Search Results (55)

The institution of mediation as a method of alternative dispute resolution has recently entered the school environment. The present study was conducted to explore the views of primary and secondary school teachers on the forms of violence in schools, the factors that influence its occurrence, the consequences of the phenomenon, and the effectiveness of schools in combating violence in relation to the institution of School Mediation. The research was exclusively conducted electronically through a questionnaire, and quantitative analysis was carried out, documenting the importance of the role of School Mediation in effectively preventing and addressing violence and bullying in schools. The benefits of its implementation are manifold, including preventing and averting conflicts, improving school culture, developing empathy, enhancing personal and social skills, reducing delinquent behavior among students, and fostering a safe school climate. Full article

Background/Objectives: Child protection from any form of physical or mental abuse or mistreatment is a fundamental right. The scientific literature supports that evidence-based interventions, such as the “Zero Violence Brave Club”, contribute to reducing school bullying by promoting a culture of zero tolerance for violence in diverse educational contexts, regardless of socioeconomic or cultural characteristics. This research aims to analyze how the prevention model, supported by evidence-based interventions with social impacts, is implemented in six schools and to evaluate its impact on child protection and its positive effects on children’s health. This study focuses on schools that adopt a clear stance against violence and implement prevention measures aligned with evidence-based guidelines, such as those established by the recent MeToo Schools movement. Methods: To achieve this, fieldwork was conducted, including in-depth interviews with 13 educational community members. Results: The findings show that the studied schools applying SESI-based interventions prevent violence, strengthen child protection, and enhance the health and well-being of children. Conclusions: This research highlights the importance of implementing evidence-based programs such as the Zero Violence Brave Club (ZVBC), contributing not only to the prevention of violence but also to the improvement of students’ health and well-being, offering schools a tool to position themselves as a safe space for children. Full article

In this conceptual article, the authors provide a narrative review of literature on bullying and sexual harassment in K-12 schools framed through a comparative analysis of risk and protective factors for both forms of violence across the social-ecological spectrum. We find that a greater number of studies of both forms of violence focus on student and microsystem-level factors rather than on higher levels of the ecosystem including school boards, neighborhoods, and broader cultural norms. In addition, the research overwhelmingly identifies more risk factors than protective factors. Finally, we find more similarities than differences in risk and protective factors between the two forms of school-based violence. We identify implications of the findings for theory, research, and policy and suggest that preventing any form of harassment at school will benefit not only students but the entire school community. We argue that the causes of school-based harassment are complex and require comprehensive prevention, intervention, and response approaches that address shared risk and protective factors, particularly those at the community and mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem levels. Ultimately, we argue that all community stakeholders must be committed to and engaged in these endeavors for them to be successful. Full article

Bullying and cyberbullying are critical global issues that significantly affect the mental health and behavioral well-being of youth. This article explores the complex challenges posed by these forms of aggression and introduces a strength-based model for health and mental health professionals to address these issues with impacted youth holistically. Grounded within findings from a scoping review of the literature, the SHIELD framework emphasizes Strengths, Healing, Interventions, Empowerment, Learning, and Development, offering a comprehensive approach for identifying and supporting youth impacted by bullying and cyberbullying. SHIELD emphasizes collaboration among health professionals, schools, families, and communities. By integrating empirical evidence and best practices from school-based approaches to bullying prevention, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), this framework provides a roadmap for creating safer, more inclusive environments for youth while prioritizing their mental health and overall well-being in the face of bullying and cyberbullying. A case study illustrates the framework’s practical application and future directions are proposed to guide further empirical investigation and stimulate innovative approaches to addressing the complexities of bullying and cyberbullying. Full article

Workplace bullying can be defined as the repeated occurrence of aggressive behaviour by one or more persons in a position of power towards the victim. This phenomenon remains insufficiently researched among education professionals, especially between different levels of education. With this in mind, the present study aims to assess and characterise this phenomenon in the Portuguese teacher population, as well as its consequences. A digital questionnaire was used for the study, which includes a socio-demographic component and two scales, namely the LIPT-60 scale and the WBMMS scale. The questionnaire was published online and made accessible to all teachers employed in schools in Portugal. The final sample consisted of 2003 teachers. The obtained results revealed that 22.5% of the sample acknowledged experiencing workplace bullying. The most prevalent aggressive behaviours included communication blockage and defamation and disregard for work. Vertical descent emerged as the most common form of bullying. More than half of the victims reported experiencing health issues, with a quarter of them requiring a medical certificate. Finally, we would like to emphasize the significance of this study as an initial step towards the prevention and reduction of workplace bullying among Portuguese teachers. Full article

In the context of cyberbullying, bystanders engage in a diverse array of defending behaviors, employing a range of strategies tailored to the specific forms of bullying they encounter. These defending behaviors have been demonstrated to effectively mitigate the adverse effects of cyberbullying on victims. This study involved the development of the defending behavior scale of cyberbullying for adolescents and a subsequent assessment of the scale’s reliability and validity. Firstly, the structure of defending behavior was explored based on the results of in-depth interviews and previous studies in the literature. The defending behavior scale of cyberbullying for adolescents was then developed, and 550 middle school students were selected for item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Secondly, 526 middle school students were selected for a series of reliability and validity analyses, including tests of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and structural validity, to assess the reliability and validity of the scale. The final version of the scale comprises 24 items distributed across four dimensions: emotional support, reporting authority, aggressive defending, and problem-solving. The four factors collectively account for 66.26% of the total variance. The internal consistency coefficient α of the scale was 0.92, with the internal consistency coefficients α of the dimensions being 0.88, 0.92, 0.92, 0.92, and 0.87, respectively. The scale demonstrated good convergent validity, discriminant validity, structural validity, and criterion validity. Finally, the scale has measurement equivalence across genders. The defending behavior scale of cyberbullying for adolescents was demonstrated to possess good reliability and validity, to meet the requirements of psychometrics, and to be suitable for use in measuring defending behavior in adolescent cyberbullying. Full article

Suicidal ideation is a process that is intertwined with suicidal behavior. It begins with the formation of an idea about whether it is worth continuing to live, an idea that can evolve and trigger a series of actions ranging from planning to the execution of the suicidal act. This is a descriptive observational study based on numerical measurements with its respective statistical analysis that established the behavioral patterns of the phenomenon studied. The research proposal was approved by the research committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, URSE; data collection was performed through the instruments: Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Abbreviated Scale of School Bullying Questionnaire, Drug Dependence Identification Questionnaire, and Family Apgar. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 5.4%; 19.7% of the medical students have been victims of bullying in any form; 22.2% reported regular use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other addictive substances; in addition, 17.7% had mild family dysfunction, moderate in 9.9% and severe with 15.3%; depression was recorded to a mild degree with 6.4%, followed by moderate in 1.5% of cases. Suicidal ideation among medical students is of concern; these problems must be addressed comprehensively, promoting a supportive environment that promotes the mental health and well-being of medical students. Full article

Background: LGBTIQ+ adolescents face multiple forms of violence due to minority stress, putting their mental health at risk. These adolescents, particularly trans and gender-diverse youth, face significant challenges, including family violence, bullying, and limited access to health services. This article investigates the factors that protect their mental health. Method: A systematic review of articles published between 2019 and 2024 was conducted using the PRISMA method. Results: The study identifies family and school support, peer relationships, and individual resilience as key protective factors to reduce depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior, as well as increase self-esteem and well-being. Conclusions: This review calls for further research into protective factors related to the microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem and the impact of intervention programs with adolescents and their families. Full article

Bullying and cyberbullying significantly threaten the development and mental health of both victims and perpetrators. This study aimed to analyze the associations between socioeconomic characteristics, personal experiences of violence, perceived social support from peers, and acceptance of violence and (cyber)bullying perpetration. The study involved 1146 secondary school students, consisting of 698 females and 448 males, aged 13 to 16. Prevalence ratios (PRs) were calculated using Poisson regression with robust variance. The results indicated that 12.32% of girls and 18.97% of boys reported engaging in bullying and/or cyberbullying. The likelihood of perpetration was lower among adolescents who had not experienced physical and/or sexual abuse before age 15, but higher among those in romantic relationships who had been victims of dating violence or had experienced (cyber)bullying victimization. Additionally, perceived social support from classmates was associated with a lower likelihood of becoming a perpetrator, whereas acceptance of violence was positively associated with (cyber)bullying perpetration. Preventing adolescents from becoming perpetrators of bullying and/or cyberbullying requires early intervention to prevent all forms of violence in childhood and adolescence, as well as bolstering personal and environmental resources by providing social support. Full article

School bullying represents a widespread expression of violence in the peer context. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study investigated the longitudinal and transactional pathways linking domestic and neighborhood/community violence exposure (through direct victimization and witnessing), self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), and school bullying perpetration. Furthermore, consistent with the previous literature, we tested the cognitive desensitization process that could develop in response to chronically violent contexts. Two four-wave cross-lagged panel mediation models were tested in a sample of 778 high school students (28.1% males; M_age [Time 1; T1] = 14.20, SD = 0.58). The results showed differential effects of multiple contexts and forms of violence exposure, with domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing being associated with self-serving CDs and bullying perpetration over time. Moreover, significant associations between CDs and bullying perpetration over time were found, with bidirectional effects for each of these longitudinal patterns. Finally, self-serving CDs significantly mediated the relationships between both domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing and school bullying perpetration. These findings highlight the need to consider school bullying as a social phenomenon stemming from a complex and bidirectional interplay between individuals and the environments they inhabit, confirming a basic postulate that “violence breeds violence”. Full article

The main objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of bullying in Greek secondary schools and detect the possible characteristics of bullies’ profiles in Greek school settings. A structured questionnaire was given to one hundred ninety-two (n = 192) educators at Greek junior high schools in urban and rural areas. The educators were asked to report the frequencies and forms of aggressive behavior observed during the 2022–2023 school year, the bullies’ sociodemographic characteristics, and ways of dealing with bullying episodes. The data are presented, after conducting statistical analyses, in comparison with data for elementary school students. The results revealed that higher rates of bullying were reported compared with elementary school children. Moreover, according to teachers’ observations, aggressive behavior is independent of a pupil’s diagnosis, but specific types are correlated significantly with a pupil’s gender, nationality, low academic performance, and popularity. Factor analysis showed two main factors of aggression types, where common points and differences with elementary school students are mentioned. Implementations for the prevention of school bullying are discussed. Full article

Compared with traditional forms of bullying (e.g., physical bullying, verbal bullying), cyberbullying victimization can bring heavy psychological damage to the victim of bullying. Studies have found that cyberbullying victimization leads to higher levels of depression and causes anger and emotional problems. Nevertheless, existing studies mainly focus on traditional bullying while affording scant consideration to the longitudinal impact of cyberbullying on mental well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cyberbullying victimization on middle school students’ loneliness while simultaneously investigating the mediating role of perceived social support and the moderating role of feelings of hope. A total of 583 middle school students were surveyed using four self-report questionnaires. Cyberbullying victimization predicts loneliness. Perceived social support mediates the role of cyberbullying victimization in influencing cyberbullying. Sense of hope moderated the direct pathway and the second half of the mediating role pathway. First, many mediating and moderating variables of cyberbullying victimization affect loneliness, and different mediating and moderating variables can be studied in the future. Second, future studies could expand this study’s sample to validate the results of this study. Third, this study only collected data at two time points, and future studies could collect data at multiple time points. Cyberbullying victimization can increase loneliness over time. Perceived social support and a sense of hope can mitigate the effects of cyberbullying victimization on an individual’s mental health. Full article

Self-regulation has been shown to play a protective role against youth substance abuse, but less is known about its influence on bullying behavior. In the present study, we examined several forms of bullying (physical, social, cyber, and all forms combined) and roles (bullies, victims, and bully-victims). Students (N = 1977, ages 11 to 13) from 27 middle schools throughout the United States (US) completed an online self-reported assessment of bullying and its hypothesized etiologic determinants. Across the outcomes, analyses revealed that social bullying was most prevalent, followed by physical bullying and cyberbullying. For bullying roles, almost two-thirds of students reported bullying victimization, nearly one-quarter reported bullying perpetration, and one in five students reported both. Of those reporting perpetration, 9 of 10 reported being victimized. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between self-regulation, bystander intervention skills, and bullying. For all forms of bullying combined, self-regulation was protective against bullying perpetration (OR 0.51, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.63) and perpetration/victimization (OR 0.55, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.68), while bystander intervention skills were not protective. Similar patterns emerged for physical, social, and cyberbullying. Collectively, these findings indicate that building self-regulation skills may be a critical component of interventions aimed at preventing bullying among school-aged youth. Full article

The links between different forms of teacher victimization and teachers’ life satisfaction are still under-researched. To highlight teacher victimization by various parties within the school environment and its associations with teachers’ life satisfaction, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Multidimensional Teacher Victimization Scale, and some additional measures were applied. The findings based on a Lithuanian sample (n = 1146) revealed that a significant portion of teachers have experienced victimization in various forms: 38.5% of teachers have been bullied by school staff, 33.9% have faced verbal victimization from students’ parents, and victimization by students affected 65.8% of teachers, with verbal and social victimization being the most common. An SEM analysis (χ² = 355.787; Df = 33; CFI = 0.928; TLI = 0.902; NFI = 0.922; RMSEA = 0.092 [0.084–0.101]; SRMR = 0.0432) revealed that bullying by staff is not only detrimental in its own right but also relates positively to other forms of victimization, including verbal victimization by parents and multidimensional victimization by students, as teacher victimization by students and their parents mediated the relationship between teacher victimization by school staff and teacher life satisfaction. The findings suggest a complex problem within the school environment where different forms of victimization are interconnected and call for urgent attention and action from educational policymakers and school administrators to address and mitigate teacher victimization. Full article

Many studies have identified that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality. However, most studies have been restricted to a few types of ACEs. This study aims to investigate the association of 13 common types of ACEs with NSSI, suicidal ideation (SI), and suicide attempts (SA), as well as the mediation of depressive and anxiety symptoms therein. A total of 1771 (994 male, 777 female) students aged 11–16 (12.9 ± 0.6) years who participated in the baseline survey of the Chinese Adolescent Health Growth Cohort study were included in the analysis. ACEs, including childhood maltreatment, other common forms of ACEs, and smoking, were measured via the Chinese version of the Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and a series of valid questionnaires that were derived from previous studies. NSSI was measured using the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Self-mutilation. SI and SA were measured using questions derived from the Global School Based Student Health Survey. Depressive symptoms were measured via the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and anxiety symptoms were measured via the General Anxiety Disorder-7. Of the included participants, 92.0% reported one or more category of ACEs. Smoking, parent–child separation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and being bullied were positively associated with NSSI; smoking, parent–child separation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, emotional neglect, and being bullied were positively associated with SI; smoking, emotional abuse, and being bullied were positively associated with SA. The associations of ACEs with NSSI, SI, and SA were each partially or completely mediated through depressive and anxiety symptoms. Children and adolescents who had experiences of smoking, physical abuse, and being bullied during childhood are consistently and independently associated with NSSI and suicidality, and these associations may be largely mediated through depressive and anxiety symptoms. In conclusion, not all the types of ACEs are independently associated with NSSI, and suicidality and other associations may mediate through depressive and anxiety symptoms. Target interventions for adolescents’ NSSI and suicidality should focus on those who have a history of ACEs and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Full article