The protective role of teacher-student relationships against peer victimization and psychosocial distress

Peer Victimization and Callous-Unemotional Traits: The Impact of Parents and Teachers

Research on the link between peer victimization and callous-unemotional (CU) traits has primarily relied on cross-sectional designs and yielded equivocal findings. In light of the poor outcomes related to peer victimization and CU traits, it is important to determine whether this link is reciprocal in nature and to identify factors that may influence its strength. Accordingly, the current study investigated the bidirectional association between peer victimization and CU traits over a 6-month period, accounting for the moderating effects of parents (i.e., support and hostility) and teachers (i.e., support and conflict). Participants included 284 third- through fifth-grade students (ages 7-12; 51.8% boys; 51.1% Hispanic) and their homeroom teachers. Children provided ratings of peer victimization, parental hostility, and parent and teacher support. Teachers provided ratings of CU traits and student-teacher conflict. A series of cross-lagged panel models were estimated. Results revealed that, at higher levels of parental hostility, peer victimization predicted increases in CU traits over time; in contrast, peer victimization predicted decreases in CU traits at lower levels of parental hostility. Surprisingly, at higher levels of teacher conflict, peer victimization predicted decreases in CU traits over time. CU traits did not interact with parent or teacher variables to predict subsequent peer victimization. Moreover, parental hostility was positively associated with subsequent peer victimization, whereas teacher support predicted decreases in victimization over time. These findings build on previous research examining environmental influences on the expression of CU traits by highlighting peer victimization and parental hostility as potential risk factors.

The roles of teacher and parental support on adolescent cyber-bystander behaviors: a path analysis

Introduction

The role of bystanders in cyberbullying situations is critical, with the potential to significantly influence outcomes. Bystanders who demonstrate positive behaviors-such as reporting incidents or supporting victims-can help to mitigate the damaging effects of cyberbullying. Based on the Social Cognitive Theory, this study seeks to address the psychosocial mechanisms that underlie positive cyber-bystander behaviors.

Methods

A total of 1,716 students in Grades 8-12 from three secondary schools in China participated in this study. Path analysis was utilized to delineate the relationships between internet self-efficacy, empathy, teacher and parental support, and cyber-bystander behaviors.

Results

Adolescents who received greater support from teachers were more likely to demonstrate increased internet self-efficacy and empathy. In contrast, higher levels of parental warmth were associated with lower levels of internet self-efficacy. Teacher support and parental warmth exerted an indirect effect on positive bystander behaviors through empathy.

Discussion

The importance of parental warmth paired with Internet self-efficacy in preventing online interpersonal violence and motivate active bystander behaviors is considerable. We recommend adopting a nuanced approach that differentiates between empathy and internet self-efficacy in cyber-bystander research.

Personal and social protective factors of cyberhate: A general strain theory approach

Adolescents of today grow up in a connected world. While online communication offers great opportunities, it can also have negative impact on adolescents' life. In this work, we are interested in the use of online communication tools to share and create cyberhate content. Anchored in the general strain theory, we studied how social support (i.e., parental, peers and teacher support) may be related to cyberhate perpetration. We further tested how personal characteristics such as empathy, self-esteem and anxiety could predict the propensity to be involved as cyberhate perpetrators. We collected self-reported questionnaires of 1019 French young people (13.04 years; ranging from 9 to 17) and measured their perceived (a) parental, (b) peers and (c) teachers' support as well as their (d) empathy/benevolence, (e) self-esteem and (f) anxiety. We also measured cyberhate perpetration and the association between perpetration, social support and personal characteristics. Our results highlight that parental and teacher support represent protective factors for cyberhate perpetration. Our results further suggest that self-esteem is negatively linked to the propensity to cyberhate perpetration.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence and Correlates of Emotional Violence by Teachers

There is increasing evidence for the deleterious impact of emotional violence on children`s well-being and development. This systematic review focused on a) the prevalence and (b) correlates of emotional violence by teachers. A literature search of quantitative and peer-reviewed studies published in English between 1980 and April 2021 was conducted. Eighty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies represented all geographical regions of the world, were predominantly cross-sectional and of moderate quality. Studies were heterogeneous in terms of their samples, conceptualization, and measurement of emotional violence. Results indicated that emotional violence by teachers is prevalent across cultural settings, although large variations within and between regions are noted. It is related to mental health, behavioral and academic problems of children above and beyond physical violence by teachers and victimization by peers and parents. Boys are at higher risk of experiencing emotional violence by teachers than girls. Family dysfunction, low socioeconomic status (of the family or the community), and violent school environments appear to increase risk as well. The observed patterns of co-occurrence of emotional violence with physical violence by teachers and victimization by peers as well as perpetration of violence against peers and teachers lend support to notions of poly-victimization and cycles of violence in the school settings. Future research should use representative surveys, examine antecedents, and consequences of emotional violence by teachers using longitudinal and experimental designs and evaluate interventions to prevent emotional violence by teachers.

Why Psychosocial Care Matters: Parent Preparedness and Understanding Predict Psychosocial Function When Children Return to School After Cancer

Introduction: Psychosocial impacts of cancer are well-recognized for pediatric patients but few studies examine challenges specific to schooling after diagnosis and caregiver-related factors that may influence coping. This study describes caregiver experiences of school-related psychosocial functioning and how caregiver preparedness and understanding of these challenges influence coping. Methods: Caregivers of 175 childhood cancer survivors completed a nationally disseminated survey related to caregiver preparedness, clinician-provided education, and school-related experiences. Caregiver-reported preparedness and understanding were evaluated as predictors of psychosocial coping; factor analysis was performed to identify compound scales of preparedness and understanding. Results: Caregivers reported that the cancer treatment experience resulted in their children being more stressed and anxious about returning to school (60.2% and 70.2%, respectively) and more sensitive to peers (73.4%). It also made it harder for them to socialize and fit in with peers (58.2% and 49.7%, respectively). Caregiver preparedness and understanding predicted improved psychosocial coping with regard to child stress regarding socialization, fitting in, and anxiety but not sensitivity to peers. Teacher supportiveness and caregiver perception of clinician understanding also correlated with function. Discussion: Findings highlight the importance of caregiver education and preparedness as these reliably predict child psychosocial function and coping as they return to school after a cancer diagnosis and that all children are at risk for psychosocial challenges following a cancer diagnosis. Opportunities exist for clinicians to provide more education and anticipatory guidance to families as a potential means to reduce poor coping when a child returns to school following cancer.

Association between Sexual Violence Victimization and Electronic Vaping Product Use among Adolescents: Findings from a Population-based Study

BACKGROUND

Although studies have investigated the association between sexual violence (SV) victimization and substance use, few studies have examined the association between SV victimization and electronic vaping product (EVP) use among adolescents in the United States. The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between SV victimization and EVP use among adolescents.

METHODS

Data were pooled from the 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 28,135 adolescents (51.2% female) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated was EVP use, and the main explanatory variable was SV victimization.

RESULTS

Of the 28,135 adolescents, the prevalence of past 30-day EVP use and SV victimization was 22.7% and 10.8%, respectively. Controlling for other factors, adolescents who experienced SV had 1.52 times higher odds of being EVP users when compared to their counterparts who did not experience SV (AOR = 1.52, p < .001, 95% CI = 1.27-1.82). Other factors associated with EVP use included cyberbullying victimization, symptoms of depression, and current use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana.

CONCLUSIONS

Experiencing SV was associated with EVP use. Future studies that employ longitudinal designs may offer more insight into the mechanisms underlying the association between SV victimization and EVP use. In addition, school-based interventions that focus on sexual violence prevention and reducing substance use among adolescents are warranted.

Longitudinal Associations between Teacher-Student Relationships and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Basic Need Satisfaction

The quality of teacher-student relationships has been shown to relate to adolescents' prosocial behavior, but the motivational mechanisms underlying this association remained unclear. Based on relationships motivation theory (RMT), we examined whether the associations between teacher-student relationships (closeness and conflict) and prosocial behavior are bidirectional, and the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction) in these links. Data were collected from a sample of 438 secondary school students who completed a survey at two-time points over eight months. The cross-lagged autoregressive model revealed that the relation between close teacher-student relationship and prosocial behavior was bidirectional over time. Moreover, relatedness need satisfaction mediated the positive effect of close teacher-student relationship and the negative effect of teacher-student relationship conflict on adolescents' prosocial behavior. This study highlights the importance of close teacher-student relationship and relatedness need satisfaction to foster adolescents' prosocial behavior.

Exploring the longitudinal relationship between anger rumination and peer victimization when controlling for sadness rumination

Anger rumination is an unconstructive cognitive-emotion regulation strategy that bears negative adjustment outcomes in youth. Anger rumination is mostly examined as an outcome of prior peer victimization. Unidirectional links between maladaptive anger regulation and later peer difficulties have also been reported. Surprisingly, whether anger rumination and peer victimization are mutually related and reinforcing is poorly explored. The present study tested reciprocal associations between anger rumination and peer victimization in 367 5th graders (Mage = 10.53, SE = 0.16; 54.2% girls). To increase precision of findings sadness rumination was treated as a confounder. Self-reported data were obtained at two times, spaced 1 year. Cross-lagged analyses showed that peer victimization predicted increases in anger rumination but not vice versa, after controlling for sadness rumination. Victimized boys were found to be more at risk for endorsing anger rumination over time as compared to victimized girls. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

The Protective Role of Trauma Informed Attitudes on Perceived Stress Among Teachers and School Staff

Trauma-informed care (TIC), a system of behavioral treatment practices that focuses on understanding and responding to the effects of adverse experiences via empathic and non-punitive interactions, is a promising intervention for the treatment of academic and mental health problems among youth. However, the effect of TIC on caregivers themselves is uncertain. Even less is known about the relationship between TIC and the well-being of teachers and school staff. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between exposure to criminal victimization (a known predictor of stress), attitudes toward TIC, and perceived stress among a sample of public school teachers and staff members (N = 396). In line with our predictions, increased victimization was associated with increased perceived stress whereas TIC-favorable attitudes were associated with decreased perceived stress. In addition, older participants exhibited lower perceived stress than younger participants. We discuss the current study's limitations and the implications of the current findings for future research and mental health practice in schools.

Developmental Moderators of a Single-Session Incremental Theory of Personality Intervention on Aggressive Behavior

This study examines two indicators of developmental level (testosterone and grade) as moderators of the effects of a single-session incremental theory of personality intervention on both traditional and online aggressive behaviors. A sample of 535 Spanish adolescents (boys: 50%; age: 12-17 years) participated in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized to receive the incremental theory of personality intervention or an alternative educational control condition. The intervention consisted of teaching the belief that people can change. Aggressive behaviors were measured at baseline, one-week posttest, and six-month and twelve-month follow-ups. Testosterone level moderated the effectiveness of the intervention for online aggressive behavior so that, among adolescents with low and medium testosterone levels, those in the control group increased online aggressive behavior, whereas adolescents receiving the intervention remained at similar levels of perpetration. Grade moderated the effectiveness of the intervention on both forms of aggressive behavior, being only effective in Grade 8. Overall, the findings indicate that some preventative interventions can be more effective among adolescents with lower levels of development.

Relationships between School Climate and Values: The Mediating Role of Attitudes towards Authority in Adolescents

School climate is related to a wide variety of positive results at the school level; however, its relationship with the construct of values has received little attention, despite being a key variable in the development of personality. This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect relationships between school climate, attitudes towards authority, and values. The participants in this study were 2683 students (51.2% men and 48.8% women) from 32 schools aged between 12 and 20 years (M = 15.78 years, SD = 1.35). Two models of structural equations were estimated, and the model that best fit the data confirmed that school climate was indirectly related to values through attitudes towards authority. The reciprocal and interactive relationships between school climate, attitudes towards authority, and values are also discussed.

Peer victimization, schooling format, and adolescent internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Between- and within-person associations across ninth grade

The current longitudinal study examined how between-person (BP) differences and within-person (WP) fluctuations in adolescents' peer victimization and schooling format across ninth grade related to changes in their internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 388 adolescents (61% female; Mage = 14.02) who completed three online surveys, administered 3 months apart, from November 2020 to May 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed BP (time-invariant) and WP (time-varying) effects of peer victimization and school instructional format (i.e., in-person; hybrid; online) on internalizing symptoms while accounting for potentially confounding demographic (e.g., gender) and contextual (e.g., COVID-19 positivity rates) factors. Results indicated that adolescents who experienced higher overall levels of peer victimization across the school year, compared to those who experienced lower victimization, reported more severe internalizing symptoms. Whereas relative WP increases in peer victimization predicted corresponding increases in adolescents' depressive and somatic symptoms regardless of schooling format, WP increases in peer victimization only predicted elevated anxiety during months when students attended fully in-person, but not online, school. Adolescents who spent a greater proportion of their school year attending online school also reported less peer victimization across the year. Findings highlight WP fluctuations in the effects of peer victimization on internalizing and contextual variations depending on schooling format.

The Mental Health Benefits of Kindness-Oriented Schools: School Kindness is Associated with Increased Belongingness and Well-Being in Filipino High School Students

Prior research has demonstrated the role of kind school climate in students' academic and social-emotional learning outcomes. However, there is sparse literature showing the link of school kindness to mental health functioning. This study examines the association of school kindness with well-being dimensions such as positive emotions and depressive symptoms among 1287 Filipino high school students. It also explored whether school kindness would have indirect effects on well-being via school belongingness. Structural equation modeling via maximum likelihood estimation approach showed that school kindness was linked to higher positive emotions and lower depressive symptoms after controlling for demographic covariates such as age and gender. Further, results of bias-corrected bootstrapping analyses demonstrated that school kindness had indirect effects on positive emotions and depressive symptoms via school belongingness. This research underscores the mental health benefits associated with fostering kindness in school contexts.

School-Based Mental Health Initiative: Potentials and Challenges for Child and Adolescent Mental Health

School-based mental health support services allow children and adolescents easy access to services without requirement of traveling to clinics and hospitals. We describe a School Mental Health Support Scheme (SMHSS) piloted in Hong Kong and discuss the challenges and learnings from the experience. This conceptual paper argues that accessibility is not the only advantage of such services. Teachers are significant others in child development, alongside with families. They play a central role in impacting the children's/adolescents' needs for competence and adult attachment, while schools provide an expanded social network of peers for one's social relationship. The fulfillment of these needs has powerful implications in the mental health of the children/adolescents. Teachers can help students to develop a sense of competence with self-worth and self-identity via providing guidance and feedback, whether they be on one's strengths or weaknesses, with acceptance, tolerance and unconditional positive regard. Particularly, the latter define a form of teacher-student relationship or adult attachment that offers the children/adolescents emotional security and nourishment, protecting them from failings and adversities. Teachers can also supervise and guide their students' social development with peers at schools. A recent meta-analysis has found preliminary evidence that those school-based mental health services integrated into the teachers' routine teaching activities are more effective. Teachers, who are overworked and stressed by the schools' overemphasis on academics and grades, have yet to fully grasp their unique roles in supporting students with mental health needs. This paper ends by advocating a paradigm shift in which both the healthcare professionals and educators should forge a mutually beneficial collaboration in jointly enhancing the mental health of children/adolescents at schools.

Looking Beyond Assumptions to Understand Relationship Dynamics in Bullying

To account for the complex relationships and processes that constitute the phenomenon of bullying, it is critical to understand how students and their parents and teachers conceptualize traditional and cyberbullying. Qualitative data were drawn from a mixed methods longitudinal study on cyberbullying. Semi-structured interviews were held with Canadian students in grades 4, 7, and 10 in a large urban school board, and their parents and teachers. To account for the complexity and interactions of different systems of relationships, the purpose of the current article is to examine how students and their matched parents and teachers understand traditional and cyberbullying. Central to participants' understanding of traditional and cyberbullying was whether they considered bullying to represent harmful relationship dynamics. Three main assumptions emerged as shaping participants' understanding of bullying and appeared to obscure the deep relationship processes in bullying: (a) assumptions of gender in bullying, (b) type of bullying—comparing traditional and cyberbullying, and (c) physical bullying as disconnected from relationship dynamics. It is essential that assessment, education, and prevention and intervention strategies in traditional and cyberbullying be informed by the inherent relationships in bullying and be implemented at multiple levels of relationships and broader social systems.

Coping Strategies against Peer Victimization: Differences According to Gender, Grade, Victimization Status and Perceived Classroom Social Climate

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include “Good Health and Well-being” (SDG3) and “Quality Education” (SDG4). Nevertheless, many students cannot achieve these goals if they suffer peer victimization at their schools, and intervention programs to reduce it are necessary. These programs should consider the possible differences in the coping strategies preferred by students according to some personal (e.g., gender, grade, victimization status) and contextual (e.g., perceived classroom social climate) factors to be more effective. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the possible differences in the coping strategies preferred by students (ask a friend for help, ask a teacher for help, ask parents for help, not ask anyone for help, fighting back, avoid the aggressor and ask the aggressor why) to handle situations of relational, physical and verbal peer victimization according to their gender, school grade, victimization status and perceived classroom social climate. The sample comprised 479 students (52.2% boys, 47.8% girls) aged from 9 to 14 years (M = 11.21, SD = 1.52). The results showed that girls chose the strategies of asking friends or adults for help and asking the aggressor why more than boys, while boys chose the strategies of fighting back and not ask anyone for help more than girls. The coping strategy of asking a teacher for help was preferred more by students of lower school grades and by students with a positive perception of the classroom climate. Victimized students preferred the strategy of not asking anyone for help. These results may be useful for developing more effective intervention programs. These programs should aim to enhance the teacher–student relationship in upper school grades, help victimized students to inform about peer aggression situations and improve perceived classroom social climate.

The moderating role of teacher-student relationships on the association between peer victimization and depression in students with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at increased risk of peer victimization and depressive symptoms. Little is known about the protective and aggravating factors that influence the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms among students with ID.

AIMS

This study assesses the moderating role of two facets of teacher-student relationships (TSR)-warmth and conflict-on the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

A sample of 395 students (aged 11-22) with mild and moderate ID was recruited in Canada and Australia.

RESULTS

Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that victimization and TSR conflict were both associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and that TSR conflict moderated the associations between both TSR warmth and victimization, and depressive symptoms. TSR warmth was related to lower levels of depression only for students who also reported a low level of TSR conflict. Similarly, associations between victimization and depression were weaker among students exposed to more conflictual TSR.

CONCLUSIONS

Students with ID are at increased risk of developing depressive symptoms when exposed to negative social relationships (i.e., peer victimization or TSR conflict). For these students, the benefits of TSR warmth were far less important than the consequences of conflict.

Daily social and affective lives of homeless youth: What is the role of teacher and peer social support?

Youth spend a significant amount of time in school surrounded by and interacting with teachers and peers. For doubled-up homeless youth (i.e., youth who share housing with a series of friends and/or extended family members), in-school relationships may be important for their emotional functioning. The current study captured dynamic processes by which in-school teacher and peer social support (i.e., baseline assessments of prior support and daily early-day reports of school day support) influence homeless youth's daily emotional well-being, as assessed by positive and negative affect later in the day. Specifically, a baseline survey was used in combination with a 10-day twice-a-day diary design to examine the competing influences of prior (i.e., between-person) and daily (i.e., within-person) social support from teachers and peers during the school day. Baseline teacher support and early-day peer support were associated with higher later-day positive affect. In contrast, baseline peer support was associated with lower later-day negative affect. Baseline peer support moderated the association between early-day peer support and later-day positive affect, in that there was a significant effect of early-day peer support and later-day positive affect for youth who reported medium and high levels of baseline peer support. However, the later-day positive affect of youth who reported low baseline levels of social support did not appear to benefit from early-day peer support. Results suggest that the source of support (i.e., teacher and peer) differently influences daily affect and that receiving daily in-school support can promote daily positive affect while mitigating negative affect for doubled-up homeless youth. Overall, study findings suggest that providing peer and teacher social support is a promising prevention and intervention approach for fostering resilience among doubled-up homeless youth.

Examining the association between bullying victimization and prescription drug misuse among adolescents in the United States

BACKGROUND

Although studies have examined the association between bullying victimization and adolescent substance behaviors, there is a dearth of research investigating the association between bullying victimization and prescription drug misuse. The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between bullying victimization and prescription drug misuse among adolescents.

METHODS

Data for this study came from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. A sample of 9974 adolescents aged 14-18 years (50.1% female) were analyzed using binary logistic regression with prescription drug misuse as the outcome variable and bullying victimization as the main explanatory variable.

RESULTS

Of the 9,974 adolescents, 13.1% misused prescription drugs. One in ten adolescents were victims of both school bullying and cyberbullying, 5.1% were victims of only cyberbullying, 9% were victims of only school bullying, and 75.8% experienced neither school bullying nor cyberbullying victimization. In the binary logistic regression model, adolescents who experienced both school bullying and cyberbullying victimization had 1.66 times higher odds of misusing prescription drugs (AOR = 1.66, p < .001, 95% CI = 1.34-2.06) and adolescents who experienced only school bullying victimization had 1.30 times higher odds of misusing prescription drugs (AOR = 1.30, p < .05, 95% CI = 1.02-1.64). Being lesbian, gay, or bisexual; feeling sad or hopeless; cigarette smoking; binge drinking; cannabis use; and illicit drug use were statistically significantly associated with prescription drug misuse.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding the association between bullying victimization and prescription drug misuse could contribute to early identification of adolescents who may misuse prescription drugs.

Effects of an incremental theory of personality intervention on the reciprocity between bullying and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents

The incremental theory of personality interventions (ITPI) teaches adolescents that people can change. Researchers have found that these interventions can reduce the perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. Moreover, there is reciprocity between perpetrating bullying behaviors and being a victim of them. The objective of this study was to examine whether the ITPI reduces the reciprocity between victimization and perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. A sample of 858 high school students (52% boys) aged 12 to 17 at pretest (M = 14.56, SD = 0.97) participated in a double-blind randomized controlled trial (452 participants were assigned to the experimental condition and 406 to the control condition). Measures of bullying and cyberbullying were taken at baseline, six-month, and 12-month follow-ups. The results indicated that victimization was a strong predictor of perpetration for bullying and cyberbullying over time. Perpetration was not a predictor of victimization. Consistently, for both forms of aggressive behavior, the intervention reduced the intensity of the association between victimization and perpetration. This effect was not moderated by the age or sex of the participants. Finally, the effectiveness of the ITPI was moderated by age. Specifically, among the youngest (< 14.48 years), those who received the ITPI showed a slight tendency to reduce aggressive behavior that contrasted with the growing trend in the control group. Among the oldest participants (> 14.48), the trajectories were similar in the two groups. Our findings show that influencing adolescents' reactions to peer aggression victimization is one of the mechanisms that could explain the beneficial effects of the ITPI and other preventive interventions.

Social emotional learning (SEL) practices in schools: Effects on perceptions of bullying victimization

The direct and indirect effects of student perceptions of the extent to which social emotional learning (SEL) instruction is provided on bullying at school and student victimization experiences were examined for 2832 public school students. Students in grades 4-12 completed several subscales of the Delaware School Climate Survey (Bear et al., 2016) at a single timepoint to assess their perceptions of the extent to which SEL instruction is used at their school, their own SEL skills, bullying at school, and personal victimization experiences. Structural equation modeling revealed that students' perceptions of SEL instruction were inversely related to their perceptions of bullying at school and students' personal experiences of victimization. Effects were direct and indirect, through students' self-reported perceptions of their SEL skills. Effects were stronger in late elementary and middle school than in high school. The indirect effects of student perceptions of the extent of SEL instruction on perceived bullying at school through students' SEL skills varied as a function of victimization severity. For students with low self-reported victimization, there was a negative relation between student self-reported SEL skills and perceptions of bullying at school. In contrast, for students who reported experiencing high levels of victimization, students' self-reported SEL skills related positively to perceptions of bullying at school; there was no significant relation between SEL skills and perceptions of bullying at school for students who reported moderate levels of victimization. Implications for teachers' inclusion of SEL instruction and its effects on positive youth development are discussed.

Efectos del maltrato docente en el acoso escolar entre pares

En el estudio, se analizan las relaciones entre el maltrato docente-estudiante, clima social de la escuela, apoyo docente y el acoso entre estudiantes. Participaron 1 577 estudiantes (800 chicos y 777 chicas), con una edad promedio de 12.94 años (DE = 1.77 años), pertenecientes a 64 escuelas secundarias públicas de Sonora, México. Se calcula un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales con apoyo del AMOS. De los resultados, se infiere que el maltrato docente favorece de forma directa e indirecta, mediante sus efectos negativos, en el clima escolar y el apoyo docente y la violencia entre pares. Se concluye que el maltrato docente afecta negativamente la dinámica de las escuelas y favorece el acoso escolar. Finalmente, se discuten implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de los hallazgos.