Asegúrate: an intervention program against cyberbullying based on teachers' commitment and on design of its instructional materials

This article presents the impact on cyberbullying of the Asegúrate program. This educational program is based on the theory of normative social behavior, self-regulation skills,and the beliefs held by adolescents and consists in a whole package of strategies and resources to help teachers to include in the ordinary curricula. The evaluation of Asegúrate was carried out with a sample of 4779 students (48.9% girls) in 5th and 6th grade in primary education and compulsory secondary education (M = 12.76; SD = 1.67) through a quasi-experimental methodology, with two measures over time. The instrument used was the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire. The results show that the involvement in cyberbullying as cyber-victim,cyber-aggressor, and cyber-bully-victim increase without intervention, whereas it diminishes when intervention is carried out by the teachers who have received specific training and have used the didactic Asegúrate package. Additionally, the impact of the intervention on the different types of behaviors was analyzed, and the results show that Asegúrate is more effective with some forms than with others. Consequently, the Asegúrate program is effective for decreasing the prevalence of cyberbullying, but some modifications need to be made to impact on all the different forms it can take.Gobierno de España PSI2017-86723-RGobierno de España PSI2016-74871-

Efficacy evaluation of "Dat-e Adolescence": A dating violence prevention program in Spain

This study presents the first evaluation of Dat-e Adolescence, a dating violence prevention program aimed at adolescents in Spain. A cluster randomized control trial was used involving two groups (a control group and experimental group) and two waves (pre-test and posttest six months apart). 1,764 students from across seven state high schools in Andalucı ´a (southern Spain) participated in the study (856 in the control group and 908 in the experimental group); 52.3% were boys (n = 918), with ages ranging from 11 to 19 years (average age = 14.73; SD = 1.34). Efficacy evaluation was analyzed using Latent Change Score Models and showed that the program did not impact on physical, psychological or online aggression and victimization, nor did it modify couple quality. It was, however, effective at modifying myths about romantic love, improving self-esteem, and improving anger regulation, as a trend. These initial results are promising and represent one of the first prevention programs evaluated in this country. Future follow-up will allow us to verify whether these results remain stable in the medium term.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad PSI2013-45118-RMinisterio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad PSI-2017-86723-RMinisterio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU2013/0083

Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Aggression in a Young Man with Mental Retardation: Long-Term Treatment in a Community-Based Setting

A longitudinal, intensive treatment program is described that was implemented over an 8-year period in a community-based setting for a young man with mental retardation and oppositional defiant disorder with severe physical aggression. The development of this disorder and its systematic treatment are described, with new components added based on improvement in the individual’s behavior. The individual made steady progress and has maintained good behavioral stability for the final three years of the treatment program. This paper highlights the inherent difficulties of applying empirically validated treatment strategies in community-based settings

Psychology and the research enterprise: Moving beyond the enduring hegemony of positivism

Almost since its inception, psychology has embraced the positivist orientation of the natural sciences. The research enterprise in psychology has reinforced this through its insistence that psychological science is objective, generalisable, and value free (or neutral). Consequently, experimental designs are privileged over other forms of enquiry and alternate epistemologies, methodologies, and methods remain marginalised within the discipline. We argue that alternate methodologies, and the philosophies that underpin the research endeavour, should be included in mainstream psychology programmes so that the existing imbalance is rectified. Achieving this balance will mean that psychology will be better positioned to address applied research problems and students will graduate with the skills and knowledge that they will need in the multidisciplinary workforce they will enter. We discuss recommendations for how psychology in Australia can move towards embracing methodological and epistemological pluralism. Breen, L. & Darlaston-Jones, D. (2008). Psychology and the research enterprise: Moving beyond the enduring hegemony of positivism. Australian Journal of Psychology, 60 (S1), 107-208. doi:10.1080/0004953080238555

Enhancing the emotional and social skills of the youth to promote their wellbeing and positive development: a systematic review of universal school-based randomized controlled trials

Background: The acquisition of social and emotional skills is associated with positive youth development, character education, healthy lifestyle behaviours, reduction in depression and anxiety, conduct disorders, violence, bullying, conflict, and anger. School-based interventions aimed to enhance these skills go beyond a problem-focused approach to embrace a more positive view of health; they could also improve the youth's wellbeing. Aim: To describe the main features and to establish the effectiveness of universal school-based RCTs for children and the youth, aimed to promote their psychosocial wellbeing, positive development, healthy lifestyle behaviours and/or academic performance by improving their emotional and social skills. Methods: Systematic review by searching for relevant papers in PubMed/Medline with the following key words: "mental health" OR "wellbeing" OR "health promotion" OR "emotional learning" OR "social learning" OR "emotional and social learning" OR "positive youth development" OR "life skills" OR "life skills training" AND "school". Interval was set from January 2000 to April 2014. Results: 1,984 papers were identified through the search. Out of them 22 RCTs were included. While most interventions were characterized by a whole-school approach and SAFE practices, few studies only used standardized measures to assess outcomes, or had collected follow-up data after ≥ 6 months. The results of all these trials were examined and discussed. Conclusion: Universal school-based RCTs to enhance emotional and social skills showed controversial findings, due to some methodological issues mainly. Nevertheless they show promising outcomes that are relatively far-reaching for children and youth wellbeing and therefore are important in the real worl

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT OF EDUCATIONAL STAFF

This study aimed to test empirically the influence of compensation and work environment on organizational commitment. The samples included 50 subjects who were educational staff in X University with a permanent employee status and minimum one‐year employment. The sampling technique was purposive sampling, and data were collected through scales of compensation, work environment and organizational commitment. The analysis of data used multiple linear regression techniques. The results showed that 1). There was a very significant positive influence of compensation and work environment simultaneously on organizational commitment proven by the statistical value of F as much as 7.849 with a significance of p = 0.001 (p <0.05), 2). There was a significant positive correlation between compensation and organizational commitment with a significance level (p) of 0.015 (p <0.05), and 3). There was no influence of work environment on organizational commitment with the significance level (p) of 0.146 (p> 0.05). Compensation and work environment had an influence on increased organizational commitment when the staff experienced an appropriate compensation and comfortable work environment. Keywords: organizational commitment, compensation, work environmen