out into groups and create collages with

magazine clippings, drawings, or words representing their identities. In the

activity prompt, the facilitator will ask if the girls consider “Catholic” to be part

of their identities. They will then be instructed to share their identities with their

groups. Facilitator will ask for volunteers to share their collages with the room.

4. An open discussion will be held asking: “What causes an identity to change? How

does identity change as you grow?”

5. An open brainstorm will be conducted identifying:

a. What is expected of you now?

b. What will be expected of you when you are 16 years old? 18? Early 20’s?

c. Girls will be asked to identify upcoming roles and responsibilities along

with privileges that will be gained (i.e. trust, independence, etc.) They will

also be asked to identify how their relationships with adults change as they

grow. The facilitator will also prompt: “At which point in your life will it

be your decision to attend Sunday Mass or not?”

6. The facilitator will guide the girls through Episode Interactive’s “Mean Girls,” a

choose-your-own-adventure mobile app game on the projector to educate girls on

how their choices today can impact their future.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/episode-choose-your-story/id656971078?mt=8

7. The facilitator will educate girls on the importance of having coping tools and a

support system. An open discussion will be held about different coping strategies

for moments of discouragement, sadness, etc. Prayer and seeking guidance from

the local priest will be mentioned as possible tools. At this time, the letters that

had been written by their parents will be handed out to the girls, and soft music

for reflection will be played while they read them. The girls will then debrief

about their feelings towards their changing relationship with their parents, and

validation of having them as unconditional support.

8. “Who I Want to Be” activity: Girls will break out into groups and create collages

with magazine clippings, drawings, or words representing what they want their

identities to develop into. The facilitator will remind the girls that eventually it

will be up to them if they want to continue practicing Catholicism and identify as

Catholic. The facilitator will then pass out an Action Plan worksheet (Appendix

C) for them to fill out and take home expressing each of their goals, plans of

action, coping strategies and identified support teams. They will then be

instructed to share their future selves with the entire room and discuss steps that

they will take to get there, and choices that can prevent their desired futures from

happening.

9. Workshop Evaluation Forms (Appendix C)

10. Facilitator will engage girls in open conversation about termination. She will ask

the girls to respond to questions such as:

a. What was your favorite part of these last three days?

b. How do you feel about yourselves now?

c. How do you feel about each other now?

11. “Be Authentic” wristbands will be handed out to each girl on their way out as a

keepsake for their experience with GPS

Appendix B: Parent Meeting Materials

Parent Meeting Slides

Girls Planning Success (G.P.S.)

Emma Jaegle, M.F.T. Intern

Agenda ! Introductions ! G.P.S. Workshop Overviews ! What is G.P.S.? ! Letter Activity ! The 10 Developmental Tasks ! Parental Consent Forms of Adolescence ! Final Questions ! Physical Changes in Puberty ! Female Bullying ! Protective Factors ! Self-Esteem ! Environment ! Parental Impact

Introductions ! Your name(s) ! Your daughter’s name ! Is she the only daughter in the family? (If not, what is her birth order?) ! How long has she been at this school? ! How has puberty/early adolescence affected your daughter so far? ! How would you describe your relationship(s) with your daughter?

What is G.P.S.? ! A 3-day workshop series ! Aimed to prepare 8th grade girls in Catholic schools for their transition to Catholic high school

! Provides emotional and cognitive tools to navigate the next phase of adolescent development

The 10 Developmental Tasks of Adolescence 1. Adjust to sexually maturing 6. Understand and express more bodies and feelings complex emotional experiences 2. Develop and apply abstract 7. Form friendships that are thinking skills mutually close and supportive 3. Develop and apply a more 8. Establish key aspects of identity complex level of perspective taking 9. Meet the demands of increasingly mature roles and 4. Develop and apply new coping responsibilities skills in areas such as decision- making, problem solving, and 10. Renegotiate relationships with conflict resolution adults and parenting roles 5. Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief systems Simpson, A. Rae (2001). Raising Teens: A Synthesis of Research and a Foundation for Action. Boston: Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health.

Puberty ! “The condition of beings or the period of becoming first capable of reproducing sexually marked by maturing of the genital organs, development of secondary sex characteristics, and in the human and in higher primates by the first occurrence of menstruation in the female,” (Merriam- Webster.com, July 29, 2016).

Hormonal Changes ! About a year before experiencing their first period, girls may experience headaches, stomachaches, moodiness, and weight gain.

! This is due to hormones called gonadotropins being released into the bloodstream from the pituitary gland.

! Gonadotropins stimulate about six times the previous amount of estrogen and about twenty times the previous amount of androgen by their ovaries (PAMF.org, July 29, 2016).

Physical Changes

! The new chemicals in their body causes them to experience soreness and aches in their bodies-also known as “growing pains.”

! From their last big growth spurt before reaching their optimal height two years after the onset of puberty, tenderness in their breasts as they begin to develop, hips becoming rounder, size increase in the uterus and vagina, pubic hair begins to appear, and of course the legendary period begins to make its monthly visits (KidsHealth.org, July 29, 2016).

! It is common for developing women to acquire new behaviors such as sleeping for frequently or for longer durations, feel moody, and start exploring masturbation (PAMF.org, July 29, 2016).

Brain Changes ! The brain is essentially being rewired, undergoing a major synaptic pruning to make room for myelination- the formation of myelin sheaths around nerves to allow them to move more quickly. This reconstruction of the brain can induce “impulsive behavior and neurobehavioral excitement during adolescent life,” (Arain et. al, p.449). ! The prefrontal cortex is not due to be fully developed until age 24. The prefrontal cortex is the front lobes of the brain that control the executive function- the capacity of: “selection attention, decision- making, voluntary response inhibition, and working memory,” (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). ! This makes adolescents have impulsive behaviors because they are unable to think decisions through.

Female Bullying ! As girls mature physically at different rates, they begin to compare themselves to others and become more self-conscious. ! Media has a huge influence on female adolescents. All too often are teenagers and young adults portrayed as partying, sexually active, and making risky choices for the sake of entertainment, thus causing young girls to feel that they need to mimic the behaviors. ! Teenage girls reported higher disclosure and more intimate conversations online than boys. They also reported that they felt more comfortable communicating their feelings through technology than in-person (Davis, 2012). Because girls usually do not resort to physical violence like boys do, they are more inclined to react verbally, leaving social media platforms a great set-up for bullying. ! There are “significant and linear associations between social media and depression whether social media use was measured in terms of total time spent or frequency of visits,” (Sidani, Shensa, Radovic, et. Al., UPMC.com).

Why Do Girls Bully Each Other? ! Groups of adolescent girls have hierarchies and are always fighting and defending their power. ! The need to be hierarchical and competitive with their peers comes from a primal origin that is fueled by the feminine socialization process (Gilligan, 1982). ! Girls are expected to have harmonious relationships and not show the emotion of anger- the emotion expected from boys. ! When something happens that upsets a girl, she may mask her anger and delay her reaction so that it is a calculated, manipulative revenge such as divulging a secret.

“Keep Your Friends Close, and Enemies Closer” ! Popularity means: “first, that the student was widely known or recognized by classmates, and second, that he or she was sought after as a friend,” (Merten, p. 179). ! This may seem conflicting with the idea of popular girls being mean girls. ! “Established members [are] not looking for competitors. They [are] willing to accept girls who [are] grateful for the opportunity to associate with them, but [do] not hesitate to be aggressive in putting them in their place if they overreach their acceptance,” (p.179). ! This means that while everyone thinks that the popular girl is nice, her closer friends may know a conniving side of her that attacks when she feels that her spot in the hierarchy is threatened. ! Bullying like this among cliques is far more common than the original idea of someone making fun of another.

Protective Factors ! Adolescents with higher levels of emotional intelligence were less likely to engage in bullying, and if they were victims or knew a victim, they could better diffuse the situation (Schokman et. Al., 2014).

! Protective factors such as self-esteem, environment, and parental impact during middle school can influence how girls handle themselves in high school.

Self-Esteem ! Specifically in girls, risky behaviors are associated with low body image self-esteem and global self worth (p.1454).

! Though it is common for self-esteem to drop during adolescence, girls experience a drop twice as much as boys do (Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, & Potter, 2002).

Relationship Authenticity and Self-Esteem ! Relationship authenticity is defined as “the congruence between what one thinks and feels and what one does and says in relational contexts,” (Impett, Sorsoli, Schooler, Henson, & Tolman, p.722). ! “Girls who scored high on the measure of relationship authenticity in the 8th grade experienced greater increases in self-esteem over the course of adolescence than girls who scored low on relationship authenticity. Further, girls who increased in authenticity also tended to increase in self-esteem over the course of adolescence,” (p.722). ! Formally teaching girls emotional confrontation could very likely prevent emotional turmoil from the subliminal female bullying spectrum and improve their self-esteem in their environments, thus promoting success.

Environment ! Behavior is influenced by socialization in the domains of community, schools, peers, and family.

! Interacting with pro- or antisocial others is predictive of developing pro- or antisocial behaviors through rewards of involvement with them.

! The Catholic community promotes prosocial behaviors in all domains.

Kim, B., Oesterle, S., Catalano, R., & Hawkins, J. (2015). Change in protective factors across adolescent development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 40, 26-37.

Parental Impact ! The Journal of Youth and Adolescence states: “With substantive evidence suggesting that adolescents’ disclosure is likely a protective factor against problem behaviors, as well as evidence that many adolescents will go to great lengths to avoid sharing information with parents, one may conclude that parents face a formidable task. Previous studies have identified parents acceptance as a concurrent correlate of adolescents’ behavioral disclosure, but have neglected to investigate potential ways that parents could encourage their adolescents to feel comfortable disclosing emotional information,” (Hare, Marston, & Allen, p.744).

Parental Impact ! “Teens who say their parents are indifferent about drug or tobacco use are significantly more likely to smoke or drink,” (Johnson & Shapiro, 2012).

! 30% of teens who reported being left alone overnight are “twice as likely to have used alcohol or marijuana than teens that have never been left alone at night,” (2012). ! Parental involvement and communication has been proven to be an effective factor in the prevention of risky behaviors in teens.

Talk to Your Kids ! Be open ! Conduct Contract ! Safe People ! Safe Words

G.P.S. Agenda ! Day 1: My Peers ! Icebreakers ! The Crisis Thermometer ! Girl friendships vs. Boy friendships ! Mean Girls ! Open discussion about Catholic beliefs on how to treat one another ! Education on why girls are mean and relationship authenticity ! Group break-out with bullying vignettes ! Workshop evaluation forms will be distributed

G.P.S. Agenda ! Day 2: My Sexuality ! Introduction to topic and activities of the day ! Education on hormones and brain development ! Discussion about feelings of embarrassment or shame regarding inevitable female experiences ! Group break-out and discussion about experiences of being girls ! Open brainstorm about media expectations of women physically, emotionally, professionally, etc. Media clips will be played ! Open discussion about what is expected and assumed of Catholic women. ! Group break-out and discussion about sexuality ! Lesson and reflection about image: vignette about Catholic schoolgirl in public ! Empower Her activity ! Workshop evaluation forms will be distributed

G.P.S. Agenda ! Day 3: My Identity, My Future ! Introduction to topic and activities of the day ! Who I Am activity ! Open discussion about how identity changes ! Open brainstorm about upcoming roles and responsibilities. They will also identify how their relationships with adults change as they grow. ! “Choose Your Own Adventure” game ! Open discussion about importance of having coping tools and a support system ! Parent letters will be distributed and debriefed ! Who I Want to Be activity ! Workshop evaluation forms will be distributed ! Debrief about G.P.S. and termination ! “Be Authentic” wristbands will be handed out

Letter Activity ! Feelings about her going to high school ! Awareness of relationship shift ! Openness ! Unconditional love ! Unconditional support

Resources Arain, Haque, Johal, Mathur, Nel, Rais, Sandhu, Sharma, and Sushil. "Maturation of the Adolescent Brain." NDT Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (2013): 449-61. NCBI. Web. 2 Aug. 2016. Blakemore, S., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. J Child Psychol & Psychiat Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3-4), 296-312. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01611.x Davis, K. (2012). Friendship 2.0: Adolescents' experiences of belonging and self- disclosure online. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1527-1536. Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Growth and Your 13- to 18-Year-Old. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2016, from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/growth-13-to-18.html Hare, A., Marston, E., & Allen, J. (2011). Maternal acceptance and adolescents’ emotional communication: A longitudinal study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(6), 744-751.

Resources

Impett, E. A., Sorsoli, L., Schooler, D., Henson, J. M., & Tolman, D. L. (2008). Girls’ relationship authenticity and self-esteem across adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 722-733. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.722

Johnson, T., PhD, & Shapiro, R., PhD. (2012, August). National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVII: Teens (Rep.). Retrieved August 21, 2016, from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse website http://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/national-survey- american-attitudes-substance-abuse-teens-2012

Merten, D. (1997). The meaning of meanness: Popularity, competition, and conflict among junior high school girls. Sociology of Education, 70(3), 175-191.

Puberty (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puberty

Puberty. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.pamf.org/teen/health/puberty/

Resources

Robins, R. W., Trzesniewski, K. H., Tracy, J. L., Gosling, S. D., & Potter, J. (2002). Global self-esteem across the life span. Psychology And Aging, 17(3), 423-434. doi 10.1037/0882-7974.17.3.423

Simpson, A. Rae (2001). Raising Teens: A Synthesis of Research and a Foundation for Action. Boston: Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health.

Girls Planning Success (GPS) Parent Consent Form

GPS is a 3-day consecutive, social-emotional workshop series for eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. The facilitator of the program, Emma Jaegle, a professional Marriage and Family Therapist and former Catholic student, developed the program for 8th grade girls in Catholic schools to feel prepared for the transition to high school. The following is a breakdown of what the program entails:

Day 1: My Peers- The facilitator will introduce the workshop series, build report with the girls, and educate them on how peer relationships change during adolescence. The girls will learn a thermometer technique to gauge their feelings towards crisis in their relationships, and learn how they can prevent conflict by practicing relationship authenticity. In addition, the girls will be made aware of their own feelings regarding what Catholicism believes is the appropriate way to handle oneself in these situations. Through video and vignettes, the girls will discuss with each other how to handle peer conflict in a healthy way.

Day 2: My Sexuality- The girls will reflect on their attitudes towards being female. They will discuss the roles and expectations of females in society and in the Catholic community. The girls will also be challenged to take a look at how they express their own sexuality and how others might perceive their image. Lastly, they will be encouraged to empower each other as they start the adjustment to sexually maturing bodies and feelings during adolescence.

Day 3: My Identity, My Future- The girls will consider what makes up an identity and what causes an identity to change. They will learn that as they gain increasingly mature roles and responsibilities in their adolescence, their identities will transform, including the decision of wanting to be recognized as Catholic. They will reflect on what their ideal future identities would be and recognize steps that need to be taken to make their visions reality. They facilitator will also help them identify coping strategies and support systems to help them along the way.

The 8th grade girls attending the workshop will be given an Informed Consent to explain the therapeutic laws of confidentially. Anything said by the attendees will be kept confidential unless it involves child abuse, hurting herself or others, or illegal sexual activity.

Your signature below confirms that you understand and consent to the above information.

Print Name Signature Date

Appendix C: Workshop Materials

Girls Planning Success (GPS) Informed Consent

GPS is a 3-day consecutive, social-emotional workshop series for eighth grade girls in Catholic schools. The facilitator of the program, Emma Jaegle, a professional Marriage and Family Therapist and former Catholic student, developed the program for 8th grade girls in Catholic schools to feel prepared for the transition to high school. It addresses issues such as peer relations, sexuality, identity, and the future.

Confidentiality

You have the absolute right to the confidentiality of your workshop series. Confidentiality means privacy. The facilitator and any member cannot and will not tell anyone else what you say in these workshops without your permission.

Some things cannot remain confidential. The workshop facilitator will need to report to someone else if: -You are being abused, physically and/or sexually -You are going to hurt/kill yourself or someone else -You are under 16 years old and having sex with someone 21 years or older -You are under 14 years old and having sex with someone 14 years or older

Your signature below confirms that you understand the above information.

Print Name Signature Date

Facilitator’s Name Signature Date

Thermometer Worksheet

Group Outing Vignette

Madison and her friends Katie, Sarah, Becca, and Lexi had planned to go to the movies together on Friday evening. Their parents had dropped them off at the mall after school, and they got ice cream together before seeing the film. Afterwards, Madison said her goodbyes to her friends at the fountain where her mother was waiting to pick her up. She noticed that Sarah’s mother had just pulled up as she was walking away, and all the girls had gotten into her car. Maybe she was giving them rides home? They do all live in the same part of town. The next morning, when she was looking at her Instagram feed, Madison noticed the girls posted pictures of a slumber party that had taken place that night at Sarah’s house.

How did that make Madison feel?

What do you recommend Madison do?

Could there be a reason why the slumber party happened without purposefully excluding Madison?

Cyber Flirt Vignette

Paige and Tyler have been good friends since kindergarten. Their parents were good friends, too. Often, they carpooled to and from school together, and hung out on weekends when their parents wanted to host dinner parties. Recently, Paige has been developing deeper feelings for Tyler, but had never wanted to say anything out of fear for ruining their friendship. They had the kind of friendship where they could look at each other and know what the other was thinking. Tyler had started dating Brittany a few weeks ago. Paige was sad, but knew that her love for him would outlast his relationship with Brittany. She would wait patiently until the day he realizes that he belongs with her. One day, while Paige was on Facebook, Tyler had messaged her saying, “I know this is random and weird but I’ve always had a crush on you.” Paige could not believe what she was reading. It was as if God had answered her prayers! She responded, “Really? I feel the same. I’ve always liked you that way.” Tyler answered back, “I don’t even know what I’m doing with Brittany. Would it be okay if I kissed you tomorrow?” Paige squealed in excitement. Finally they were going to be together in the way she had dreamed about! She replied, “Yes” before leaving the computer for dinner with her family. Later that evening, Paige’s best friend, Amanda had texted her saying to look at what Brittany posted. She ran to her computer and didn’t even have to go to Brittany’s page; there, on the top of her newsfeed was a screen shot of her conversation with Tyler. Brittany had captioned it, “Some bitches are so naïve...#inyourdreams”

How did that make Paige feel?

How do you think Brittany felt? What motivated her to log on to Tyler’s account?

How do you think Tyler felt?

Drama Club Vignette

Morgan was an average student; she had her preferred group of friends, and enjoyed planning pep rallies and acting in the drama club productions. This year, the drama club was putting on the play “Cinderella.” Morgan felt confident that the part was hers; she had nailed her audition, picked out the ball gown that she wanted to wear, and started sharing with her cousins the news of her upcoming performance before the parts were announced. Mia had also auditioned for the play. She had always been known as the “good girl” in the class. She always followed the rules, got straight A’s, and led the prayer every morning. She had never been one to gossip, and had been friendly to everyone. This year she had decided to step outside of her comfort zone and try out for the school play. When she found out that she had gotten the part of Cinderella, she ran home ecstatic. Her family was so proud of her, and her grandmother started taking her measurements to make her a special ball gown. The day after the cast was revealed, Mia noticed that her classmates were looking at her and whispering. When she asked her friend, Nicole, what was going on, Nicole said, “Morgan has been telling people that you only got the part because you kiss ass.”

How do you think Mia felt?

How do you think Morgan felt?

What should Mia do?

Should Nicole have done anything different?

The Pig Vignette

Leah started gaining weight in 5th grade. Her mother said that it was because of hormones and her family’s genetics (no one was “super model skinny”). By 8th grade, she was noticeably bigger, and she was very self-conscious about it. She always tried to keep her big sweatshirt on, even when it was hot outside. Leah’s friends had never mentioned anything to her and always treated her the same. She ate lunch with everyone and was always invited to her friends’ sleepovers. Because her group of friends was so large (they called themselves “The Sixers”), there often were times when only a few people shared the same “inside jokes.” One day, Leah overheard her fellow Sixers, Emily and Peyton laughing while saying “This little piggy…” Within a few days, she heard two more of the Sixers, Carly and Rachel saying “This little piggy…” She also swears that her other friend, Hailey was holding her nose up with her finger, like a pig behind her when they were standing in line after lunch. That night, when Leah went on Instagram, she saw that her friends had been “liking” and commenting pig emojis on a picture from one of their last few slumber parties. It was a picture of Emily and Peyton making funny faces. In the background, she saw herself with her mouth and her eyes wide open as she was taking a bite of pizza.

How do you think Leah felt?

What should Leah do?

What should Leah not do?

Why do you think Leah’s best friends started that joke?

Workshop Evaluations

What did you like most about this workshop?

What did you like the least about this workshop?

Additional comments or feedback

Catholic School Girl Vignette

Riley and Sophia walk to the mall together after school. They were ready for the weekend after a long week of classes. Because it makes the school uniforms look cuter, they roll their skirts to a shorter, more comfortable length. Sophia decides to take off her polo shirt, and wear the tank top that she had on underneath. Riley pulls her knee-high socks up over her knees to the trendier length of thigh-highs. They have a great afternoon together, eating their lollipops that they were given for acing their history tests and shopping through their favorite stores.

Action Plan Worksheet

My goals:

What I can do to achieve my goals:

Things that will prevent me from reaching my goals:

Coping strategies to help me during hard times:

My support team:

Appendix D: Questions for Program Evaluators

1. Do you believe that this program would be helpful to 8th grade girls in Catholic schools?

2. Are there any additional topics that would be beneficial to include?

3. Do the selected activities and lessons match the goals provided?

4. If you had the authority to do so, would you authorize this workshop to be applied to your school?

5. Any additional feedback you would like to provide?