Social processes and correlates of social exclusion among children and adolesents

This chapter focuses on social exclusion among children and adolescents. Social exclusion has been observed among animals in their natural environment, as well as among humans in different contexts, such as the workplace and the school (Crick and Grotpeter 1995; Leung, Wu, Chen and Young 2011; McGuire and Raleigh 1986). It can be considered a serious risk factor for developing physiological, emotional, behavioral, and social problems, in particular for those youths who are repeatedly excluded and socially isolated (Sijtsema, Shoulberg and Murray-Close 2011). In this respect, depression, loneliness, and anxiety have been described as consequences of exclusion (Leary 1990). Despite much attention has been paid to the negative consequences of social exclusion, less consideration has been given to the social and moral mechanisms underlining inclusionary and exclusionary processes in the peer group. According to empirical findings, children and adolescents can legitimate social exclusion, since it allows the group to work well. For instance, youths consider legitimate to exclude incompetent peers and include skillful peers in the group, due to individual merits (e.g., ability to play baseball) (Killen and Stangor 2001). They may also interpret fairness and unfairness of social exclusion on the basis of moral judgments (e.g., rights, equal treatment, equal access to the group) or on stereotypical and contextual characteristics (e.g., gender-related group activities) (Bennett 2014; Killen 2007; Killen and Stangor 2001). In this way, social exclusion contributes to delineate social status membership and dominance positions in the peer group (Underwood and Ehnrenreich 2014). In conclusion, the present contribution aims at summarizing recent findings and theories about social exclusion, also underlining the need for intervention programs aimed at contrasting this phenomenon among youths

Bullying and moral disengagement in early adolescence: do personality and family functioning matter?

The present study adopted a multi-informant approach to investigate the contribution of personality and family functioning to moral disengagement and bullying-related behaviors in early adolescence. The sample included 102 early adolescents (53 boys and 49 girls; mean age = 12.21 years; effect size = 0.35, power = 0.95, and error probability = 5%). Behaviors during bullying situations were detected by peer nominations. Self-report measures were administered to assess moral disengagement and family functioning, whereas a parent-report was administered to detect personality traits. Results showed that extraversion was positively associated with bullying and moral disengagement, while benevolence was positively associated with defending behavior. Family functioning was negatively associated with moral disengagement. Furthermore, we found that personality and family functioning were intertwined in their association with bullying-related behaviors and moral disengagement. In particular, a low conscientiousness, together with a low family functioning, decreased the likelihood of defending behavior and increased the risk of bullying. High levels of benevolence decreased outsider behavior in students with a high family functioning. Although extraversion was positively associated with bullying and moral disengagement, findings suggested that it increased moral disengagement only among early adolescents with low family functioning. Overall, findings underline the importance of addressing individual and contextual variables when studying bullying and moral disengagement among early adolescents. Keywords: bullying, defending, outsider

Emotion awareness and somatic complaints in preadolescence: the mediating role of coping strategies

Somatic complaints are frequent among preadolescents with impaired emotion awareness and maladaptive coping strategies. In addition, coping strategies in response to stressful events have been suggested to affect the association between emotion awareness and somatic complaints. However, empirical support for this assumption is missing. In this study, we examined the extent to which emotion awareness and coping contributed uniquely to somatic complaints and the indirect effect of emotion awareness on somatic complaints through coping strategies, among preadolescent boys and girls. Self-reports were administered to 265 preadolescents (137 boys; Mage = 12.04) to investigate somatic complaints, emotion awareness, and coping strategies to deal with peer victimization. A subsample (N = 97) was assessed after a 12-month time-span. Cross-sectional results indicated that more somatic complaints were associated with less emotion awareness and problem-solving and with more internalizing and externalizing coping. Poor emotion awareness was indirectly associated with somatic complaints through internalizing for boys and through distraction, externalizing, and internalizing for girls. Emotion awareness was longitudinally associated with somatic complaints through distraction for boys. Overall, findings suggested that less emotion awareness was associated with more maladaptive coping strategies, which in turn contributed to more somatic complaints. Implications for research and intervention are discussed. Highlights: The present study investigated the associations between somatic complaints, emotion awareness, and coping strategies among preadolescent boys and girls. Self-report data were collected. Results showed that poor emotion awareness was indirectly associated with somatic complaints through internalizing for boys and through distraction, externalizing, and internalizing for girls. Improving emotion awareness and effective coping strategies may reduce somatic complaints among preadolescents and offer them a better social and psychological adjustment

Children's opinions on effective strategies to cope with bullying: the importance of bullying role and perspective

In order to find out what children would suggest as useful interventions to stop bullying, we designed a questionnaire administered to 311 children (155 boys and 156 girls; mean age = 11 years). Thirty-six items were employed to ask children how effective, in their opinion, retaliation, nonchalance and assertiveness could be in stopping bullying. Items were presented to children from three different perspectives (imagine you are the victim, the bully or a witness). We used peer reports to assess children's role in bullying. Children were grouped into bullies, followers of the bully, defenders of the victims, outsiders, victims and those not involved. The strategy most frequently chosen by all children was to cope with bullying through assertiveness. Bullies considered retaliation effective more often than their classmates, especially when they adopted the perspective of the victim or witness. Bullies did not consider assertive strategies as efficient in stopping the bully. Defenders, outsiders, victims and children not involved, on the other hand, were very much in favour of strategies aimed at solving the conflict through nonchalance or assertiveness, especially when they imagined being the bully. Girls chose assertive strategies more often than boys and younger children preferred nonchalance more often than older children, who tended to choose retaliation more often. Suggestions for intervention are made. © 2005 NFER

Stability and change of outsider behavior in school bullying: the role of shame and guilt in a longitudinal perspective

We analyzed developmental changes in outsider behavior, testing whether the likelihood that it turns into bullying or defending over time depends on the individual proneness to feel shame or guilt. Participants were 155 preadolescents (72 boys and 83 girls; (Formula presented.)ageat T1 = 10.74 years). Bullying, defending, and outsider behaviors were assessed twice by peer nominations. Shame- and guilt-proneness were assessed at T1 by a self-report questionnaire. All behaviors appeared quite stable; however, regression analyses revealed that shame and guilt were associated with outsider developmental pathway. In particular, students steadily presented outsider behavior after a 9-month period if they showed low guilt or high shame at T1. Results are discussed in terms of future directions for research and interventions

The Contribution of Bullying Involvement and Alexithymia to Somatic Complaints in Preadolescents

Somatic complaints during preadolescence are connected to individual and contextual factors, and extant research highlights the relevance of alexithymia and bullying involvement. In this cross-sectional study, we explored the joint and unique influence of bullying involvement-as perpetrators, victims, or outsiders-and alexithymia on somatic complaints in a sample of 179 Italian middle-school students (aged 11-15). Findings revealed an indirect association between bullying perpetration and victimization complaints through alexithymia. We also found a significant direct association between victimization and somatic complaints. No significant association between outsider behavior and somatization was found. Our results revealed that bullying perpetration and victimization could increase youths' risk for somatic complaints and clarify one of the processes underlying this association. The current findings further emphasize the relevance of emotional awareness for youths' well-being and propose that implementing social-emotional skills might prevent some of the adverse consequences of being involved in bullying episodes

Information processing of social exclusion: Links with bullying, moral disengagement and guilt

The Social Information Processing (SIP) theory and the Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Agency were integrated to investigate the associations between SIP and bullying, guilt, and moral disengagement. Participants were 341 children and early adolescents (Mage = 11.14). Two social exclusion vignettes were administered to assess three SIP steps (step 2: Attribution of hostile intent; step 3: Selection of antisocial goals, and step 4: Generation of aggressive responses). Guilt was assessed through five vignettes. A self-report measure was used to assess moral disengagement and peer nominations were used to assess bullying perpetration. Moderated mediation analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Findings indicated that attribution of hostile intent was associated with selection of antisocial goals, which in turn, was associated with the generation of aggressive responses among participants with high levels of bullying and low levels of guilt and moral disengagement. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical relevance.publishedVersio

Selective Arylsulfonamide Inhibitors of ADAM-17: Hit Optimization and Activity in Ovarian Cancer Cell Models

Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Mol. (ALCAM) is expressed at the surface of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells and is released in a sol. form (sALCAM) by ADAM-17-mediated shedding. This process is relevant to EOC cell motility and invasiveness, which is reduced by inhibitors of ADAM-17. In addn., ADAM-17 plays a key role in EGFR signalling and thus may represent a useful target in anticancer therapy. Herein we report our hit optimization effort to identify potent and selective ADAM-17 inhibitors, starting with previous mol. 1. A new series of secondary sulfonamido-based hydroxamates was designed and synthesized. The biol. activity of the newly synthesized compds. was tested in vitro on isolated enzymes and human EOC cell lines. The optimization process led to compd. 21, which showed an IC50 of 1.9 nM on ADAM-17 with greatly increased selectivity. This compd. maintained good inhibitory properties on sALCAM shedding in several in vitro assays

Las damas del mar. Viajeras. emigrantes, literatas y artistas desde y hacia el Cono Sur en los siglos XIX y XX

Este proyecto, desarrollado conjuntamente entre investigadoras argentinas e italianas, tuvo como principal objetivo el abordaje a obras de escritoras y artistas de los siglos XIX y XX, de senda snacionalidades, en relación con el intercambio cultural, la migración y la construcción de una identidad femenina cimentada a lo largo del diálogo entre dos riberas: la mediterránea y la rioplatense. Las investigadoras relevaron las obras de Eduarda Mansilla, Victoria Ocampo, Sara Gallardo, Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Bossi, Liliana Bellone, Mariangela Sedda, Renata Mambelli, Griselda Gambaro y Syria Poletti, en las letras; y Lola Mora, en las artes plásticas. Su trabajo toma dos ejes fundamentales: el del viaje cultural (que es a veces un viaje profesional formativo de residencia más o menos extensa), y el de la emigración/inmigración (tanto en primer grado como en segundo grado directo e indirecto, a través de las protagonistas, de las descendientes de los migrantes, o de miembros pertenecientes a la comunidad que tematizan historias de vida entre Italia y Argentina, sin que sus autoras tengan experiencia propia o familiar de la migración). Estudiaron el diálogo simbólico que estas narrativas entrelazan y su aporte a la construcción de un imaginario ítalo-argentino. Se plantearon y cumplieron los siguientes objetivos: 1) indagar en las obras de las escritoras y artistas argentinas las huellas de la cultura italiana, a las que accedieron a través de viajes, estadías,l ecturas, y contactos profesionales y personales; 2) rastrear la presencia argentina en el imaginario italiano; 3) contribuir a la investigación de la presencia italiana en la construcción de la identidad argentina, así como al estudio de la literatura y la plástica, a través de la mirada de mujeres viajeras e innovadoras; 4) analizar las vinculaciones entre las historias de vida, el relato epistolar, la autobiografía,y las diversas modalidades femeninas de figuración del yo; 5) enriquecer las perspectivas críticas sobre la vida y la obra de estas artistas, a partir de los contenidos culturales pertenecientes a la otra nación –italiana o argentina– que marcaron la producción de cada una de ellas; 6) contribuir a los estudios de género en ambas naciones a lo largo de los siglos XIX y XX; 7) elaborar un volumen monográfico con artículos de todas las participantes, que será publicado en Gramma (Revista de la Escuela de Letras, USAL), además de la producción y actividades individuales derivadas de este proyecto.This project, carried out jointly by Italian and Argentinean researchers, had the main goal of studying the work of female writers and artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, from both countries, withr eference to cultural exchange, migration and female identity built through the dialogue between both shores: the Mediterranean one and the Río de la Plata´s. The research was focused on the works by Eduarda Mansilla, Victoria Ocampo, Sara Gallardo, Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Bossi, Liliana Bellone, Mariangela Sedda, Renata Mambelli, Griselda Gambaro and Syria Poletti, in Literature, and Lola Mora, for Plastic Arts. The approach is organized around two axes: the cultural journey (which may be a formative professional journey of uncertain length), and emigration/immigration (not only in first degree but also in second degree direct or indirect, through the protagonists themselves, migrants´ descendants, or members of the community that refer to life stories in-between Argentina and Italy, even though the authors or their families haven’t had their own migration experiences).The researchers studied the symbolic dialogue that these stories weave and their input to the construction of Italian-Argentinean imaginary.The following objectives have been set and achieved: 1) Trace, in the Argentine literature and artistic pieces, the footprints of Italian culture, which these authors acquired through journeys, readings, professional and personal relationships. 2) Identify Argentinean presence in Italian imaginary.3) Contribute to the research of the presence of Italy in the construction of Argentinean identity as well as the study of literature and art through the perspective of innovative female travellers. 4) Analyze the connections between life stories, epistolary writings, autobiographies, and the diverse forms of female self-configuration. 5) Broaden critical perspectives about the lives and work of the mentioned authors, as the cultural contents that belong to the other country –whether it is Italy or Argentina– are traced in the production of each one of them. 6) Contribute to gender studies in both countries along the 19th and 20th centuries. 7) Elaborate a monographic volume with research articles by all the participants, to be published in Gramma Magazine (Review of the School of Letters, USAL), besides the individual critical productions and activities derived from this project