Belief in a just world and wellbeing in Indian schools

This study investigates the meaning of belief in just world (BJW) for students' subjective justice experiences with their parents and teachers and for students' subjective well-being. The hypotheses tested were that the more strongly students endorse BJW, the less the distress at school and depressive symptoms they experience. Two dimensions of BJW were assessed: personal BJW, reflecting the belief that events in one's own life are generally just, and general BJW, reflecting the belief that the world is basically a just place. The participants were 278 Indian students attending ten 10th grade classes at two private English-medium schools. The results showed that only the personal BJW, not the general BJW, was important in explaining justice experiences and wellbeing. The more the students endorsed the belief in personal just world, the more they felt treated justly by their teachers and their parents alike, and the less distress at school and depressive symptoms they experienced. In addition, teacher justice, but not parent justice, explained distress at school. Finally, the effect of personal BJW on depressive symptoms was partly mediated by both teacher and parent justice. This pattern of results persisted when class effects were controlled. Overall, this pattern of results emphasizes the importance of the individual and subjective experience of justice of the teacher behavior for adolescent wellbeing. Implications for further studies on BJW and wellbeing at school are discussed.     

Belief in a just world, teacher justice, and bullying behavior

The relation between school students' belief in a just world (BJW) and their bullying behavior was investigated in a questionnaire study. The mediating role of teacher justice was also examined. Data were obtained from a total of N = 458 German and Indian high school students. Regression analyses revealed that the more strongly students believed in a personal just world and the more they evaluated their teachers' behavior toward them personally to be just, the less bullying behavior they reported. Moreover, students with a strong BJW tended to evaluate their teachers' behavior toward them personally to be more just, and the experience of teacher justice mediated the relation between BJW and less bullying perpetration. This pattern of results was as expected and consistent across different cultural contexts. It persisted when neuroticism, sex, and country were controlled. The adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research are discussed.     

Being a good or a just teacher: Which experiences of teachers’ behavior can be more predictive of school bullying?

In two cross‐sectional questionnaire studies with N = 2,931 German students, aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.1, SD = 0.5), we investigated the relation between students’ bullying behavior and their personal belief in a just world (BJW). We considered students’ personal experience of teacher justice as a possible mediator in this relation and investigated whether the students’ experiences of their teachers’ classroom management explained bullying behavior in addition to personal BJW and teacher justice, while statistically controlling for sex and school type. In both studies, multilevel modeling results showed that the more students endorsed personal BJW and the more they evaluated their teachers’ behavior toward them personally as being just, the less likely they were to report that they bullied others. The students’ personal experience of teacher justice mediated the association of personal BJW with bullying. Furthermore, the students’ personal experience of classroom management significantly predicted bullying in addition to personal BJW and teacher justice. The observed relations were mainly significant at the individual level. The pattern of results persisted when we controlled for school type and when we considered student sex as a moderator. We discussed the adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research and practice.

     

The belief in a just world and distress at school

This article investigates the relationship between the belief in a just world (BJW) and distress at school. On the basis of just world theory, the authors argue that strong student BJW should be associated with low school distress. Two questionnaire studies with German secondary school students attending grades 7–13 are reported. Both studies found strong BJW to be associated with less distress at school, better grades, and the evaluation of grades and teachers as more just. Moreover, the relationship between strong BJW and low school distress persisted when controlled for grades, justice of grades, and teacher justice. This relationship held for all students, independently of their school track, grade level, or gender. Overall, the pattern of results reveals school distress to have a unique association with BJW and school-specific justice cognitions.     

The relation between students’ justice experiences and their school refusal behavior

In a cross-sectional questionnaire study with N = 1658 German students, aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.1, SD = 0.5), we investigated the relation of students’ personal belief in a just world (BJW) to their school absenteeism and functions of school refusal behavior. In accordance with recent studies which identified negative relations between students’ BJW and different forms of rule-breaking behavior (e.g., bullying, cheating), we expected that students with a strong BJW would be less likely to refuse school than those with a weak BJW. Furthermore, we considered students’ personal experience of teacher justice and their feelings of exclusion from school as possible mediators in this relation. We also controlled for confounding effects of gender, age, social desirability, school reluctance, and test anxiety. To test our hypotheses, we used bootstrap mediation analyses. As expected, these analyses showed that the more students endorsed personal BJW, the less likely they were to report that they refused school. The students’ personal experience of teachers justice and especially their feelings of exclusion from school at least partly mediated personal BJW’s relation to school refusal behavior and its functions. The observed relations mainly persisted when we controlled for gender, age, social desirability, school reluctance, and test anxiety. We discussed the adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research and practice.     

家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式对儿童青少年公正世界信念的影响

以全国24013名10~15岁儿童青少年为对象,探讨家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式对公正世界信念的影响。结果发现：（1）家庭社会经济地位能够正向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念;（2）权威型教养方式能够正向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念,独裁型与纵容型教养方式能够负向预测一般公正世界信念与个人公正世界信念;（3）家庭社会经济地位与父母教养方式的交互作用对公正世界信念的影响显著,其中,权威型教养方式对高家庭社会经济地位比对低家庭社会经济地位儿童青少年公正世界信念的促进作用更大,独裁型与纵容型教养方式对低家庭社会经济地位比对高家庭社会经济地位儿童青少年公正世界信念的削弱作用更大。     

Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Bullying in Middle School Youth

ABSTRACT

We examined middle school students' attitudes and perceptions of bullying during their middle school years. Participants were categorized along the bully/victim continuum as bullies, victims, bully-victims, and no-status students based on their self-nomination from a survey that queries students about their experiences with bullying (either as a bully, victim, or both), their observations of bullying, and their attitudes toward bullying. The majority of participants were classified as bullies, victims, and bully-victims as 70% of the participants reported involvement with bullying and/or victimization during their middle school years. Participants' perceptions about bullying and attitudes toward bullying were examined at three points in time. Participants' attitudes toward bullying became more supportive of bullying as students progressed through middle school. Additionally, external attributes for bullying were cited across all four status groups as reasons for involvement in bullying. Implications for prevention and intervention programs that address bullying are discussed.     

Educational privilege: The role of school context in the development just world beliefs among Brazilian adolescents

The purpose of this study is to understand the development of Brazilian adolescents' justice perceptions across different contexts of educational privilege. Past research has found that, in adolescence, the belief in a just world (BJW) differentiates between personal and general and declines. However, prior research has not included adolescents from various socioeconomic statuses, samples in Latin America, or focused on the role of the educational context on the developmental trajectory. Participants were 385 adolescents from 3 schools (private, public and military) in Southern Brazil between 9th and 11th grade. Students completed the personal and general BJW survey. Results revealed a significant interaction of school and grade level of adolescents' personal BJW. Contrary to previous research, personal and general BJW was not always lower in higher grades. Among privileged educational contexts, data indicated that personal BJW may even increase, with the decrease notable in the lower resourced school. In contrast, general BJW was relatively consistent across all Brazilian adolescents. Results provide important insight into the role that privilege and education play across adolescents' development of BJW. This research questions the generalizability of previous studies on the development of BJW and indicates that the trajectory may be dependent upon educational and cultural context.     

The long-term effects of coping strategy use in victims of bullying

The ways in which children appraise and cope with school bullying are likely to influence the long-term outcomes experienced. To examine this possibility, 219 Spanish undergraduate students (73 male, 146 female) aged between 18 and 40, completed an adapted version of the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire (RBQ; Sch?fer et al., 2004) and a distress scale (Rivers, 1999). Results indicated that neither coping strategies reported by victims of bullying nor the match between control appraisal and coping strategy influenced levels of distress experienced as adults. Control, threat and challenge appraisals did, however, influence long-term distress. Explanations for these effects are discussed, and include the possibility that appraisals may directly influence levels of distress and the quality of emotions experienced by victims during the actual bullying episode. Active strategies were perceived by students to be effective in dealing with bullying, whereas those centered on avoiding the conflict, or which involved aggression, were considered ineffective.     

A Comparison of Personal Project Motives in Three Age Groups

This study examined the extent to which adolescents systematically perceive a discrepancy between private and group norms about the acceptability of bullying and examined the association between norm estimation and actual bystander behavior. Ninety-one 8th graders (42 male and 49 female) described their personal attitudes about bullies and victims as well as their perceptions of their classmates' attitudes. Teachers rated adolescents' participant roles during bullying episodes at school. Results provided support for the premise that teens systematically perceive their peers to hold less prosocial views (e.g., to be more tolerant of bullies, less empathic toward victims, and less inclined to believe they have a responsibility to protect victims) than they themselves do. This tendency to perceive oneself as “out of step” with the group (i.e., pluralistic ignorance) was particularly salient among girls. In addition, there was a significant association between perceived self–other discrepancy in attitudes toward bullying and adolescents' actual bystander behavior when confronted by peer harassment. The more students viewed themselves as out-of-step with group norms about bullying, the higher their teacher-rated scores on passive bystander behavior. Potential implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.     

Emotional adjustment in victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying and traditional bullying

Given the rise in cyberbullying among secondary education students and the importance of certain psychological adjustment variables for the comprehension of this type of violent behavior, both in bullies and in victims, the purpose of the present study was to analyse the emotional adjustment of those involved in cyber- and traditional bullying. The adjustment variables studied were self-concept, perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, social anxiety, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence. Using a sample of 1318 adolescents (47% boys), aged between 11 and 17 years, four groups were established to compare victims and cybervictims (uninvolved students, traditional victims, cybervictims, and traditional–cybervictims). The analysis of variance showed that students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online). In particular, those who suffered traditional or cyberbullying or both conjointly presented lower scores in physical and social self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation, as well as higher scores in perceived stress, loneliness, depression, and social anxiety. In bullies—traditional, cyberbullying or both simultaneously—higher scores were observed in perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, fear of negative assessment, avoidance, and general social anxiety, and lower scores in the dimensions of academic and family self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation. In general, the findings indicate that students who were involved in bullying situations, both victims and bullies, presented more damaged emotional profiles than those who are uninvolved, especially students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online).

     

Personal and general belief in a just world as judgement norms

Research on the belief in a just world (BJW) has focused on its intra-individual functions (e.g., psychological well-being) and its inter-individual consequences (e.g., derogation of victims). Recent theorizing, however, has indicated that the BJW may also have more societal functions and consequences, serving as a legitimizing device of the status quo. The studies in the current paper focus on this latter view and are based on Alves and Correia's ( 2008 ) research which found that the expression of high personal and general belief in a just world is injunctively normative. Two experimental studies aimed at ascertaining three issues: (1) the dimension(s) of social value (social utility and/or social desirability) on which the BJW normativity anchors; (2) whether the expression of moderate BJW is also injunctively normative; and (3) whether the injunctive normativity of the BJW is related to perceptions of truth. Results indicate that moderate and high personal and general BJW are normative. Yet, whereas the normativity of personal BJW anchors both on social utility and social desirability, that of general BJW anchors only on social utility. We discuss personal and general BJW as judgement norms, whose normativity may not be personally acknowledged (in the case of general BJW) and does not necessarily derive from being perceived as true, but from the fact that such norms carry social value at least in individualistic societies.     

Moral reasoning and emotion attributions of adolescent bullies,victims, and bully‐victims

This study investigated different facets of moral development in bullies, victims, and bully‐victims among Swiss adolescents. Extending previous research, we focused on both bullying and victimization in relation to adolescents’ morally disengaged and morally responsible reasoning as well as moral emotion attributions. A total of 516 adolescents aged 12–18 (57% females) reported the frequency of involvement in bullying and victimization. Participants were categorized as bullies (14.3%), bully‐victims (3.9%), and victims (9.7%). Moral judgment, moral justifications, and emotion attributions to a hypothetical perpetrator of a moral transgression (relational aggression) were assessed. Bullies showed more morally disengaged reasoning than non‐involved students. Bully‐victims more frequently indicated that violating moral rules is right. Victims produced more victim‐oriented justifications (i.e., more empathy) but fewer moral rules. Among victims, the frequency of morally responsible justifications decreased and the frequency of deviant rules increased with age. The findings are discussed from an integrative moral developmental perspective.     

Stratégies et réactions des victimes et de leur entourage face au harcèlement scolaire : une étude rétrospective

The negative consequences faced by students who are victims of school bullying are clearly documented. Nevertheless, few studies have examined victim's reactions and strategies to cope with bullying. Yet a better understanding of these reactions would allow a better support from health professionals and to improved prevention actions. This study aims to explore the victim's coping strategies through the content-analysis of 32 interviews conducted with former victims. Given their decisive influence on the bullying's situation, spontaneous or requested reactions of peers, teachers and parents are examined as well. To include these two aspects in a common theoretical framework, this research proposes to combine two distinct approaches: the coping strategies and the Participant Role Approach (Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 1996). The efficiency of each highlighted strategy is analysed and discussed regarding current scientific knowledge. Results suggest that victims generally experiment a large panel of reactions and strategies to cope with bullying. Nevertheless, few of these strategies seem to have an effect on bullying itself, but some can improve the emotional well-being of the victims. Victims who attempted to be liked by their bullies by changing their own behaviour reported no improvement of their relations with the bullies, neither did the ones who used humour in order to get closer to bullies. Bullies didn’t get tired when victims passively endured the bullying, hoping that it would stop by itself. Stand up (verbally or physically) to the bully led to increased bullying (one situation excepted). Physical avoidance of bullies (e.g. staying in classroom during playtimes) allowed some victims to temporarily reduce their emotional distress. Several victims experimented positive interactions with peers in extra-curricular activities (e.g. sport, art, scouting) that helped them recovering confidence in their social skills. Most of victims sought social support at one point of the bullying time. The efficiency of this strategy entirely belongs to the warned person's reaction and is thus highly variable. Based on participants’ report, only increased connectedness with a peer could have an impact on the bullying behaviour through a better integration in the peer-group. On the contrary, parents and teachers’ reactions are often perceived by the victims as not appropriate and as leading to a worse situation. In terms of practical implications, these results highlight the importance of raising teachers and parents’ awareness of the bullying, as well as the significance of the peers group dynamic. Following-up any bullying situation observed or reported in the school would probably help ensuring relevant interventions.     

Bullying and Victimization in Adolescence: Concurrent and Stable Roles and Psychological Health Symptoms

From an initial sample of 1,278 Italian students, the authors selected 537 on the basis of their responses to a self-report bully and victim questionnaire. Participants' ages ranged from 13 to 20 years (M = 15.12 years, SD = 1.08 years). The authors compared the concurrent psychological symptoms of 4 participant groups (bullies, victims, bully/victims [i.e., bullies who were also victims of bullying], and uninvolved students). Of participants, 157 were in the bullies group, 140 were in the victims group, 81 were in the bully/victims group, and 159 were in the uninvolved students group. The results show that bullies reported a higher level of externalizing problems, victims reported more internalizing symptoms, and bully/victims reported both a higher level of externalizing problems and more internalizing symptoms. The authors divided the sample into 8 groups on the basis of the students' recollection of their earlier school experiences and of their present role. The authors classified the participants as stable versus late bullies, victims, bully/victims, or uninvolved students. The authors compared each stable group with its corresponding late group and found that stable victims and stable bully/victims reported higher degrees of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal than did the other groups. The authors focus their discussion on the role of chronic peer difficulties in relation to adolescents' symptoms and well-being.     

High school bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidality

This is the first study to examine whether high school students experiencing frequent bullying behaviors are at risk for later depression and suicidality. A total of 236 students who reported frequent bullying behavior without depression or suicidality during a suicide screening were interviewed 4 years later to reassess depression, suicidal ideation, attempts, substance problems, and functional impairment and were compared to at‐risk youth identified during the screen, including 96 youth who also experienced bullying behavior. Youth who only reported frequent bullying behaviors (as bullies, victims, or both) did not develop later depression or suicidality and continued to have fewer psychiatric problems than students identified as at‐risk for suicide. Students who experienced bullying behaviors and depression or suicidality were more impaired 4 years later than those who had only reported depression or suicidality. Thus, assessment of bullying behaviors in screening protocols is recommended.     

青少年公正世界信念对抑郁的影响:感恩和自尊的序列中介作用

为探讨青少年公正世界信念与抑郁的关系,以及感恩和自尊在二者关系中的作用机制,采用公正世界信念问卷(BJW)、感恩问卷(GQ-6)、自尊量表(SES)和流调中心用抑郁量表(CES-D)对1049名高中学生进行调查。结果发现:(1)青少年公正世界信念、感恩和自尊两两之间呈显著正相关,且三者均与抑郁呈显著负相关。(2)青少年公正世界信念通过感恩和自尊的中介作用对抑郁产生影响,且该中介效应包含了三条中介路径——感恩的简单中介效应,自尊的简单中介效应,以及感恩→自尊的链式中介作用。研究结果揭示了青少年公正世界信念对抑郁产生影响的内部心理机制,为引导青少年更好地利用公正世界信念提升感恩和自尊的水平以及更好地促进心理健康发展提供了有益建议。     

‘What about bullying?’ An experimental field study to understand students' attitudes towards bullying and victimisation in Italian middle schools

Background: Attitudes towards bullying at school are influential in understanding and preventing bullying behaviour but they should be measured with reference to the particular conditions under which bullying takes place. Aims: To establish how far positive and negative judgments of bullying and victims and blaming of the victim vary according to the gender of observers, gender of bullies and of victims and whether the bullying took place alone or in group. Sample: Participants were 117 students (49 boys and 68 girls), aged 11–12, recruited from a middle school in Italy randomly allocated to one of four independent groups according to experimental condition: bullying alone among girls, bullying alone among boys, bullying in groups among girls, bullying in groups among boys. Method: Participants watched one of four versions of a video according to experimental condition showing a brief standardized bullying episode taking place at a school; they then had to fill in a self‐report questionnaire measuring the dependent variables: respondents' positive or negative judgments towards the bully and the victim shown in the video and how far the victim was blamed for what had happened. Results: Overall, results indicate students have positive attitudes towards the victims of bullying and tend not to blame them for what has happened. However, same gender identification lead girls to blame male victims more than female victims and the reverse applies in case of boys providing their judgments. A bully acting alone is considered stronger and braver than when acting in a group. Conclusions: The limits and potential of the study are presented with special attention to implications for intervention strategies in school by focusing on the role observers could play in supporting the victims and discouraging the bullies.     

青少年公正世界信念的发展轨迹及其影响因素:一项多水平分析

为探讨青少年公正世界信念的发展轨迹及其影响因素,采用公正世界信念量表（BJW）、友谊质量量表（FQ）和网络社会支持量表（OSS）对来自河南省某3所高中的518名高一学生进行两年追踪调查。结果发现：（1）青少年一般公正世界信念高于个人公正世界信念;（2）青少年一般公正世界信念呈逐步下滑趋势,而个人公正世界信念的发展趋势则相对平稳;（3）友谊质量和网络社会支持均能分别解释个人公正世界信念和一般公正世界信念发展过程中的个体差异。研究结果揭示了青少年公正世界信念发展的轨迹,为引导青少年树立正确的世界观和人生观,培养积极的社会心态提供了有益建议。     

Bullying behaviors in female and male adolescent offenders: prevalence,types, and association with psychosocial adjustment

Despite the surge of research on bullying, few studies have examined bullying in young offenders, particularly female young offenders. This study investigated the prevalence, types, and correlates of bullying behaviors in 193 male and 50 female incarcerated adolescents from nine young offender facilities. Overall, 37% of participants identified themselves as bully‐victims, 32% as pure bullies, 23% as not involved, and 8% as pure victims. In comparison to males, females were more likely to report being involved with bullying in some capacity, particularly as pure victims, and being bullied by sexual touching and comments. Pure victims reported higher rates of psychological distress and suicidal behaviors than those youth not involved in bullying, and pure bullies were more likely to have been previously incarcerated and affiliated with a gang. Bully‐victims reported the highest rates of previous abuse, peer victimization in the community, drug use, and suicide attempts while in custody. All groups, including pure victims, reported high rates of bullying others in the community. Treatment providers should recognize that offenders who are victims are often bullies as well, and be alert to broad mental health needs among victims and bully‐victims. Given the prevalence and potential serious consequences of bullying, the development of anti‐bullying policies appears to be an important step in recognizing and reducing bullying. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–16, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.