http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... zn.01.htmlBut first, is it time we rewrite that old nursery school rhyme about girls and boys? You know, the one about sugar and spice? How about this? Young and bright and ready to fight. That's right. More girls are throwing punches and not just in the movies. Instead of "See Jane Run," it's see Jane hit. Our Jonathan Freed has more on girls with the gloves off in tonight's "Eye Opener."
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JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kristen (ph) is a teenager who's found a way to be at peace with herself. Even animals feel it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE : When I used to be scared, the horses used to be scared.
FREED: But not so long ago, Kristen had serious behavioral problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I turned 10, I'd start hitting walls when I was at angry. At times, it felt good to feel pain, just so I wouldn't have to feel the pain inside.
FREED: Soon, walls weren't enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first fight I got into, it was actually with a guy. We were like 11-years-old. And I jumped in and I started just swinging at the kid and kicking him and just screaming at him and cussing at him.
FREED: She says her unbridled rage led to her using and selling drugs and fighting with anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Getting suspended in school and -- like I got suspended for me and my friend, a teacher was yelling at us and we got up in their face. And she hit the teacher and then I came in and hit the teacher also.
FREED: We met Kristen (ph) at a treatment program for troubled kids called "Three Springs" in the mountains outside Huntsville, Alabama. Her case, though extreme, is by no means unique.
(on camera): Were you surprised by your findings?
PROFESSOR JAMES GARBARINO, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: In a way, what I was surprised by was why it hadn't occurred to me earlier to look at this.
FREED (voice-over): Psychology professor James Garbarino, who's written a book called "See Jane Hit," argues aggression among girls is on the rise.
GARBARINO: Well if you look at some of the numbers, you see the Justice Department, the various state agencies that compile arrest rates saying that a generation ago for every one girl arrested for assault, there would be 10 boys arrested for assault. And more recently it's more like four boys for every one girl.
FREED: He says the problem goes beyond arrest records. Garbarino interviewed 200 girls for his book. And he says these days your daughter is likely to be bombarded with all kinds of aggressive images in pop culture, examples which could cause your child to act out at school, at home, everywhere.
(on camera): Tell me what it's like when you're starting to feel angry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I'm starting to feel angry, like my fists get all tight and my jaw clenches up.
FREED (voice-over): Kristen says she was influenced by pop culture.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you see things on T.V. or like on MTV, BET, girls fighting or -- you know, that's cool to fight you know -- people don't look up to you if you don't fight.
GARBARINO: In the past you might have said to your girl, girls don't hit and be able to back that up with what she saw in the larger culture. Today that's simply not true. It's not true. Girls do hit. And they can see evidence of that, so that they are being given permission.
FREED: Garbarino says a widely-publicized hazing incident at a suburban Chicago high school in 2003 is a perfect example of girls acting out. Five girls were hospitalized, 15 charged with misdemeanor battery.
MIKE MALES, SOCIOLOGIST: This is not a real increase in violence.
FREED: Sociologist Mike Males says society is simply more sensitive to violence now and quicker to make it a big issue.
MALES: There's very little statistical evidence that we've seen more violence among young girls. In fact, they seem to be safer and less violent today than in the past.
FREED: Karen Tisdell says she's seen girls becoming more aggressive in the 10 years she's run the treatment program here. But she doesn't put all of the blame on pop culture.
KAREN TISDELL, THREE SPRING: I don't think it's the cause. I do think that it's fueling it. I think a lot of the issues are more deep seated.
FREED: Issues like anger and abandonment. Kristen started feeling angry when her parents split up. But after a year at Three Springs, Kristen's learned to refocus her aggression.
(on camera): Do you feel that you're going to be able to keep it together? Are you going to be able to stay the person that you've become?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I think like yes I'm going to be able to be who I am. I'm not perfect and I'm going to mess up, like that's OK with me. Just as long as I'm able to bounce back up from that.
FREED (voice-over): She wants future without violence and she's convinced it's possible if she tries. Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.
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COLLINS: And there's this. Professor Garbarino says there are warning signs parents can look for in their daughters. Are other kids avoiding her? Is someone being hurt by her behavior? And do teachers and coaches say she's behaving badly? You might want to ask yourself those questions.
Meanwhile, we'll continue our focus on children and violence in just a moment with a visit to a school that uses electrical shocks to keep kids in line.
How much of a shock? See what happens when one of our reporters gets wired up and they push the button.
