Girls and Aggression: Contributing Factors and Intervention Principles

- Represents both sides of the problem of violence in the lives of girls – girls as victims of violence; and girls as perpetrators of violence. To fully understand the problem of violence it is essential to consider both sides of the ‘violence coin’.

- Provides perspectives from multiple disciplines using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies thereby providing a fuller understanding of the issues.

- Provides a bridge from research on causal factors and developmental course to research on intervention.

Dr. Marlene M. Moretti is a Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University and has published widely in the field of youth mental health, self development, and parent-adolescent attachment. She currently leads a multi-site Canadian Institutes of Health Research program examining gender, aggression, and violence. Dr. Moretti has served on the government committees and panels focused on the promotion of youth mental health. She has also consulted with Health Canada in providing recommendations to promote healthy adolescent adjustment.

Candice L. Odgers completed her Master’s degree in Criminology at Simon Fraser University where she conducted one of the largest studies of incarcerated female youth in Canada. Candice is currently a Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Virginia and a Senior Research Associate for a Canadian Institutes of Health Research-sponsored Gender and Aggression Network. Candice is the recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Doctoral Fellowship and the Commonwealth Scholarship. She is currently expanding her research to focus on violence within high-risk populations of girls in the United States.

Dr. Margaret Jackson, Professor of Criminology at Simon Fraser University, has conducted research in three main areas: clinical criminology; women's issues, especially violence against women and children; and justice policy. She is currently the principal investigator for a major SSHRC project on marginalized girls and the Director of the Institute for Studies in Criminal Justice Policy at SFU. Dr. Jackson has previously undertaken specific research on child abuse in the Vancouver area, in terms of its prevalence, the problems with its assessment and its impact on young marginalized girls' lives.