Validation de la version francophone de l’Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC-vf)

Introduction and objectiveThis article presents two validation studies of the French version of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields & Cicchetti, 1998; ERC-vf, Nader-Grosbois, 2013) led with preschoolers. This questionnaire is applicable to 3–12 years old children with and without disorder.MethodIn the study 1 (n = 152), the teachers filled the ERC-vf and a personality scale. In the study 2 (n = 71), the ERC-vf was completed two times by the teachers and by the parents who also filled other measures of emotion regulation and of social competences.ResultsThe study 1 shows a good internal consistency and a two-factor structure (emotion regulation and dysregulation). The scores for these factors are significantly linked with developmental ages, the global level of intellectual efficiency and specific factors of personality. The study 2 shows a good inter-judges agreement, a stability test-retest and the external convergent validity between scores in ERC-vf and in other measures of emotion regulation and of social competences.ConclusionAs the ERC-vf has good psychometric properties, it may be used for research and for assessment in intervention in French-speaking areas.     

Traitement de l’information sociale et profils dans le harcèlement scolaire chez les adolescents

IntroductionBullying is an insidious aggressive behavior characterized by repetitiveness, imbalance of power (a bully dominating his victim) and intent to do harm. People can fall into four different categories: bully, victim, bully/victim or not involved. While numerous researchers have explored the psychopathological consequences of intimidation, few of them have studied the way students with different profiles process social information.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore whether there are specific ways of processing social information in relation to the bullying profile. We refer to the theoretical model of Crick and Dodge (1994) and assume that this information will be processed differently depending on the adolescent's bullying profile.MethodSeven hundred and seventeen (717) secondary school students took part in semi-structured individual interviews and answered several questionnaires related to bullying and social information processing mechanisms.ResultsThe main results show links between social information processing mechanisms and the bullying profiles. Bullies, victims and bully/victims show biases in their social information processing mechanisms at different stages of the model.ConclusionSpecific cognitive patterns seem to exist in relation to the bullying profile. These results provide a better understanding of the way adolescents process social information and open-up new perspectives for preventing bullying in schools.     

The effect of teachers’ emotional intensity and social support on burnout syndrome. A comparison between Italy and Switzerland

IntroductionSchool-related events require ability on the part of teachers to control their emotional intensity and maintain negative emotions at a low level without compromising their general well-being. Doudin and Curchod (2008) found that satisfaction with received support acted as a buffer against burnout.ObjectivesThe current research focused on risk and protective factors for burnout syndrome, while also taking into account the role of two different school systems. We hypothesized that emotional intensity and dissatisfaction with social support would affect teachers’ levels of burnout. On this basis, we investigated a range of predictive models for all measures of burnout in both Italian and Swiss teachers.MethodParticipants were 275 primary school teachers (Italian n = 140; Swiss n = 135). Teacher burnout, emotional intensity and dissatisfaction with support received were respectively assessed by means of: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996), the Emotional Competence Questionnaire (Doudin & Curchod-Ruedi, 2010) and the Social Support Questionnaire (Doudin, Curchod-Ruedi, & Moreau, 2011).ResultsIn line with our hypotheses, in both Italian and Swiss samples, emotional intensity played a significant predictive role in relation to emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment, whereas dissatisfaction with support received affected all measures of teacher burnout.ConclusionsOur results provide fresh evidence for the protective role of social support in a profession that is particularly at risk of burnout. More specifically, burnout was predicted by the same pattern of variables in Italian and Swiss teachers, with significant differences emerging between the two groups in relation to their satisfaction with support received.     

“Neighborhood Matters”: Assessment of Neighborhood Social Processes

Neighborhoods are important contexts for understanding development and behavior, but cost and difficulty have challenged attempts to develop measures of neighborhood social processes at the neighborhood level. This article reports the development, reliability, and validity of Neighborhood Matters, a collection of instruments assessing three aspects of neighborhood social processes, namely, norms (five subscales), informal social control (six subscales and total scale), social connection (two subscales), as well as individual scales for assessing neighborhood change, neighborhood resources, and neighborhood problems. Six hundred six residents of Chicago, chosen at random from 30 neighborhoods (defined by US Census tracts), completed the measures. Neighborhoods were selected randomly from pools that balanced poverty and predominant (African‐American vs. Latino Hispanic) ethnicity. Within each neighborhood 20 individuals were selected at random, balanced by age (18–24 vs. 30+) and gender. Scaling and item analysis permitted reduction of the number of items in each scale. All subscales had individual‐level internal consistency in excess of .7. Generalizability theory analysis using random effects regression models found significant shared variance at the neighborhood level for three norms subscales, four informal social control subscales, both social connection subscales, and the neighborhood change, resources and problems scales. Validity analyses found significant associations between neighborhood‐level scores on multiple Neighborhood Matters scales and neighborhood levels of violent, property, and drug‐related crime. Discussion focuses on potential applications of the Neighborhood Matters scales in community research.