The social and emotional skills of bullies,victims, and bully–victims of Egyptian primary school children

This study examined whether bullies, victims, bully–victims (who are both bullies and victims), and students who reported no or low levels of bullying and victimization differed in their levels of social and emotional skills. Data were collected from 623 children in fifth and sixth grades from four Egyptian elementary schools; their ages ranged from 10 to 12 years. K‐means cluster analysis revealed four groups: bullies (n = 138), victims (n = 178), bully–victims (n = 59), and children who were not involved in bullying behaviour (n = 248). Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. The findings indicated that boys were more involved in bullying behaviour than girls, and both bullies and bully–victims were less likely to adhere to social rules and politeness than children who were not involved in bullying. Both bullies and victims were less aware of the physiological reactions of their emotions than uninvolved children, and were less able to apply social rules in social interaction. Both victims and bully–victims reported less likeability than children not involved in bullying. Verbal sharing, attending to others’ emotions, and analysis of emotions did not have a statistically significant relationship with the probabilities of classifying children to any bullying group versus children not involved in bullying. Social skills were more important than emotional awareness in predicting the likelihood of classifying children in one of the three bullying groups versus children who not involved in bullying. The main conclusion is that social and emotional skills together may provide an effective means of intervention for bullying problems.     

Increasing Students' Scientific Creativity: The “Learn to Think” Intervention Program

The “Learn to Think” (LTT) Intervention Program was developed for raising thinking abilities of primary and secondary school students. It has been implemented in more than 300 schools, and more than 200,000 students took part in the experiment over a 10‐year span. Several longitudinal intervention studies showed that LTT could promote the development of students' thinking ability, learning motivation, and learning strategy as well as raise academic performance in primary schools. This article describes a study of the influence and the delayed effects of LTT on the scientific creativity of secondary school students. One hundred and seven students were selected from a secondary school, 54 of them participated in the LTT every 2 weeks and the rest had not. The intervention lasted 2 years, and the delayed effect was explored half a year after terminating the intervention. The Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students was used four times from pre‐test to delayed post‐test. The results indicated that the LTT did promote the development of scientific creativity of secondary school students, and the effects on the scientific creativity were not necessarily immediate, but tended to be long‐lasting.     

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.     

Bullying Behaviors and Victimization Experiences Among Adolescent Students: The Role of Resilience

The role of resilience in the relationship between bullying behaviors, victimization experiences, and self-efficacy was examined. Participants were 393 (191 young men, 202 young women) adolescents (M age = 15.88 years, SD = 0.64 years) from schools in Coimbatore, India, who completed scales to assess bullying behaviors and victimization experiences, resilience, and self-efficacy. Multigroup structural equation modeling, with separate groups created according to participant gender, revealed that resilience mediated the relationship between bullying behaviors and self-efficacy in young men. Young men engaged in bullying behaviors and experienced victimization more frequently than young women. The findings of the study have implication for designing intervention programs to enhance resilience among adolescents and young adults to enable them to manage bullying behaviors.     

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Quantitative Mental Health Literature in Occupational Therapy

ABSTRACT

A bibliometric analysis was performed to examine the impact and use of the peer-reviewed occupational therapy intervention effectiveness literature addressing adults with mental illness, 2000–2016. Of 2,597 articles, 68 were quantitative studies assessing an intervention for adults with mental illness. These studies had a collective citation count of 1,455 and were published in 29 journals in 14 countries. The majority (n?=?36; 52.94%) were randomized controlled and two-group controlled studies. The most commonly assessed interventions were life skills and community reintegration (n?=?20, 29.41%) and supported employment (n?=?16, 23.52%). Sixty-five (95.58%) studies found statistically significant results on the primary or secondary outcomes.     

A Mixed Methods Study of the Re-Animation Approach Within a Forensic Mental Health Setting

This mixed-methods study investigated the impact of the Re-Animation Approach, a creative occupational therapy, on the well-being and occupational performance of three male patients in a forensic mental health setting. Quantitative data were gathered through goal attainment scaling (GAS) and qualitative data using semi-structured interviews. GAS t-scores demonstrated an over-achievement of expected outcomes in goals related to improving skills, well-being, and time use. Issues emerging from thematic analysis of the interviews are consistent with the GAS results. The Re-Animation Approach had a positive impact on participants’ health and well-being, addressed a range of occupational needs, and can be graded.     

Systemic Reflecting Team Training: Perceptions and Experiences of South African Educational Psychologists

Abstract

There is limited research on the application of systemic family therapy in developing countries. This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of 12 educational psychologists and a family therapy trainer, who have worked within a systemic reflecting team using Tom Andersen’s method of training and supervision. The semi-structured interview findings suggested positive perceptions of systemic intervention, despite various challenges experienced in its implementation within the South African context. The educational psychologists identified their reflecting team experiences as being beneficial for both their professional development and current practices. Future research which investigates the reflecting team process in action is recommended.     

Toward an Understanding of the Connections in Creating Lasting Family Connections

Abstract

The Creating Lasting Family Connections^® (CLFC) program is designed to help improve relationship skills and reduce antisocial behaviors. Strader and colleagues propose that prosocial connectedness is responsible for program outcomes. We propose that the intersection of high agreeableness and low impulsivity represent an operational definition. We examined this definition in the context of a RCT with 246 men in prison reentry. CLFCFP increased the number of connected individuals. Being connected and the program independently impacted relationship skills, but no evidence was found to support the hypothesis that the program impacts would be more pronounced among those who were connected.     

Authors' Response to Lutzker's Evaluation

No abstract available for this article.     

A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder Teaches Siblings to Skateboard: Effects on Sibling Skills and Family Social Behavior

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have few common activities with their siblings who do not have ASD, and this can limit their opportunities for social play. In this study, we used a multiple-baseline across skills design to assess the effects of a boy with ASD following an activity schedule to teach his favorite activity of skateboarding to his two siblings who do not have ASD. Family social behavior was also measured before and after sibling training. After training by the boy with ASD, both of the siblings’ skateboarding skills improved, and measures of family social behavior also increased. Results suggest that sibling relationships may benefit when a child with ASD teaches siblings to play.