Once touted as surpassing boys academically, girls are now doing it in exclusions and expulsions from school for disobedience and assaults.
National figures from the Ministry of Education reveal that of those girls suspended last year, 30.2% of them were disciplined for continual disobedience, compared with 29.5% of boys.
Otago Secondary Principals Association chairman and Kaikorai Valley College principal Philip Craigie believed there had been an "increase in the number of girls that have been in serious trouble".
The previous "male domain" of "deteriorating behaviours", including violence and general disobedience, had come to include girls in recent years.
Although unsure of the specific reason behind the change, Mr Craigie said technology, a lack of maturity, and inability to communicate were factors.
"I think the texting has got a lot to do with it."
Deterioration of relationships between girls was often affected by the inability to handle insulting or degrading text messages resulting from "general girl bitchiness".
Sometimes, these incidents ended in physical violence.
Schools used "everything that we've got" to help wayward pupils by getting families and outside agencies involved.
Sergeant Kevin Davidson, of the police youth aid section, said a "societal change" had occurred and females were becoming more violent.
He was unsure why but said "alcohol has always been a big factor".
"Everybody talks about P problems but the biggest P problem Dunedin has got is [alcohol]."
Dunedin had followed national trends with assault cases increasing and "it's not unusual now for women to be dealt with for group-type assaults".
However, cases of female violence were "few and far between" and Sgt Davidson believed the "small town" factor helped.
Every year, the youth aid section dealt with about 1400 offenders under the age of 17, for anything from shoplifting to serious assaults.
Alexander McMillan chairman and director of the University of Otago Centre for Research on Children and Families, Prof Gordon Harold, believed social and biological factors impacted on adolescent behaviour.
As children entered the adolescent world of "storm and stress", significant changes in behaviour could occur as social pressures and challenges mounted.
These pressures often led to increases in deviant behaviour.
He described it as a "pattern not unique to New Zealand" and an "area of significant social concern".
Some evidence suggested girls were experiencing biological changes at an earlier age.
"Where girls biologically mature at a faster rate, they are more likely to engage in behaviours associated with older girls, for example, smoking, drinking and related social behaviour," he said.
An increase in drinking and smoking in teenage girls has been linked to deviant behaviour and peer groups could promote it.
"School is a place where you are more likely to align yourself in terms of peer groups."
Other social changes included more families breaking down, which created a greater proportion of vulnerable youth, and children experiencing a "significant amount" of media exposure.
Supportive environments, either at home, school or both, were important in helping teenagers develop and work through periods of destructive behaviour.
However, Prof Harold said these tended to be "short bursts" of behaviour in early to middle adolescence which typically "fizzle out".
