Archived: Nov 19, 2007

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Report decodes girls’ trends

Women’s center uses numbers to serve UWM

By Nicole Arata

Girls between the ages of 15-19 are three times more likely to report having a sexually transmitted disease than boys of the same age range, reports a study at the Wisconsin state level released Nov. 8, called the Status of Girls Report.

A study released by the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee and Alverno College compiled surveys and data from previous research to create one comprehensive report. The information concentrates on girls ages 10-19 in Wisconsin.

Elaine Maly, director of the Women’s Fund, discussed some of the findings.

“Some of the information is already known, like low self-esteem and body image issues,” Maly said. “However, girls are still not challenging stereotypes about studying math and science.”

In the study, high school girls usually only score “proficient” or “basic” in standardized science tests and score “proficient” in standardized math tests. Boys score “advanced” in state math and science standardized tests. Girls score “advanced” on state language arts and reading standardized tests.

According to the report, some of the contributors’ goals for releasing the information are to spark additional research on girls and boys, help shape policy, and provide a basis for a future gauge for Wisconsin progress.

Director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Woman’s Resource Center (WRC), Cathy Seasholes, said she is excited to see the report published and hopes it will help people better understand girls’ lives before entering college.

“For some people, having this report published will make the issues more realistic instead of hearing personal stories because someone else deems it true instead of just a personal account,” Seasholes said.

She also added that the report will help the WRC chose what kind of programs and services to offer to better serve the student community.

“This kind of study obviously focuses on girls and the social issues in Wisconsin. But also this study will show how to communicate with boys,” Seasholes said.

Seasholes said she hopes to bring some speakers from the study to campus to talk about the results.

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Report at a Glance:
• 22 percent of high school girls contemplated suicide when only 14 percent of boys think about suicide.
• 36 percent high school girls believe they are overweight while six percent of the girls are actually overweight.
• Almost half of girls who were sexually active at 15 years or younger reported non-consensual intercourse for their first time.
• Teen pregnancy overall is down in Wisconsin. White girls are only 20 out of 1,000 teen pregnancies. However, Latina and black girls are virtually tied with the most at about 94 out of 1,000 teen pregnancies.
• 90 percent of the girls disclosed that they have at least one adult to confide in besides a parent.