Defending Behavior of Peer Victimization in School and Cyber Context During Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analytic Review of Individual and Peer-Relational Characteristics

Adolescent defending of peer victimization in the school and cyber context has received increased attention in developmental science and is an important component of antibullying interventions. However, the overall prevalence, and individual characteristics that correlate with defending in adolescence, have not been systematically and statistically reviewed. Framed in Bronfenbrenner’s social-ecological theory, this meta-analytic review included 172 reports out of 155 studies of defending including 150,978 children and adolescent participants from 4 continents (i.e., North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia) to analyze two aspects: (1) the average proportion of defenders in the population and (2) associations between defending and individual and peer-relational correlates of defending in school and cyber contexts. Using mixed-effects modeling, our results confirmed prior findings of gender differences (favoring girls) and age differences (favoring younger children) in defending. We found positive correlations between defending and affective empathy, cognitive empathy, experiences of peer victimization, self-efficacy, popularity, and acceptance, and a negative correlation between defending and moral disengagement. We also found substantial heterogeneity in these effect sizes. The reporter of defending consistently moderated all mean effect sizes. Implications for prevention efforts and future research are discussed

Social Cognitive Factors Associated with Sharing Overt and Relational Cyberaggression Digitally

Cyberaggression is a substantial problem for college-aged students. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations between social cognitive factors and digitally sharing one’s own and others’ overt and relational cyberaggressive material among college students. Social cognitive factors included cyber moral disengagement and facets of cognitive autonomy, including comparative validation, voicing opinions, and evaluative thinking. A convenience sample of 437 college students from a medium-sized US university completed an online survey about cyber aggression and related social cognitive factors. Results from a structural equation model, controlling for gender, showed that cyber moral disengagement was positively associated with sharing own and others’ overt and relational cyberaggressive material. Sharing one’s own and others’ relational cyberaggression was positively associated with comparative validation but was negatively associated with evaluative thinking. The present research reinforces prior links between moral disengagement and cyberaggression while examining other social cognitive factors associated with cyberaggression and assisting cyberaggression perpetrators

Case Studies in the Classroom: Assessing a Pilot Information Literacy Curriculum for English Composition

Purpose This mixed-methods study assesses a pilot library curriculum in a general education English composition course. Case-based learning (CBL), a form of problem-based learning (PBL), was used to scaffold information literacy skills and concepts across sessions. This article explores the approach\u27s impact on student learning and engagement. Design/methodology/approach Participants were enrolled in four sections of an undergraduate composition course. Two sections were taught with the CBL library curriculum, and two with the standard library curriculum as a control. Pretest/posttest surveys included quantitative and qualitative measures to assess students in several areas of information literacy. Weekly reflections from a subsample of students were analyzed, and the research team conducted structured classroom observations and teaching reflections. Findings Quantitative survey results did not support the hypotheses that the CBL curriculum would increase students\u27 confidence and skill levels compared to their control section peers. Although there was no significant difference between sections in measured information literacy outcomes, students generally agreed that the case studies used in the CBL curriculum taught skills applicable to their research. Teaching observation data revealed the cohesion of the curriculum across library sessions and increased student engagement in classroom activities. However, some of the case studies could be improved, and some limitations in study design point to the need for further research. Originality/value This study addresses a gap in the literature through a mixed-methods assessment of CBL pedagogy using a control group, contributing to an understanding of the role of PBL pedagogies in information literacy curricula

Stability of Children and Adolescents\u27 Friendships: A Meta-Analytic Review

Decades of research has assessed the benefits of children’s and adolescents’ friendships, but friendships among youth often dissolve within a matter of months or years. Studies have investigated predictors and consequences of friendship stability with the expectation that, in order for friendships to have a positive or negative influence on youth, they need to be enduring. However, differing methodology used to assess friendships affects the proportion of stable friendships observed, which may confound conclusions. In this meta-analysis a number of methodological and substantive study comparisons were made to assess their contribution to differences in effect sizes across studies of friendship stability. Evaluation of the impact of methodological moderators can inform whether there are differences in methodology that can significantly bias effect sizes of friendship stability. Results suggest that time lag between measurement occasions and presence or absence of a school-year transition impacts friendship stability. However, despite differences in methodology, most differences investigated did not significantly impact friendship stability. This supports the validity of the conclusions drawn from literature on friendship stability

How Adolescents Use Text Messaging Through their High School Years

Co‐construction theory suggests adolescents use digital communication to address developmental challenges. For a sample of 214 ethnically diverse adolescents, this research used direct observation to investigate the frequency, content, and timing of texting with parents, peers, and romantic partners through grades 9–12. Analyses showed that texting frequency follows a curvilinear trajectory, peaking in eleventh grade. Adolescents discussed a range of topics, predominantly with peers. Communication with parents was less frequent, but consistent over time. Approximately 45‐65% of adolescents communicated with romantic partners, texting heavily and about topics similar to those discussed with peers. Texting may help adolescents navigate key developmental challenges of adolescence—the establishment of autonomy, intimate peer relationships, romantic relationships, and self‐identity

Older Adolescents’ Understanding of Participant Rights in the BlackBerry Project, a Longitudinal Ambulatory Assessment Study

For a long‐term, longitudinal study that used BlackBerry smartphones for passive ambulatory assessment among older adolescents, this study focused on three areas of ethical concern: (1) adolescents’ competence to give assent; (2) understanding of confidentiality, the protection of information, and project goals; and (3) awareness of procedures and benefits, and comfort with the research design. One hundred and seventy‐eight participants were 17 and 18 years old (84 girls). Results suggested that participants freely gave consent and understood most, but not all of the informed consent information. Participants reported a high level of satisfaction. Participants showed less understanding of when their confidentiality would be broken and how data would be protected

Student Attitudes Toward Research in an Undergraduate Social Science Research Methods Course

This study used a mixed-methods longitudinal design to investigate change in students’ understanding, attitudes, anxiety, perceptions of relevance, and disinterest in a required social science undergraduate research methods course across a semester. Participants were 78 undergraduates (94% women, 6% men; 92% white non-Hispanic/Latinx, M age = 25.62, SD = 7.17) at a university in the United States. Results suggest that participant attitudes toward and perceptions of research methods shifted over the course of the semester. Overall, anxiety decreased, while positive attitudes increased. However, initial perceptions and changes in perceptions varied among the three course sections. Over time, students largely recognized the course’s relevance and conveyed positive attitudes toward research and their success in overcoming the challenge of completing the course. Implications for pedagogy include the need for continued assessment of learners, development of students’ self-concept as researchers, teaching of research as a process, and connection to application

Aggressive, Assertive and Non-confrontational Forms of Defending: Differentiation of Forms and Consequences of Defending

The factor structure of the newly created Enacted Defending Scale (EDS) was investigated to better understand what strategies of defending children and adolescents enact to defend their peers from peer victimization. This investigation resulted in a 5-factor model, representative of assertive, overt aggressive, relationally aggressive, and two non-confrontational strategies of defending, telling an adult and comforting the victim. Aggressive forms of defending could be differentiated; whether the defending strategy was enacted in response to overt or relational victimization could not be differentiated. In general, aggressive strategies were associated with dependent variables indicative of poorer adjustment, while assertive and non-confrontational strategies were either related to positive dependent variables or unrelated to the psychosocial adjustment outcomes. Only one of the associations varied by age. The results suggest, first, that attention must be given to multiple forms of defending and that not all defending of peer victimization may have a prosocial effect, and second, that there is a need to carefully consider the potential consequences of defending for defenders themselves