25 research outputs found
Children's Perceptions of Their Teacher's Responses to Students' Peer Harassment: Moderators of Victimization-Adjustment Linkages
This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23098073?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.Children’s relational schemas have been found to account for, and moderate, links between peer victimization and psychosocial difficulties. The present study extends this research by examining whether children’s mental representations
of their teachers’ responses to students’ peer harassment moderate associations between peer victimization and internalizing distress and school avoidance. Data were collected from 264 children (124 boys and 140 girls) in the fourth,
fifth, and sixth grades. A number of significant victimization × perceived teacher response interactions emerged, although the nature of these moderated associations often varied by children’s sex. For boys, victimization was associated with
greater internalizing distress only when they viewed their teacher as advocating assertion, avoidance, or independent coping. In fact, perceiving teachers to use low levels of these strategies appeared to protect victimized boys from internalizing problems. In comparison, although girls similarly evidenced greater internalizing problems when they viewed the teacher as using these strategies, no evidence was found of a buffering effect at low levels of perceiving the teacher
as advocating avoidance, assertion, or independent coping. The results highlight the role of perceptions of the teacher in explicating individual differences in adjustment problems associated with peer victimization
Children’s Perceptions of Their Teacher’s Responses to Students’ Peer Harassment: Moderators of Victimization-Adjustment Linkages
Children’s relational schemas have been found to account for, and moderate, links between peer victimization and psychosocial difficulties. The present study extends this research by examining whether children’s mental representations of their teachers’ responses to students’ peer harassment moderate associations between peer victimization and internalizing distress and school avoidance. Data were collected from 264 children (124 boys and 140 girls) in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. A number of significant victimization × perceived teacher response interactions emerged, although the nature of these moderated associations often varied by children’s sex. For boys, victimization was associated with greater internalizing distress only when they viewed their teacher as advocating assertion, avoidance, or independent coping. In fact, perceiving teachers to use low levels of these strategies appeared to protect victimized boys from internalizing problems. In comparison, although girls similarly evidenced greater internalizing problems when they viewed the teacher as using these strategies, no evidence was found of a buffering effect at low levels of perceiving the teacher as advocating avoidance, assertion, or independent coping. The results highlight the role of perceptions of the teacher in explicating individual differences in adjustment problems associated with peer victimization
Introduction to the Special Issue Contexts, Causes, and Consequences New Directions in Peer Victimization Research
Peer victimization research has proliferated over the past few decades as researchers worldwide have identified risk factors, and documented both shortterm and long-term consequences, associated with peer harassment. This special issue represents a second generation of peer victimization research in which contextual variables are considered as potential moderators of both risk and outcomes. Context is broadly defined to encompass not only physical location and space, but also developmental periods, social environs, and individual characteristics. The first half of this issue focuses on known risk factors, such as aggression, social withdrawal, anxiety, and peer rejection, with two of these studies demonstrating how peer group context (e.g., bystander behavior and social group norms) moderates children’s risk. The second half focuses on mediating processes and contextual factors, such as school engagement, children’s perceptions of teachers’ responses to bullying, social hopelessness, and perceived family support. In sum, the papers compiled for this special issue reflect the complexity of the bullying phenomena and illuminate promising new directions of research to further our understanding of this ubiquitous problem
Peer Victimization and Neurobiological Models: Building Toward Comprehensive Developmental Theories
The articles in this special issue represent progress toward a more comprehensive developmental model of peer victimization and neurobiology. In this commentary, we highlight features of each article that reveal nuances in such a developmental model as related to sex, form of peer victimization, developmental course and period, and neurobiological response system and stimulus. We also encourage further research with an emphasis on longitudinal studies that cross developmental periods and elucidate directions of causality and mechanisms of change, expanded attention to individual and environmental variables that may explain or contextualize effects, assessments of multiple neurobiological systems, and tests of replication, as well as innovation. We acknowledge the challenges of such research and thank the authors for their important contributions to the literature on peer victimization and neurobiology
COVID-19 Social Distancing
The current study had two aims. First, we tested three norm-based interventions to increase social distancing practices. Second, we examined five potential concerns related to COVID-19 infection as prospective predictors of social distancing practices over the next two weeks
A Randomized Control Trial Of A Deviance Regulation Theory Intervention To Increase Alcohol Protective Strategies
Objective: Normative feedback remains an effective approach to reducing alcohol use among college students. However, this approach is difficult to extend to protective behavioral strategies (PBS), which are proximal to alcohol-related problems. Deviance regulation theory (DRT) is a social psychology theory that posits individuals engage in behaviors to standout out in positive ways or avoid standing out in negative ways. The current study tests a DRT-based randomized control trial. Method: College student drinkers (n 130) reported on PBS norm frequency, alcohol use, and PBS use. They were then randomly assigned to receive a positive message about PBS users, a negative message about non-PBS users, or a control. They reported on weekly PBS use, alcohol use, and alcohol problems for 10 weeks. Results: Consistent with DRT, there were immediate postintervention effects on PBS use for individuals who believed PBS was uncommon and who also received a positive message. This remained stable across time. There was significant growth in PBS use among individuals who received a negative message and who believed PBS use was common. The intervention was not directly associated with alcohol use or problems. However, PBS use was associated with average alcohol use and lower weekly and global alcohol problems. Conclusions: This study shows that a DRT intervention may increase PBS use. This may translate into lower alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems. The results also identify conditions under which positive and negative messages are indicated