Here's how to stop your teen from becoming LiLo type 'mean girl'

A new study has found that if you want to decrease the "mean girl" behaviour in teen girls, such as Lindsay Lohan portrayed in the 2004 film of the same name, hold an intervention.

Relational aggression, or "mean girl" bullying, is a popular subject in news and entertainment media. This nonphysical form of aggression generally used among adolescent girls includes gossiping, rumor spreading, exclusion and rejection. As media coverage has illustrated, relational aggression can lead to tragic and sometimes fatal outcomes.

Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed and tested an intervention that effectively decreases relational aggression among teen girls.

The intervention, Growing Interpersonal Relationships through Learning and Systemic Supports (GIRLSS), is a 10-week, group counseling, caregiver training and caregiver phone consultation intervention for relationally aggressive middle school girls and their families.

Students, ranging in age from 12 to 15, participated in one 70-minute session per week that included interactive discussions, media-based examples, role-playing, journaling and weekly goal setting. At the end of the intervention, school counselors and teachers reported a decrease in relationally aggressive behaviors among the girls.

Caregivers of students participated in separate workshops and biweekly phone consultations during which they learned new communication, monitoring and supervision strategies in addition to appropriate disciplinary responses.

According to co-author Connie Brooks, relational aggression was a complicated issue with many variables, including schools, families and individuals. She said that parents and teachers should be aware of relational aggression so they didn't unknowingly contribute to the negative behaviors.

The study was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.