“They just don’t hear you. They continue punching, kicking and flailing about,” Migliorino said. “Although I’ve only had to break up one girl fight this year, I must say it was a particularly nasty one. I know, because I was in the middle of it trying to stop it.”

According to the MSNBC report, these fights are not random, isolated incidents. The report blamed the Internet and mass media for sending increasingly misogynist and violent messages to young girls, making it hard for them to work out their differences in appropriate ways.

Deason-Toyne agrees.

“Part of the reason is - and I know people will choke and so what - violence on television and violent video games,” said Deason-Toyne. “More and more video games show ‘sexy’ women who engage in violent behavior as do television programs. Women in television are now allowed to be law enforcement agents, spies - like in ‘Alias’ - and other roles previously left to men. Those roles often have the women using weapons, martial arts, and not just for self-defensive purposes. So the message to girls is, ‘Hey, physical violence is OK; it can help you get what you need.”

In addition to violence-saturated media, violent behavior among girls has also been attributed to problems at home.

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence concluded the roots of female teen violence are found in the early learning experiences in the family, including weak family bonding and ineffective monitoring and supervision.

Otteson believes girls are unaffected by what few consequences are meted out for violent behavior.

“What can happen? They get a juvenile record; big deal!” said Otteson. “They have to attend counseling; big deal! Their parents are contacted and asked to become involved; big deal! The worst-case scenario is that they are placed in detention, but we don’t have enough beds, and the kids don’t know that. As to the parents, we actually have parents who call and ask the state to take their kids because the kids are out of control, and the parents don’t want to deal with them any longer.”

Dr. Howard Spivak, director of the Tufts University Center for Children, told MSNBC parents need to pay more attention to how their children behave in social situations, and that bullying behavior often appears early in childhood.

According to Spivak, parents of girls should watch for these signs: declining performance in school and at after-school jobs, new friends who set off suspicions, and more time spent alone.

Above all, Spivak recommends parents talk to their children about issues concerning them.