State of the Georgia Girl Report

Social Connection: Peer Relationships

A girl’s sense of belonging in her school environment shapes much more than her daily comfort. Decades of research demonstrate that youth–adult connectedness and school attachment serve as key protective factors for adolescent health, predicting better mental health, stronger academic engagement, and lower rates of risky behavior (Sieving, 2017). When connection breaks down – when girls feel that their peers do not respect them, that new students are not welcomed, or that they themselves do not fit in – the consequences extend well beyond the social and into academic and emotional domains.

1 in 4 girls do not feel like they fit in. Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Student Health Survey, 2023–2024.

Elementary school girls who do not get along with other students.

Middle and high school girls who do not feel like they fit in.

27%

27%

Patterns in belonging begin early: trends observed through the Georgia Student Health Survey among elementary school students can become more prevalent as students enter middle and high school. This holds true among girls feeling like they fit in with other students and

observing that students treat each other with respect. Research demonstrates a strong link between feeling welcomed at school and outcomes such as mental health, academic success, and peer relationships. Adolescents who feel they do not belong at school face serious and well-documented consequences across academic, psychological, and social domains – consequences that land with a particular force on girls. A landmark longitudinal study tracking over 1,500 participants from adolescence into adulthood found that low school belonging at ages 15–16 was associated with elevated depression, anxiety, and stress that persisted into young adulthood at ages 19–28 (Allen, 2025). In other words, the effects of not fitting in are enduring beyond a child’s teenage years.

Half of middle and high school girls feel students do not treat each other with respect. Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Student Health Survey – Middle and High School, 2023–2024.

Elementary School Girls Students do not treat each other well.

41%

Middle & High School Girls Students do not treat each other with respect.

50%

POWERED BY THE GIRL SCOUT COUNCILS SERVING THE STATE OF GEORGIA 73