Its message is to support and nurture girls in order for them to be confident, fulfilled, and true to themselves. During these years girls are more vulnerable to negative outside influences and to mixed messages about risky behaviors. The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. By ages 14 to 15, girls are twice as likely as boys to suffer from depression, a gender difference that persists into adulthood. Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development.
Girls are at particular risk for eating disorders.
Nearly 20 percent of eighth-grade girls reported using cigarettes within the past 30 days. The National Survey Results on Drug Use from Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1997. Today's girls are 15 times more likely than their mothers to have begun using illicit drugs by age 15. Substance Abuse and the American Woman. Adolescent girls and boys are now equally likely to drink or use illicit drugs.