The Friendship Doctor

Send in your friendship questions and quandaries and get expert answers and solutions.

by Irene S. Levine, Ph.D.

Middle school frenemies: Why are girls so mean?

By Irene S. Levine, Ph.D. on November 25, 2009 in The Friendship Doctor

Any mother knows that middle-school can be a rough time for young women. Dara Chadwick is a freelance journalist and writer who spent a year chronicling her Weight Loss Diary for Shape Magazine. That experience and her interviews and discussions with her readers led her to reflect on the effect that mothers have on their teen and tween daughters' body image and sense of self. Read More

The Benefit of 'Mean Girls'

Submitted by Katlin Sweeney, 18 Year Old Author of The Bench Sitter on November 26, 2011 - 10:03pm.

Girls are just awful, whether it's in school, work, or sports. I played volleyball for a year and a half & it was nothing but drama, drama, drama. Even when they're not saying stuff to your face, they can treat you like you're worthless and that just ruins your self esteem. I know so many girls who quit the team because of those few who weren't talented at anything except killing confidence. I was lucky enough to learn from the experience & realize that your success is not determined by how many points you score in a game, if you're the most popular on the team, or if you're the MVP, but by what you learn and what lessons you take away from the experience. Speaking from experience, mean girls don't amount to anything & things get better. I ended up writing a book called The Bench Sitter based on that year and a half and I'm happier than ever. (: Don't let mean girls get to you, ever!

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Irene S. Levine, Ph.D., is a psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. Her latest book is Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup With Your Best Friend.

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