Mentoring, Bullying, and Educational Outcomes Among US School-Aged Children 6-17 Years

BACKGROUND

Ensuring the optimum development of all children and their attainment of age-appropriate educational outcomes is of great interest to public health researchers and professionals. Bullying and mentoring have opposite effects on child development and educational attainment. Mentoring exerts protective effects on youths against risky behaviors; however, the protective effects of community-oriented natural or informal mentoring on educational outcomes and bullying are largely underexplored. We examine associations between mentoring, bullying, and educational outcomes among US school-aged children 6-17 years.

METHODS

We analyzed the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 65,593) to estimate prevalence and odds of repeating a grade in school, lower school engagement, and bullying perpetration according to mentoring receipt and sociodemographic characteristics.

RESULTS

Overall, 5.4% of US school-aged children without a mentor perpetrated bullying against other children; 11.4% repeated more than one grade in school; and 23.0% had low school engagement. Children without mentors had 2.1 and 1.3 times higher adjusted odds, respectively, of bullying other children and low school engagement than those with mentors. Proportion of children who bullied others or repeated grades was higher among minority children.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that mentoring may be a pathway for providing programs that prevent bullying and improve educational outcomes among school-aged children.

Intimate Partner Violence Among Same-Sex Couples in College: A Propensity Score Analysis

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social issue with numerous detrimental effects on individuals, families, and society. Existing research and a social-ecological minority stress framework suggest, as compared with mixed-sex couples, those in same-sex relationships may be at heightened risk for perpetrating and experiencing IPV. Using a U.S. sample of college students ( N = 4,081), this secondary data analysis contrasted the prevalence of five forms of IPV (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological, injury, any type) between those in mixed-sex ( n = 3,960) and those in same-sex ( n = 121) intimate partnerships. Comparative analyses were supplemented with propensity score weighting to help balance members of mixed-sex and same-sex relationships across eight potentially confounding variables (e.g., biological sex, age). Prior to the application of propensity score weighting, results suggested those in same-sex relationships are significantly more likely to perpetrate and/or experience IPV resulting in physical injury. Results from post-weighting analyses retained the significance and magnitude of model estimates. Taken together, results suggest, as compared with mixed-sex couples, U.S. college students in same-sex couples have greater odds of experiencing IPV perpetration and victimization resulting in physical injury, even after accounting for the influence of several potentially confounding variables. Findings support the utility and future application of propensity score analytic techniques in this type of research as well as the importance of recognizing the unique IPV risk and service needs of people in same-sex relationships.

Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury and its relationships with school bullying and peer rejection

The central goal of this study was to examine the associations of school bullying and peer rejection with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as well as their interactive role in a sample of non-clinical adolescents. Six hundred and forty adolescents (253 Males, M_age = 15.60, SD = 1.65) self-reported measures of school bullying and NSSI and provided sociometric ratings of peer rejection. The results showed that being involved in bullying (as bullies, victims, or bully-victims) increases the likelihood to engage in NSSI; being rejected by peers amplifies the probability, for victims and bully-victims, of using NSSI at least once. The findings support the hypothesis that peer relationships play a key-role in determining NSSI and the importance to implement programs aimed to improve the school climate in order to avoid maladjusted behaviors in adolescence.

How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others

INTRODUCTION

As a research methodology, phenomenology is uniquely positioned to help health professions education (HPE) scholars learn from the experiences of others. Phenomenology is a form of qualitative research that focuses on the study of an individual's lived experiences within the world. Although it is a powerful approach for inquiry, the nature of this methodology is often intimidating to HPE researchers. This article aims to explain phenomenology by reviewing the key philosophical and methodological differences between two of the major approaches to phenomenology: transcendental and hermeneutic. Understanding the ontological and epistemological assumptions underpinning these approaches is essential for successfully conducting phenomenological research.

PURPOSE

This review provides an introduction to phenomenology and demonstrates how it can be applied to HPE research. We illustrate the two main sub-types of phenomenology and detail their ontological, epistemological, and methodological differences.

CONCLUSIONS

Phenomenology is a powerful research strategy that is well suited for exploring challenging problems in HPE. By building a better understanding of the nature of phenomenology and working to ensure proper alignment between the specific research question and the researcher's underlying philosophy, we hope to encourage HPE scholars to consider its utility when addressing their research questions.

Self-Reported and Parent-Reported School Bullying in Adolescents with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Roles of Autistic Social Impairment, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of self-reported and parent-reported bullying victimization, perpetration, and victimization-perpetration and the associations of autistic social impairment and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms with bullying involvement in adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 219 adolescents with high functioning ASD participated in this study. The associations of sociodemographic characteristics, parent-reported autistic social impairment, and parent-reported ADHD and ODD symptoms with self-reported and parent-reported bullying victimization, perpetration, and victimization-perpetration were examined using logistic regression analysis. The results found that the agreement between self-reported and parent-reported bullying involvement was low. Compared with bullying involvement experiences reported by adolescents themselves, parents reported higher rates of pure bullying victimization (23.7% vs. 17.8%) and victimization-perpetration (28.8% vs. 9.1%) but a lower rate of pure bullying perpetration (5.9% vs. 9.1%). Deficit in socio-communication increases the risk of being pure victims and victim-perpetrators. Parent-reported victim-perpetrators had more severe ODD symptoms than did parent-reported pure victims.

Epidemiological pattern of bullying using a multi-assessment approach: Results from the Bullying and Youth Mental Health Naples Study (BYMHNS)

BACKGROUND

Bullying is a widespread phenomenon that has captured attention from mental health researchers. Several studies have assessed bullying prevalence with some methodological concerns.

OBJECTIVES

Preliminary, we analyzed the psychometric properties of two bullying scales for victimization (the multidimensional peer victimization scale - MPVS) and for perpetration (the bully subscale of the Illinois bully scale - IBS-B); then, we estimated bullying prevalence; finally, we evaluated the effect of gender and classroom on the phenomenon.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

2959 students from the metropolitan city of Naples constituted the sample.

METHODS

Data collection was obtained using a multi-assessment approach that included both single-item questions and intensity scales in order to compare the two methods.

RESULTS

The two scales resulted valid and showed good reliability. The MPVS displayed a 1-factor second order model. The IBS-B had a mono-factorial structure. Both showed full invariance for gender and classroom. Prevalence of victimization was 37% whereas that for perpetration was 21%. As expected we obtained several bullying prevalence results depending on the specificity of questions and in particular repetitiveness of episodes. There was a good correspondence between results of single-item questions and multi-item scales. Finally results demonstrated several differences for gender and classroom attended.

CONCLUSION

In this epidemiological study the multi-assessment approach identified different but complementary features of bullying phenomena. The use of the two measurement approaches allowed us to obtain more precise and exhaustive information on bullying prevalence and compare it with previous findings.

Maternal- versus paternal-perpetrated maltreatment and risk for sexual and peer bullying revictimization in young women with depression

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment is one of the strongest predictors of sexual and peer bullying re-victimization. However, it is not clear which types of maltreatment are associated with the greatest risk.

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the differential relations of maternal- versus paternal-perpetrated emotional maltreatment, neglect, and physical maltreatment, as well as sexual maltreatment, to sexual victimization and peer bullying victimization outside the home. It was hypothesized that paternal-perpetrated emotional maltreatment would be the strongest predictor of later sexual and peer bullying victimization, and that sexual maltreatment would predict sexual re-victimization.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants included data from 263 adolescent and young adult women who had previously taken part in one of three larger studies conducted in an academic research setting investigating the relation between stress and depression. All participants had been recruited from the wider community or clinician referral and met criteria for a unipolar depressive disorder.

METHODS

Psychiatric diagnoses were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview. Childhood maltreatment and victimization were assessed retrospectively with a semi-structured contextual interview that includes standardized ratings.

RESULTS

Paternal-perpetrated emotional abuse was the only maltreatment type that was independently associated with sexual (OR = 3.09, p =  .004) and peer bullying (OR = 1.41, p =  .05) re-victimization over other forms of maltreatment and indicators of depression severity.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide an important foundation for future research examining the mechanisms driving the relation between father's hostility, criticism, and rejection and daughters' revictimization that can ultimately provide targets for prevention in girls at highest risk.

Patterns of childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence, emotion dysregulation, and mental health symptoms among lesbian, gay, and bisexual emerging adults: A three-step latent class approach

BACKGROUND

Childhood abuse and neglect (CAN) and intimate partner violence victimization (IPV) is prevalent among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (LGB). Identification of distinct patterns of childhood and adult victimization, including technology-mediated and face-to-face IPV, and their cumulative relations to mental/behavioral health challenges, among LGB people is needed to facilitate identification of at-risk individuals.

OBJECTIVE

Using latent class analysis, we first sought to identify patterns of lifetime interpersonal victimization, primarily five types of CAN and IPV in LGB emerging adults. Second, we examined if LGB-status and race/ethnicity predicted class-membership; third, we assessed differences between the latent classes on emotion dysregulation, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and alcohol use.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 288 LGB adults between 18-29 years (M = 25.35, SD = 2.76; 41.7% gay/lesbian) recruited via Amazon MTurk.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The 3-step LCA identified five-latent classes: high victimization, childhood emotional abuse and neglect, cybervictimization, adult face-to-face IPV, and lower victimization. People of color (including Hispanics) were more likely to be in the high victimization class, and bisexual individuals, especially bisexual women, in the childhood emotional abuse and neglect class. High victimization and childhood emotional abuse and neglect classes had elevated emotion dysregulation levels and depression and anxiety symptoms, and the high victimization class reported the highest levels of alcohol use.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest a detrimental effect of cumulative interpersonal victimization on emotion dysregulation and the mental/behavioral health of LGB emerging adults, with bisexuals and LGB-people of color at heightened risk of cumulative victimization and of related mental/behavioral health challenges.

Extending poly-victimization theory: Differential effects of adolescents' experiences of victimization on substance use disorder diagnoses upon treatment entry

BACKGROUND

Although victimization is a known contributor to the development of substance use disorders, no research has simultaneously examined how characteristics of victimization experienced over time, such as the type of abuse, the presence of poly-victimization, closeness to perpetrator(s), life threat or fear, and negative social reactions to disclosing victimization, cluster into profiles that predict substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the current study is to assess how profiles of victimization and trauma characteristics are associated with substance use disorders and assess potential gender differences.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants were 20,092 adolescents entering substance use treatment.

METHODS

We used latent class and multi-group latent class analysis to extract classes of victimization and associated characteristics. Emergent classes were used to predicted substance use disorder status at treatment intake.

RESULTS

Five classes were extracted: poly-victimization + high harmful trauma characteristics, sexual abuse + negative social reaction and perceived life threat, emotional abuse + trusted perpetrator, physical abuse and low all. Similar classes were found for the multi-group model. In both the overall and female-specific models, the poly-victimization + high harmful trauma characteristics class was more severe than all other classes in terms of opioid use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and dual diagnosis. Other class differences were found across gender.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents entering treatment can be distinguished by their profiles of victimization experiences and associated characteristics, and these profiles evidence different associations with substance use disorder diagnoses. Results point to a need for more nuanced assessment of victimization experiences and gender-specific interventions.

Quality of life of gay and bisexual men during emerging adulthood in Taiwan: Roles of traditional and cyber harassment victimization

This study examined factors related to the quality of life (QOL) of gay and bisexual men during emerging adulthood in Taiwan. The factors included traditional harassment (e.g., verbal ridicule, relational exclusion, physical aggression, and theft of belongings), cyber harassment, sex- and gender-related factors (e.g., sexual orientation, age at initial identification of sexual orientation, self-reported level of gender nonconformity, and perceived social acceptance toward homosexuality and bisexuality), and demographic characteristics. In total, 305 Taiwanese gay and bisexual men, aged 20-25 years, were recruited. Their QOL, traditional harassment, and cyber harassment data were collected using the World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: Short Form, School Bullying Experience Questionnaire, and Cyberbullying Experiences Questionnaire, respectively. In total, 60.3%, 34.4%, 28.2%, and 29.5% of the participants reported experiencing traditional harassment, cyber harassment, traditional harassment across multiple contexts, and harassment in multiple forms, respectively. Both traditional and cyber harassment were significantly associated with lower QOL. Individuals who experienced traditional harassment across multiple contexts and harassment in multiple forms had lower QOL in nearly all domains than did individuals who had experienced traditional harassment in a single context and harassment of a single form. However, the QOL did not significantly differ between individuals who had experienced traditional harassment in a single context and nonvictims nor between individuals who had experienced harassment of a single form and nonvictims. Lower education level, older age at initial identification of sexual orientation, higher perception of gender nonconformity, and lower perceived social acceptance toward homosexuality and bisexuality were significantly associated with lower QOL. Clinical and public health professionals should consider these factors when developing programs to enhance the QOL of gay and bisexual men.

Item Generation and Content Validity of the Child-Adolescent Bullying Scale

BACKGROUND

Healthcare providers do not uniformly screen young patients for exposure to bullying, and no screening instruments have been developed for widespread use in clinical settings.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to (a) generate scale items by identifying and eliciting concepts relevant to youths with potential exposure to bullying as well as to professionals who work with bullied youths and (b) assess the content validity of the new Child-Adolescent Bullying Scale (CABS) instrument.

METHODS

A mixed-methods design was used to develop an initial pool of 52 items. The study was conducted in four phases: (I) comprehensive review of the existing literature; (II) concept elicitation through the conduct of focus groups with school-age youths and professionals who work with bullied youths; (III) concept selection and item construction; and (IV) content validation assessment of relevance, clarity, and dimension of each item by a panel of 30 international bullying and measurement experts through completion of an online survey.

RESULTS

An initial pool of 52 potential items was developed during Phases I-III of the study. During Phase IV, item- and scale-level content validity indices were calculated and were used to refine the item pool. These strategies resulted in a new, 22-item tool, with scale-level content validity indices of .954 for clarity and .920 for representativeness.

DISCUSSION

Evaluation of the CABS tool with a sample of youths drawn from healthcare settings will be necessary to assess the performance of the CABS items, further evaluate its psychometric properties, and further refine the tool.

Non-Suicidal self-injury and suicide in depressed Adolescents: Impact of peer victimization and bullying

BACKGROUND

While prior research has demonstrated that peer victimization and bully perpetration contribute to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), it remains unclear whether these interpersonal processes differentiate self-injuring adolescent suicide ideators and attempters.

METHODS

The study included adolescents aged 13-18 years (n = 223; M = 15.31, SD = 1.34) recruited from an acute inpatient program. Participants were divided into two groups: (1) NSSI_SI (n = 106): endorsed past year NSSI, current suicide ideation, and no lifetime suicide attempts and (2) NSSI_SI+SA (n = 117): endorsed past year NSSI, current suicide ideation, and lifetime suicide attempts. Adolescents completed clinical interviews (i.e., mental disorders, NSSI, and STBs) and self-report measures assessing peer victimization, bully perpetration, and depression severity.

RESULTS

NSSI_SI+SA youth reported higher levels of peer victimization and bully perpetration than NSSI_SI youth (ps < 0.01, ds = 0.36-0.37). Among the NSSI_SI+SA youth, bully perpetration was associated with a greater number of past month suicide attempts (p = 0.02, RR = 1.07). Only peer victimization was associated with greater NSSI behaviors in the past month (p = 0.04, RR = 1.01).

LIMITATIONS

The study is cross-sectional, and reports of peer victimization and bully perpetration rely on self-report assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Peer victimization and bully perpetration differentiated adolescent suicide ideators and attempters, highlighting the need to address bully perpetration in addition to peer victimization in suicide interventions and research.

Age and sex differences in the effects of peer victimization on depressive symptoms: Exploring sleep problems as a mediator

BACKGROUND

Peer victimization contributes to an elevated risk of adolescent depression. Although theoretical evidence has noted that peer victimization may disrupt sleep and subsequently increase levels of depressive symptoms, this pathway has never been tested. This study explores a novel mechanism leading from peer victimization to depressive symptoms through sleep problems and considers whether the direct and indirect pathways vary by age and sex of adolescents.

METHODS

Data were from 4072 adolescents (2042 males, 2030 females; age range 14-19 years) residing in northern Taiwan. Mediation analyses were first conducted to understand the mediating role of sleep problems in the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms for males and females, respectively. Moderated mediation analyses were then applied to test age differences in the direct and indirect pathways from peer victimization to depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Sleep problems mediated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms in adolescent females but not in males. Age further moderated the indirect pathway from peer victimization to depressive symptoms through sleep problems, such that the mediating effects of sleep problems increased with age and were only significant in older females. No age differences were observed for the direct effects of peer victimization on depressive symptoms in either males or females.

LIMITATIONS

Study was not designed to infer causality and all variables were assessed by self-report measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analyses revealed age and sex differences in the link from peer victimization to depressive symptoms through sleep problems. Efforts to reduce depressive symptoms in adolescent females who have experienced peer victimization may be made more effective by targeting sleep problems, especially in older female adolescents.

Gender-Based Experiences of Verbal Bullying in Adolescents: Application of Giorgi's Method

Verbal bullying among adolescents, which has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, often involves swearing or sexually ridiculing one's family members or peers. Because many factors underlying the initiation of verbal bullying remain unknown, Giorgi's phenomenological method was used to examine the essence and meaning of verbal bullying among adolescents, which is an urgent issue in the field of nursing in South Korea. In this descriptive phenomenological study, researchers examined the behavior of 16 adolescents. Four themes emerged from examination: Egocentric Relational Violence, Learning Through Observation and Imitation, The Synchronization of Stigma and Aggression, and The Dilemma of Deviance and Habituation. Findings indicated that a confluence of factors impact verbal bullying among adolescents. To prevent verbal bullying, it is necessary to understand the progress of offenders' deviance and develop intervention activities through mental health services. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(6), 45-51.].

Early life adversities and polyvictimization in young persons with sexual behavior problems: A longitudinal study of child protective service referrals

There is scarce research on children and youth with sexual behavior problems (SBP) and their developmental antecedents and the research that does exist is mostly retrospective and correlational. While prior research focused on the central role of sexual victimization, recent research suggests that young persons with SBP are exposed to a series of adversities not limited to child sexual victimization and require multifaceted assessment and intervention using a developmental life course perspective. The current study includes an examination of the complete longitudinal sequence of child protective service (CPS) investigations involving young persons with SBP. The study is based on a sample of 957 youth referred to the CPS in Quebec, Canada. The data include their longitudinal sequence of referrals from birth to age 18. Semi-parametric analyses identified four trajectories of referrals with significant differences in terms of onset, frequency, types of life adversity, and polyvictimization. The trajectories suggest that a range of developmental profiles characterize young persons with SBP, with SBP often occurring after CPS contacts for compromising issues other than sexual victimization, especially parental neglect and serious behavior problems. Of importance, polyvictimization was relatively common for this group throughout childhood and adolescence, which highlights the multiintervention needs of this population.

Who Suffers Most From Being Involved in Bullying-Bully, Victim, or Bully-Victim?

BACKGROUND

Bullying has been associated with many mental health problems. The effect of bullying has been found to be affected by the way students are involved in bullying. The purpose of the study was to explore the association between mental well-being, hopelessness, and being involved in bullying (as a bully, victim, or bully-victim), and to detect more harmful bullying types to students' mental well-being.

METHODS

The study was conducted among Estonian students from grades 5 to 9 (N = 2048). The survey was nationwide, cross-sectional, anonymous, and web-based by nature. Mental well-being was assessed by using WHO-5 well-being index and hopelessness by 1-item Beck Hopelessness Scale.

RESULTS

The odds for being severely distressed (ie, students expressing both poor mental well-being and hopelessness) were greater for both sexes bullying others and being victims of bullying. For bully-victims the odds were greater for girls only. The victims of extensive cyber bullying expressed the lowest level of mental well-being for both sexes.

CONCLUSIONS

Boys might be the most vulnerable if being pure victims, while girls if being bully-victims. More attention should be paid to cyber bullying, as victims of extensive cyber bullying had the lowest level of mental well-being.

In Their Own Words: Perceptions and Experiences of Bullying Among Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Despite the high incidence of bullying among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), little research has been conducted with people with IDD as participants reporting their own perceptions and experiences of bullying. To address this shortcoming, we interviewed 18 adults with IDD regarding these issues. Four major themes emerged from our qualitative analysis of the transcribed interviews: (a) bullying is hurtful, (b) why people bully, (c) bullying takes many forms, and (d) bullying can happen anywhere. Though participants' definitions of bullying and explanations for why people bully aligned well with traditional understandings, several reported incidents of bullying were discrepant from the traditional definition, including incidents of abuse and rude behavior. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The effects of bullying in depression on white matter integrity

Individuals with elevated symptoms of depression exhibit alterations in white matter integrity, including lower fractional anisotropy (FA) evident on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Similarly, individuals with a history of early life stress (ELS) exhibit lower FA in the white matter independent of concurrent depression. Prior studies have not determined whether the neuroimaging signature of comorbid ELS and adult depression differs from the pattern of brain white matter changes associated with depression in the absence of self-reported ELS. The current study examined FA in multiple white matter tracts in 186 adults (93 males; 93 females) with a current diagnosis of major depressive disorder, including 88 who reported a history of bullying before the age of 18 (43 males; 45 females). All patients were antidepressant medication free at the time of testing. After adjusting for demographics and other ELS subtypes, participants with a history of bullying exhibited increased FA in the right medial lemniscus (p =.039) and left posterior corona radiata (p =.008) compared to participants with depression but no self-reported history of bullying. Both groups endorsed similar levels of depression. Group differences were most pronounced among individuals who endorsed bullying in late adolescence (14-17 years of age). Results suggest bullying in late adolescence is uniquely related to abnormal brain microstructure among individuals with current diagnoses of depression, possibly due to an overactive fear response. Further work is needed to differentiate why ELS within bullying is associated with higher FA.

Doxing: What Adolescents Look for and Their Intentions

Doxing is a form of cyberbullying in which personal information on others is sought and released, thereby violating their privacy and facilitating further harassment. This study examined adolescents' doxing participation using a representative sample of 2120 Hong Kong secondary school students. Just over one in 10 had engaged in doxing, and doxing behavior significantly increased the probability of disclosing personal information on others (odds ratio ranged between 2.705 and 5.181). Social and hostile doxing were the two most common forms of doxing. Girls were significantly more likely to conduct social doxing (χ² = 11.84, p < 0.001), where their target was to obtain social information (χ² = 4.79, p = 0.029), whereas boys were more likely to engage in hostile doxing aimed at obtaining personally identifiable information (χ² = 4.31, p = 0.038) and information on others' current living situations (χ² = 4.17, p = 0.041). Students who had perpetrated doxing acts were more likely to have experienced information disclosure as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders. Future studies should examine doxing's impacts and its relationship with other forms of cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Because doxing may lead to on- and off-line harassment, family, adolescents, schools, and communities must work together to develop effective approaches for combating it.

Animal cruelty and bullying: Behavioral markers of delinquency risk or causal antecedents of delinquent behavior?

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether animal cruelty and bullying, in addition to serving as behavioral markers of delinquency risk, may also serve as causal antecedents of future delinquent behavior. It was hypothesized that these two behaviors would predict an increase in future offending via a rise in proactive criminal thinking, as measured by moral disengagement, one of its facets, but not via a rise in reactive criminal thinking or cognitive impulsivity.

METHODS

All 1170 male members of the Pathways to Desistance study (mean age = 16.05 years) served as participants in this study. The first three waves of data from the Pathways study were used to perform a causal mediation path analysis.

RESULTS

The results of this study supported the main research hypothesis. Specifically, the indirect effects of animal cruelty and bullying on future delinquency were mediated by moral disengagement but not cognitive impulsivity. Furthermore, the difference between moral disengagement and cognitive impulsivity mediation of the animal cruelty-delinquency relationship achieved statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study suggest that animal cruelty and bullying not only serve as early behavioral markers of delinquency risk but also play a potentially important role in delinquency growth and persistence.

Interventions against bullying of prelicensure students and nursing professionals: An integrative review

The problem of bullying is of such significance, health care accreditation agencies such as The Joint Commission have reiterated that these behaviors compromise on patient safety. Researchers demonstrate that much is known about the existence of bullying behaviors in health care and its detrimental effects on the profession of nursing. Leaders in health care and nursing education are beginning to tackle this issue. Guided by the methodology of Whittemore and Knafl, the purpose of this integrative review was to analyze literature discussing the interventions against bullying directed towards prelicensure nursing students and professionals.

Measuring the Effects of Limited and Persistent School Bullying Victimization: Repeat Victimization, Fear, and Adaptive Behaviors

Extant research on school bullying has largely focused on the incidence rather than the modality of the experience, leaving key questions about impact unexplored. With a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 cases, the present study explores the utility of expanding the classification scheme of bullying victimization to include limited victimization and persistent victimization experiences. By examining the differences in victimization, fear of victimization, and avoidance behaviors, the present study establishes that significant differences in fear of future victimization and adaptive avoidance behaviors do exist between the groups classified as limited and persistent. Furthermore, the present study explores the potential differences in the moderating influence of fear of future victimization on the relationship between limited/persistent bullying victimization and adaptive avoidance behavior. Ultimately, the evidence suggests that differentiating between limited and persistent bullying victimization is important for understanding the impact of bullying on students.

Horizontal violence among nurses: Experiences, responses, and job performance

Horizontal violence (HV), or nonphysical intergroup conflict expressed in overt and covert behaviors of hostility, is pervasive in nursing and has been discussed in the literature for more than two decades. It is costly and has potentially devastating effects including high nurse turnover rates, increased illness, decreased productivity, and decreased quality of patient care. Recognizing how these behaviors are established and sustained is necessary if nurses are to overcome these types of behaviors. This mixed methods study used an online survey to examine 76 hospital nurses' experiences and responses to episodes of HV as well as its effects on job performance. Seven of these nurses answered more in-depth questions during a follow-up interview. Nurses in this study recognize HV as a phenomenon that occurred early in their careers as novice nurses. The literature suggests that these behaviors are evident during nursing education. The academic environment is an ideal place to teach the skills necessary to respond appropriately to HV with peer support being essential. Nurses also reported that manager and staff support and workplace education were the most helpful in reducing HV. Increased workload and stress and HV being accepted practice on the unit were factors identified as most important in promoting HV. Further, nurses cited reasons why they continue in their jobs after episodes of HV. Intervention studies are needed to test effective ways of reducing this very difficult behavior among nurses in the workplace.

Identifying Bullied Youth: Re-engineering the Child-Adolescent Bullying Scale into a Brief Screen

While youth bullying is a critical public health problem, standardized exposure screening is not routinely practiced. The Child-Adolescent Bullying Scale, (CABS), a psychometrically robust 22-item tool, was designed and evaluated for this purpose using classical test theory. The goals of the present study were to examine and optimize the measurement properties of the CABS using a Rasch psychometric analysis to develop a brief screening tool appropriate for clinical use. A methodologic design and the Rasch rating scale model were employed. Three hundred and fifty-two youths from two clinical sites participated. Rasch-based analyses included evaluation of response category functioning, measurement precision, dimensionality, targeting, differential item functioning and guidance in item reduction. After iterative revisions, the resulting screening instrument consists of 9 items. Cut-scores and interpretive guidance are provided to aid clinical identification of bullying-related risk. Findings suggest the CABS-9 holds promise as a useful screening tool for identifying bullying exposure.

Empathy and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Different Bullying Roles: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Bullying is an extremely damaging type of violence that is present in schools all over the world, but there are still many gaps in knowledge regarding different variables that might influence the phenomenon. Two promising research lines focus on empathy and callous-unemotional traits but findings from individual studies seem to be contradictory. This article reports the results of a systematic review and a meta-analysis on empathy and callous-unemotional traits in relation to school bullying based on 53 empirical reports that met the inclusion criteria. Bullying perpetration is negatively associated with cognitive (odds ratio [ OR] = 0.60) and affective ( OR = 0.51) empathy. Perpetration is also positively associated with callous-unemotional traits ( OR = 2.55). Bully-victims scored low in empathy ( OR = 0.57). There is a nonsignificant association between victimization and empathy ( OR = 0.96), while the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and victimization is significant but small ( OR = 1.66). Defenders scored high on cognitive ( OR = 2.09) and affective ( OR = 2.62) empathy. These findings should be taken into account in explaining and preventing bullying.