Randomized Controlled Trial of a Family Intervention for Children Bullied by Peers

This study examined the effects of a family intervention on victimization and emotional distress of children bullied by peers. The intervention, Resilience Triple P, combined facilitative parenting and teaching children social and emotional skills relevant to developing strong peer relationships and addressing problems with peers. Facilitative parenting is parenting that supports the development of children’s peer relationship skills. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 111 families who reported chronic bullying of children aged 6 to 12 years. Families were randomly allocated to either an immediate start to Resilience Triple P (RTP) or an assessment control (AC) condition. Assessments involving children, parents, teachers, and observational measures were conducted at 0 (pre), 3 (post) and 9 months follow-up. RTP families had significantly greater improvements than AC families on measures of victimization, child distress, child peer and family relationships, including teacher reports of overt victimization (d = 0.56), child internalizing feelings (d = 0.59), depressive symptoms (d = 0.56), child overt aggression towards peers (d = 0.51), acceptance by same sex and opposite sex peers (d = 0.46/ 0.60), and child liking school (d = 0.65). Families in both conditions showed significant improvements on most variables over time including child reports of bullying in the last week reducing to a near zero and indistinguishable from the normative sample. The intervention combining facilitative parenting and social and emotional skills training for children produced better results than the comparison assessment control condition. This study demonstrated that family interventions can reduce victimization and distress and strengthen school efforts to address bullying.     

Bidirectional pathways between relational aggression and temperament from late childhood to adolescence

Relational aggression is linked to numerous adverse consequences. However, we know little about how temperament leads individuals to become perpetrators/victims of relational aggression, or how being a perpetrator/victim influences the development of temperament. We used longitudinal data from 674 Mexican-origin youth to examine relations between relational aggression and mother- and child-reported temperament from 5th grade (M_age = 10.8; SD = 0.60) through 11th grade (M_age = 16.8; SD = 0.50). Results show that: (a) high Negative Emotionality and low Effortful Control predicted increases in victimization; (b) low Effortful Control predicted increases in perpetration; (c) victims increased in Negative Emotionality and decreased in Effortful Control; and (d) perpetrators increased in Negative Emotionality and Surgency. Thus, temperament serves as both an antecedent to and a consequence of relational aggression.     

Prevalence of sexual aggression among young people in Europe: A review of the evidence from 27 EU countries

Sexual aggression poses a serious threat to the sexual well-being of young people. This paper documents the available evidence on the prevalence of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization from 27 EU countries, established as part of the Youth Sexual Aggression and Victimization (Y-SAV) project. A total of N = 113 studies were identified through a systematic review of the literature and consultations with experts in each country. Despite differences in the number of available studies, methodology, and sample composition, the review shows substantial prevalence rates of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization across Europe. A wide variation was found, both within and between countries. The lifetime prevalence rates of female sexual victimization, excluding childhood sexual abuse, ranged from 9 to 83%, the rates of male sexual victimization ranged from 2 to 66%, the rates of male sexual aggression ranged from 0 to 80%, and the range of female sexual aggression ranged from 0.8 to 40%. One-year prevalence rates showed a similar variability. Conceptual and methodological problems in the database are discussed, and an outline is presented for a more harmonized approach to studying the scale of sexual aggression among young people in Europe.     

Victimization due to bullying and physical aggression in Samoan men and women

In recent years, bullying has come into focus as a critically important social issue that demands empirical understanding to inform best practice regarding both intervention and prevention. In Western cultures, low physical aggression in boys, but high physical aggression in girls, predicts elevated victimization due to bullying, and we predicted that the same would be true cross-culturally. The present study sought to understand the role that physical aggression plays in victimization in Samoa, provide a prevalence estimate of the rate of bullying in the island nation, as well as validate the Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS; Shaw, Dooley, Cross, Zubrick, & Waters, 2013) in a cross-cultural context. In a sample of adult Samoan men and women (n = 214), men reported elevated rates of verbal, physical, and overall rates of victimization due to bullying in childhood compared to women, but no sex differences emerged in levels of physical aggression. Additionally, the FBS showed appreciable reliability, as well as a latent factor structure consistent with the findings of the scale's authors. Prevalence of victimization due to bullying in Samoa is comparable to that reported by other authors conducting cross-cultural research on this topic.     

Happy and unhappy adolescent bullies: Evidence for theoretically meaningful subgroups

Are all bullies unhappy and socially disconnected? The majority of theorists argue that bullies are a homogeneous group, such that their aggression is linked to less happiness and a greater probability of social exclusion. Recent findings, however, indicate some bullies obtain social benefits from the act of bullying, increasing their happiness. We sought to identify whether subgroups of bullies exist among 481 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 16.9, SD = 1.5) using self-report data on bullying, victimization, and various psychological and behavioral variables. Cluster analytic results identified four subgroups differentiated primarily by level of bullying, happiness, and perceived social connectedness. Subgroups included (1) happy, socially connected non-bullies (33.4%), (2) unhappy, socially disconnected non-bullies (26.9%), (3) unhappy, socially disconnected bullies (17.3%) and (4) happy, socially connected bullies (22.4%). These results suggest that, not only are some bullies happy and socially connected, but only a minority of bullies are unhappy and socially disconnected. Our findings offer unique insights into potential positive consequences of bullying that may differentiate subgroups of bullies. Such insights might inform existing and future anti-bullying interventions.     

Associations between peer victimization,perceived teacher unfairness,and adolescents' adjustment and well-being

Negative relationships within the classroom, both with peers and teachers, can be very stressful for adolescents and are often found to be associated with a variety of negative outcomes. In this study, we investigated the concurrent role of peer victimization and perceived teacher unfairness in explaining psychosocial problems in a sample of 1378 Italian students (353 middle school students, M_age = 12.61, SD = 0.69, and 1025 high school students, M_age = 14.92, SD = 0.81). Structural equation modeling showed that both peer victimization and perceived teacher unfairness were positively associated with reports of more frequent psychological and somatic problems, and negatively related to satisfaction with friends and sense of safety. Only perceived teacher unfairness showed a significant association with satisfaction with school. Results of multi-group modeling demonstrated measurement invariance (total scalar invariance) across both gender and school-level groups. Some gender and school-level differences in the regression coefficients were found. In general, associations between the risk factors and adolescents' problems were stronger for girls and for higher school students. Findings confirmed that both peer victimization and perceived teacher unfairness are significant risk factors within the classroom microsystems. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.     

Keyboard Gangsters: Analysis of Incidence and Correlates of Cyberbullying in a Large Urban Student Population

The prevalence and pervasive nature of technology has fundamentally changed how individuals interact. Social networking has significantly altered communication and interaction patterns and created a dynamic venue for perpetration and victimization of bullying. A large population of middle and high school students was surveyed on perceptions and engagement in drug and alcohol usage, school violence, social networking usage, and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Findings indicate that although cyberbullying has many similarities to traditional bullying, there are important differences. Participation in school violence and usage of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs predict both victimization and perpetration of cyberbullying.     

The link between school climate and violence in school: A meta-analytic review

There has been significant interest in whether and how school climate and violent behavior are meaningfully related. The present meta-analysis reviewed studies reporting a relationship between school climate and school violence in order to summarize the total effect and the direction of these research findings. Database consultation and literature hand searching yielded 145 articles which were reviewed by two experts. Studies were included if they reported a statistical effect size of the relationship between school climate and school violence. Exclusion criteria were unclear operationalization of the principal variables, research findings from multiple publications, studies using multi-level analysis and qualitative studies. The meta-analysis included 36 independent studies (N = 113,778) with correlations ranging from ? .02 to ? .53. Using a random-effects model a moderate mean effect size of r = ? .26, CI [? 30, ? 21] was found. Statistical findings indicated significant heterogeneity and a large range of variance between studies. Meta-regressions analyzed different potential moderators as relevant factors of heterogeneity, but none of these factors could be identified as a moderator. Due to the large variance between the studies, it remains difficult to draw final conclusions. Nevertheless, the moderate effect size underlines the role of environmental aspects for school violence intervention.     

Psychosocial correlates of frequent indoor tanning among adolescent boys

The aim of the current study was to assess psychosocial correlates (i.e., perceived weight, weight control strategies, substance use, and victimization) of frequent indoor tanning in adolescent boys—a group at high risk for developing skin cancer. Participants (N = 7,907) were drawn from a nationally representative sample of adolescent boys attending high school in the United States. Binary logistic regression revealed that extreme weight control strategies, particularly steroid use (odds ratio = 3.67) and compensatory vomiting (odds ratio = 2.34), along with substance use and victimization, were significantly related to frequent indoor tanning. These results highlight the role of appearance-changing, and health-risk behaviors in the context of frequent indoor tanning. Skin cancer prevention interventions may benefit from adopting approaches that integrate the treatment of body dissatisfaction and subsequent maladaptive behaviors.     

Inward- and Outward-Directed Violence in the Lives of Urban Minority Adults Followed from Middle School into Their Thirties

This study explores connections between inward-directed violence and outward-directed violence using data from the Reach for Health sample, which was originally recruited in the 1990s from three middle schools in economically distressed, predominantly African American neighborhoods of New York City. Now in their thirties, participants (N = 595) completed surveys assessing current suicidal thoughts and behaviors as well as other violence involvements, including intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration. About 10% of males and females reported any suicidal ideation or attempt in the past 12 months. In logistic regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographics, prior reports of feeling blue in middle school (OR: 1.12, CI: 1.02–4.39) and young adult suicidality (OR: 2.54, CI: 1.30–4.95) are significantly related to later suicidality. So are concurrent aggressive behaviors, including reports of physical fighting outside the home (OR: 2.70, CI: 1.29–5.67) and IPV perpetration (OR: 2.09, CI: 1.11–3.94). Neither IPV victimization nor witnessing neighborhood violence is correlated. Findings shed light on the persistence of suicidality in the lives of those who come of age, and often remain, in communities with high levels of poverty, and confirm linkages of suicidality with externally directed aggression. Life-stage interventions are needed to counter the interwoven causes and consequences of multiple forms of violence.     

Does cost–benefit analysis or self‐control predict involvement in bullying behavior by male prisoners?

The main aim of this study is to assess whether lack of self-control or the perceived costs and benefits of aggression provide the better predictors of bullying behavior and victimization, and direct aggression perpetration, in a sample of 122 male British prisoners. We also assessed whether bullying was associated with height and weight. Zero-order correlations showed that perceived benefits, self-control, and perceived costs were most closely associated with perpetration of bullying, and that lack of self-control was weakly associated with victimization. Height and weight were unrelated to bullying or victimization. In a standard regression analyses, perceived benefits was the strongest predictor of bullying perpetration, with lack of self-control contributing further; all three variables made a significant contribution when direct aggression was the criterion. Mediation analysis showed that a combined cost-benefit measure partially mediated the association between self-control and both bullying and direct aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to explanations of aggression based on impulse control or a cost-benefit analysis.     

Shared and unique predictors of antisocial and substance use behavior among a nationally representative sample of South African youth

There are well-documented high prevalence rates of violence, aggression, and substance use in South Africa. We examined theoretically salient risk factors for antisocial behavior and substance use identified in high income countries (e.g., abuse and poverty; Shaw & Gross, 2008) and whether they had predictive effects among South African youth, for whom longitudinal research examining predictors of violence is lacking. We collected data from a large, high-risk longitudinal sample of youth from two provinces in South Africa, encompassing rural and urban sites (N = 3515; 97% retained at one year; 56.7% female; M age = 13.45). We assessed antisocial behavior and substance use using an adapted version of the CBCL-YSR and items from national surveys. Finally, we assessed risk factors using previously-validated indices of risk. Antisocial behavior and substance use were reciprocally related over time. Controlling for this overlap, as well as for relevant demographic covariates, child abuse predicted increases in antisocial behavior over time, and exposure to high levels of community violence predicted increases in both antisocial behavior and substance use one year later. The findings suggest that contextual risk factors underpinning etiological models of antisocial behavior and substance in high income countries are also relevant within the South African context. In particular, both harsh home and community environments were related to the development of youth antisocial and substance use behavior outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for preventative interventions to reduce youth engagement in risky antisocial and/or substance use behavior in South Africa.     

The utility of single-item readiness screeners in middle school

This study examined the benefit of utilizing one-item academic and one-item behavior readiness teacher-rated screeners at the beginning of the school year to predict end-of-school year outcomes for middle school students. The Middle School Academic and Behavior Readiness (M-ABR) screeners were developed to provide an efficient and effective way to assess readiness in students. Participants included 889 students in 62 middle school classrooms in an urban Missouri school district. Concurrent validity with the M-ABR items and other indicators of readiness in the fall were evaluated using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, with the academic readiness item having medium to strong correlations with other baseline academic indicators (r = ± 0.56 to 0.91) and the behavior readiness item having low to strong correlations with baseline behavior items (r = ± 0.20 to 0.79). Next, the predictive validity of the M-ABR items was analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions using end-of-year outcomes as the dependent variable. The academic and behavior readiness items demonstrated adequate validity for all outcomes with moderate effects (β = ± 0.31 to 0.73 for academic outcomes and β = ± 0.24 to 0.59 for behavioral outcomes) after controlling for baseline demographics. Even after controlling for baseline scores, the M-ABR items predicted unique variance in almost all outcome variables. Four conditional probability indices were calculated to obtain an optimal cut score, to determine ready vs. not ready, for both single-item M-ABR scales. The cut point of “fair” yielded the most acceptable values for the indices. The odd ratios (OR) of experiencing negative outcomes given a “fair” or lower readiness rating (2 or below on the M-ABR screeners) at the beginning of the year were significant and strong for all outcomes (OR = 2.29 to OR = 14.46), except for internalizing problems. These findings suggest promise for using single readiness items to screen for varying negative end-of-year student outcomes.     

School-based cognitive-behavioral interventions in the treatment of aggression in the United States: A meta-analysis

Engagement in aggressive behavior has been associated with many negative outcomes for children including academic failure, social maladjustment, peer rejection, and lifelong destructive and criminal behavior. Cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs), which use behavioral principles, behavior therapy, and cognitive mediation through self-talk, are one type of intervention used to decrease aggressive behavior in school populations. The purposes of this meta-analysis are to examine the effectiveness of school-based CBIs in reducing or preventing aggression in children and youth, to explore the effectiveness of interventions that used school personnel compared to those that used study personnel as CBI implementers, and to determine the effectiveness of CBIs delivered universally compared to those that are delivered in small group settings. We identified 25 articles meeting our inclusion criteria and found a mean effect size (ES) of − 0.14, (SD = 0.48) and a mean weighted ES score of − 0.23. Results showed that the universal intervention delivery method had a significant influence on the magnitude of the effect size (F(1, 61) = 4.84, p = .032). In light of these results we discuss study limitations and suggest future research on potential CBI moderators and the role of CBI in the current school environment.     

Long-term Consequences of Childhood Bullying in Adults who Stutter: Social Anxiety,Fear of Negative Evaluation,Self-esteem,and Satisfaction with Life

Purpose: Psychosocial disorders have been reported in adults who stutter, especially social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety has been linked to childhood victimization. It is possible that recalled childhood victimization could be linked to psychosocial problems reported in some adults who stutter.Method: Participants were 36 adults who stutter and 36 adults who do not stutter (mean age = 21.9 years). The Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire was completed for primary school, secondary school and university environments for physical, verbal, relational and cyber bullying. Participants were categorized into one of five groups (bully, victim, bully-victim, bystander and uninvolved) based ontheir responses. Participants completed four psychosocial scales: social interaction anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem and satisfaction with life scales.Results: The two groups differed with adults who stutter having higher social interaction anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and satisfaction with life. Analyses of variance revealed that victims had the highest scores among both groups on all four scales.Conclusion: Adults who recalled being victimized during childhood were more likely, regardless of whether they stutter or did not stutter, to have poorer psychosocial scale scores. These results show the lingering effects of childhood victimization, common in some children who stutter, may contribute to the reported psychosocial problems in adulthood. The need for early intervention for children who are bullied and future research with larger samples is warranted.     

Exposure to parental and community violence and the relationship to bullying perpetration and victimization among early adolescents: A parallel process growth mixture latent transition analysis

This study examined heterogeneity in parental and community violence exposure during middle school and its association with bullying perpetration and victimization in high school. Youth (N = 1,611) in four Midwestern middle schools participated. Parallel process growth mixture latent transition analysis was used to understand how trajectory profiles of middle school violence exposure was associated with high school bullying profiles. Impulsivity, depression, school belonging, and delinquency were assessed as moderators of the transition probabilities. A three class solution was found for violence exposure: decreasing parental violence/increasing community violence (n = 103; 6.4%), stable high parental violence and low community violence (n = 1,027; 63.7%), and increasing parental violence and stable high community violence (n = 481; 29.8%). Similarly, a three class solution was found for high school bullying: High Bullying Perpetration and High Victimization class (n = 259; 16%), Victimization only (n = 1145; 71%), and low all class (n = 207; 13%). The largest proportion of youth transitioning into the high bullying and high victimization class were from the decreasing parental violence/increasing community violence. Depression, impulsivity, school belonging, and delinquency all had various moderating effects on transition probabilities. Our findings make it apparent that early forms of parental and community violence are associated with aggressive behaviors and experiences with victimization during high school. Prevention and intervention efforts should target individuals who display early and chronic patterns of exposure to violence as these individuals have the greatest risk of later aggressive and victimization in high school.     

Peer victimization and subsequent disruptive behavior in school: The protective functions of anger regulation coping

Peer victimization is linked to adjustment problems in youth, including aggressive behavior, yet not all victimized youth are aggressive. The present study investigated whether youth’s anger regulation coping might attenuate the positive association between peer victimization and subsequent aggressive behavior. Longitudinal data from 485 7th-grade students (55% female, mean age = 12.84 years) and their teachers were collected in the fall and six months later. Teacher ratings of youth aggressive behavior at follow-up were the primary outcome, with statistical adjustments for baseline aggressive behavior and demographics. Results from multilevel models showed significant interactive effects of baseline anger regulation and peer victimization on residualized teacher-rated aggressive behaviors that were consistent with the hypothesis that anger regulation played a protective role: under high levels of peer victimization, youth with higher levels of anger regulation displayed lower levels of aggressive behavior than their counterparts with lower levels of anger regulation. These findings suggest that targeting and improving students’ ability to regulate their anger may be protective in the face of peer victimization and reduce subsequent aggressive behavior.