RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Bullying victimization is a risk factor for social anxiety and disrupted classroom concentration among young people. Self-esteem has been implicated as a protective factor, but extant literature is sparse. AIMS: Aim of present study was to test if a new measure of authentic self-esteem can buffer the negative effects of bullying victimization on social anxiety and disrupted classroom concentration concurrently and across time. SAMPLE: A short-term longitudinal questionnaire design was employed with 836 12- and 13-year-olds. METHODS: Peer nominations of bullying victimization and self-reports of authentic self-esteem were collected during winter term, and self-reports of social anxiety and disrupted classroom concentration were solicited then and also 5 months later. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression models indicated that authentic self-esteem moderated the association between bullying victimization and (i) social anxiety both concurrently and longitudinally and (ii) disrupted classroom concentration longitudinally. The Johnson-Neyman technique identified where on its scale authentic self-esteem had its buffering effects, and these were found to be at relatively low or moderate levels. CONCLUSIONS: Even moderate levels of authentic self-esteem can mitigate the association between being bullied and (i) social anxiety and (ii) disrupted classroom concentration. Efforts to monitor and where necessary enhance the authentic self-esteem of young people are warranted.
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Acoso Escolar , Víctimas de Crimen , Humanos , Adolescente , Estudios Longitudinales , Grupo Paritario , Factores de Riesgo , AnsiedadRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: A large theoretical and empirical literature indicates that parenting practices affect young people's well-being and resilience, but there is much still to learn about psychological mechanisms, especially beyond infancy/early childhood. A recent model of authentic self-esteem argues that it arises out of experiences of challenge situations shared with parents and that it can subsequently act as a protective factor that supports well-being and resilience among young people. The aim of the current study is to test (a) if parenting about challenges can predict 3 indices of adolescents' well-being, namely their social anxiety, disrupted classroom concentration, and ability to spontaneously generate resilient strategies; and more substantially, (b) if authentic self-esteem can mediate those associations if found. METHOD: Adolescents (N = 836) completed a questionnaire that measured all the study variables via self-report with the exception that unprompted open questions were used to gauge their ability to spontaneously generate resilient strategies. RESULTS: Parental discussions of challenges did significantly predict all 3 well-being indices, and authentic self-esteem was found to mediate all these relationships. DISCUSSION: These results support the view that parenting about challenges is a practice that supports well-being and resilience in adolescents. It appears to do so through promoting the development of authentic self-esteem, a capacity to evaluate the self in a positive manner in the context of challenges. The theoretical and practical significance of these findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Responsabilidad Parental , Autoimagen , Adolescente , Ansiedad , Niño , Crianza del Niño , Preescolar , Humanos , Responsabilidad Parental/psicología , PadresRESUMEN
Bullying is common among school students, and some victims hold self-blaming attributions, exhibit low self-esteem, and do not seek social support. A wait-list control pre-/post-test experimental design, with random allocation, was used to assess the effects of a novel cross-age teaching of social issues (CATS) intervention on the latter 3 variables among peer-identified victims of bullying (N = 41, mean age = 14.5 years). In small cooperative groups of classmates, participants designed and delivered a lesson to younger students that informed them that bullies not victims are in the wrong, victims have no reason to feel bad about themselves, and that seeking help can be beneficial. CATS led to a significant improvement on all 3 dependent variables with mostly large effect sizes; these positive effects were even stronger with a bigger dose of intervention (6 hr vs. 4 hr), and changes in self-blame, and separately changes in self-esteem, mediated the positive effect of the intervention on help-seeking. The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed, especially in terms of supporting a highly vulnerable subgroup of adolescents.
Asunto(s)
Conducta del Adolescente , Acoso Escolar/prevención & control , Víctimas de Crimen/psicología , Revelación , Autoimagen , Adolescente , Inglaterra , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Enseñanza , Resultado del TratamientoRESUMEN
Many adolescents choose not to tell teachers when they have been bullied. Three studies with 12-16 year-old English adolescents addressed possible reasons. In study 1, students (N = 411, 208 females/203 males) identified reasons with no prompting. Three perceived negative outcomes were common; peers would disapprove, disclosers would feel weak/undermined, and disclosers desired autonomy. In study 2, students (N = 297, 153 females/134 males/10 unspecified) indicated how much they believed that the perceived negative outcomes would happen to them, and a substantial proportion did so. Perceived negative outcomes significantly predicted intentions to disclose being bullied. Study 3 (N = 231, 100 females/131 males) tested if the perceived negative outcomes would be strong enough to stop participants from telling a teacher even though the teacher would stop the bullying. This was the case for many of them. Participants did not report disliking peers who disclosed bullying. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Acoso Escolar , Toma de Decisiones , Conducta de Búsqueda de Ayuda , Grupo Paritario , Maestros , Autoimagen , Estudiantes/psicología , Adolescente , Acoso Escolar/prevención & control , Revelación , Femenino , Humanos , Intención , Masculino , Instituciones Académicas , Estudiantes/estadística & datos numéricos , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Children are heavy users of the Internet and prior studies have shown that many of them lack a good understanding of the risks of doing so and how to avoid them. This study examined if the cross-age teaching zone (CATZ) intervention could help children acquire important knowledge of online risks and safety. It allowed older students to act as CATZ tutors to design and deliver a lesson to younger schoolmates (tutees), using content material about online risks and safety provided by adults. Students in Year 6 (mean age = 11.5 years) were randomly assigned to act as either CATZ tutors (n = 100) or age-matched controls (n = 46) and students in Year 4 (mean age = 9.5 years) acted as either CATZ tutees (n = 117) or age-matched controls (n = 28) (total N = 291). CATZ tutors, but not matched controls scored significantly higher on objective measures of knowledge of both online risks and safety, and CATZ tutees, but not matched controls did so for online safety. Effect sizes were moderate or large. CATZ was highly acceptable to participants. The results suggest that CATZ is a viable way to help school students learn about online dangers and how to avoid them.
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Internet , Seguridad , Instituciones Académicas , Enseñanza , Niño , Curriculum , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Grupo Paritario , Proyectos Piloto , Riesgo , EstudiantesRESUMEN
Despite the promise of being effective in tacking bullying and conduct disorder, cognitive-behavioral (C-B) interventions are underused by teachers. Little detailed information exists as to why this is the case. The current study with junior school teachers in the U.K. (N=249) confirmed this low reported usage and showed that while teachers tended to believe that C-B approaches would be effective, most held rather low self-efficacy beliefs. Attending a workshop on a specific C-B approach, the I DECIDE program had positive effects on perceived effectiveness and self-efficacy beliefs, and longer durations of training (3days) were more beneficial than shorter durations (half/1day). In line with outcome-expectancy theory and the theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy and duration of training predicted an increase in reported usage of I DECIDE across an 8-month period, and self-efficacy fully mediated the association between duration of training and increase in reported usage. The implications of these findings for overcoming impediments to the more widespread use of C-B approaches by teachers to tackling bullying were discussed, particularly the notion that attending training of sufficient duration coupled with a more explicit attention on fostering self-efficacy will pay dividends.
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Acoso Escolar , Cognición/fisiología , Terapia Cognitivo-Conductual/métodos , Docentes , Autoeficacia , Trastorno de la Conducta Social/terapia , Estudiantes/psicología , Adulto , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Percepción/fisiología , Instituciones Académicas , Trastorno de la Conducta Social/psicología , Enseñanza , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Prior studies have shown that bullying victimization is common during childhood and may have negative effects over the short term. Evidence is also emerging that childhood bullying victimization in the form of teasing may precipitate social anxiety in adulthood. The present study extended the field by testing for associations between adults' recall of four common subtypes of childhood bullying victimization and their current social anxiety. It also provided the first test of whether coping moderated those associations, if they were indirect effects through self-blame, and if sex differences existed. Data were collected from 582 students aged 23+ years at two universities in the UK. Collectively, and for social exclusion and relational victimization uniquely, the subtypes of bullying victimization did predict social anxiety. Evidence for hypothesized moderation and indirect effects was obtained but these varied by subtype of victimization (but not sex). The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed.
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Adaptación Psicológica/fisiología , Ansiedad/psicología , Acoso Escolar/psicología , Víctimas de Crimen/psicología , Recuerdo Mental/fisiología , Autoimagen , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Masculino , Distribución por Sexo , Conducta Social , Estudiantes/psicología , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Reino Unido , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Research has shown that victims of bullying fare less well on measures of peer affiliation than nonvictims, but less is known about the direction of effects and the mechanisms involved. Three linked studies addressed the latter two issues using an experimental paradigm with hypothetical vignettes (N=360). In Experiment 1, among both boys and girls and pupils in Years 7, 8, and 9 (n=120), participants were significantly less likely to (a) agree to act as a formal befriender to, (ii) believe that they would attempt to form a friendship with, and (iii) think that their peers would form friendships with a pupil new to their school if the description of the new pupil signaled that he or she had (vs. had not) been the victim of bullying in previous schools. Experiment 2 confirmed this "victim reputation" effect with a different sample (n=120) and found support for the hypothesis that it was mediated by the belief that associating with victims leads to an increased risk of becoming a victim (the "associating with victims is risky" effect). Experiment 3 (n=120) further replicated the original victim reputation effect and showed that the associating with victims is risky mediation effect was itself moderated by participants' current victim status; the effect was stronger among participants that were high (vs. low) in current victimization. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
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Acoso Escolar/psicología , Conducta de Elección/fisiología , Víctimas de Crimen/psicología , Miedo/psicología , Amigos/psicología , Adolescente , Conducta del Adolescente/fisiología , Conducta del Adolescente/psicología , Análisis de Varianza , Acoso Escolar/fisiología , Niño , Miedo/fisiología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Grupo Paritario , Distribución por Sexo , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
Hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been found to characterize aggressive children. Watching prosocial media has been shown to have positive effects on children, and the general learning model has been used to account for these observations. This study tested the hypotheses derived from this theory that exposure to playful fighting would lead to a reduction in HAB, both immediately and after a 1-day delay, and that this effect would be mediated by positive thoughts. Four studies exposed child participants (N=242) to playful fighting versus neutral behavior primes and then tested their HAB. In two studies, thoughts about playful fighting and about children were assessed and tested as mediators. The main hypotheses were supported. The positive effect of watching playful fighting on HAB was evident immediately but not after 1 day. This effect was mediated by positive thoughts. In line with the general learning model, watching playful fighting reduced HAB in children, and positive thoughts contribute to this effect. This extends the realm of the general learning model and suggests interventions to help children avoid aggression.
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Agresión/psicología , Atención , Hostilidad , Control Interno-Externo , Juego e Implementos de Juego/psicología , Prueba de Realidad , Socialización , Pensamiento , Percepción Visual , Aprendizaje por Asociación , Niño , Cultura , Femenino , Humanos , Juicio , Masculino , Refuerzo en Psicología , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
Four studies examined the relation between trust and loneliness. Studies 1, 2, and 3 showed that trust beliefs negatively predicted changes in loneliness during early childhood (5-7 years), middle childhood (9-11 years), and young adulthood (18-21 years). Structural equation modeling yielded support for the hypothesis that the relation between trust beliefs and loneliness was mediated, in part, by social disengagement, which varied by age and gender. Study 4 showed that when young adults were primed for distrust rather than for trust cognitions, they showed greater withdrawal (loneliness) affect, lower willingness to disclose, and less perceived success in achieving rapport. The findings yielded support for the hypotheses that (a) low trust beliefs promote loneliness from childhood to adulthood and (b) social disengagement and cognitive schema mechanisms account for the relation.
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Relaciones Interpersonales , Soledad/psicología , Confianza/psicología , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Niño , Conducta Infantil/psicología , Señales (Psicología) , Femenino , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Grupo Paritario , Distribución por Sexo , Conducta Social , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Prior studies outside of the UK have shown that peer victimization is negatively associated with school adjustment. AIMS: To examine concurrent and short-term longitudinal associations between peer victimization (physical, malicious teasing, deliberate social exclusion, and malicious gossiping) and two measures of school adjustment (school liking and recess liking), and test if these associations were moderated by year and sex. SAMPLE: A UK sample of 429 pupils in Years 4, 5, and 6 (Grades 3, 4, and 5, respectively, in USA) participated in the Autumn/Winter (Time 1) and 189 of these provided follow-up data during the Spring/Summer (Time 2) of the same school year. METHOD: Peer nominations of victimization, and self-reports of school adjustment were collected in individual and small group interviews. RESULTS: At time 2 (but not Time 1), victimization predicted concurrent school liking among year 6 pupils but not among year 4/5 pupils, and victimization predicted recess liking among all pupils. Victimization also predicted changes in School liking among boys (not girls) and among Year 6 (not Year 4/5) pupils, and victimization predicted changes in recess liking among all pupils. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between victimization and poor school adjustment found elsewhere were replicated with this British sample. The implications of these results for children's social adjustment at school were discussed.
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Agresión/psicología , Actitud , Víctimas de Crimen/psicología , Grupo Paritario , Juego e Implementos de Juego , Instituciones Académicas , Ajuste Social , Adulto , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Masculino , Técnicas Sociométricas , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that peer victimization is associated with psychological maladjustment, and have implicated such maladjustment in disrupted ability to concentrate. AIMS: To investigate the levels of, and associations between, physical, verbal, and social exclusion victimization, fear of future victimization, and disrupted classroom concentration. SAMPLE: Participants consisted of 485 pupils aged 10-11 drawn from 11 junior schools in the UK. METHOD: Peer- and self-nominations of physical, verbal, and social exclusion victimization were collected in individual interviews. Self-reports of other variables were collected either individually or in small groups. RESULTS: A substantial minority of pupils reported high levels of fear of future victimization and disrupted concentration on class work, and girls reported higher levels of fear of future victimization than boys. All three types of self-reported victimization, all three types of peer-reported victimization, and fear of all three types of future victimization predicted disrupted concentration on class work. Fear of future social exclusion moderated the association between peer-reported social exclusion and disrupted concentration on class work. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to tackling victimization per se, allaying pupils' fears of it happening to them in the future is called for in order to address a hitherto largely overlooked correlate, and possible source, of disrupted classroom concentration.
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Logro , Atención , Víctimas de Crimen , Miedo , Grupos Minoritarios/psicología , Grupo Paritario , Estudiantes/psicología , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Factores de Tiempo , Conducta VerbalRESUMEN
Previous research, primarily in North America, has found that submissive and nonassertive behaviors are associated with peer victimization during childhood. A limitation of this work has been the failure to examine the relationships between such behaviors and different types of peer victimization. To overcome this weakness, we developed an inventory to assess the bidirectional longitudinal associations between three different types of victimization and submissive/nonassertive social behavior. The inventory was completed by 449 children aged 9 to 11 years at two time points over the course of an academic year. The inventory generated self-report scores and peer nominations. A robust finding was that submissive/nonassertive social behavior predicted an increase in social exclusion only. In examining the other direction of the relationship, we found that only social exclusion predicted changes in submissive/nonassertive social behavior over time. The findings advance our understanding of the social skills deficits that put children at risk for peer victimization, and of the implications of victimization for the development of submissive/nonassertive social skills problems.
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Conducta Infantil/psicología , Víctimas de Crimen/estadística & datos numéricos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Grupo Paritario , Trastorno de la Conducta Social/epidemiología , Niño , Desarrollo Infantil , Víctimas de Crimen/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Ajuste Social , Alienación Social/psicología , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Rendimiento Escolar Bajo , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
Four hundred and thirty-four children enrolled in school years 5 and 6 in the United Kingdom were administered measures of trust beliefs in peers/best friends and psychosocial functioning (internalized maladjustment, self-perceived social acceptance, social preference, and social exclusion) across an 8-month period (mean age = 9 years-9 months at Time 1). The relation between children's trust beliefs in peers or trust beliefs within best friend dyads and measures of psychosocial functioning conformed to a quadratic pattern. Compared to children in the middle range of trust beliefs, children with very low trust beliefs and those with very high trust beliefs in peers and/or within best friend dyads displayed higher internalized maladjustment, lower self-perceived social acceptance, higher social exclusion, and lower social preference. The relation between the trust beliefs and internalized maladjustment was asymmetrical, with children who held very low trust beliefs being comparatively more disadvantaged.
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Adaptación Psicológica , Trastornos de Adaptación/epidemiología , Cultura , Relaciones Interpersonales , Trastornos de Adaptación/diagnóstico , Niño , Conducta de Elección , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Amigos , Humanos , Masculino , Factores de Riesgo , Factores Sexuales , Alienación Social , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , ConfianzaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: A small number of prior studies have found that victims of school bullying tend to exhibit poor social skills. Few of these have examined this issue from multiple perspectives, and there has been a focus on a restricted range of social skills. AIMS: To determine the extent to which self, peers, and teachers regard victims as having poorer social skills than non-victims across 20 behaviours/competencies. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 330 pupils aged between 9 and 11 years (162 girls and 168 boys) provided self-report and peer-report data. They were drawn from 12 classes from 6 junior schools in the UK. Additionally, 11 of the class teachers provided data. METHOD: Three separate methods were employed and in each case, participants were provided with 20 short statements that described a different social skill: (1) participants who were classified as either 'victims' or 'non-victims' (using peer nominations) rated themselves on a 3-point scale in terms of how like them each description was, (2) participants were asked to think of a victim and a non-victim in their class and to rate both of these people on each description, and (3) teachers were asked to rate a previously identified victim and a non-victim from their class on each description. RESULTS: Using a direct discriminant function analysis of the self-ratings, six of the social skills items were found to discriminate between victims and non-victims, and the discriminant function was able to correctly classify 80% of the participants. For 18 of the items, peer ratings indicated significantly more pronounced social skills problems for victims than for non-victims. Teacher ratings were significant for eight of the social skill items, and in each case, victims were rated as having greater problems. CONCLUSION: The finding that victims are perceived by three different sources to have poor social skills has important implications for interventions to support victims of bullying.
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Agresión , Dominación-Subordinación , Grupo Paritario , Autoimagen , Percepción Social , Enseñanza , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Deseabilidad SocialRESUMEN
Trustworthiness was examined in children and early adolescents from two countries. In Study 1,505 children in the fifth and sixth school years in the United Kingdom (mean age = 9 years 7 months) were tested across an 8-month period. In Study 2,350 sixth- through eighth-grade Canadian children and early adolescents (mean age = 12 years 11 months) were tested across a 1-year period. Participants completed measures assessing trustworthiness (ratings of promise and secret keeping by peer group and also by best friend in Study 1), assertiveness (Study 1), prosocial behavior (Study 2), social relationships (friendships and peer preference), and psychological adjustment (self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and loneliness). Peer-reported trustworthiness was positively associated with, and predicted changes across time in, the number of friendships. The observed relations were found to be statistically independent of peer preference and peer-reported assertiveness or prosocial behavior. Trustworthiness was found to be positively associated with peer preference (Study 1 and Study 2) and psychological adjustment (Study 1).