Bullying among Urban Mexican-heritage Youth: Exploring Risk for Substance Use by Status as a Bully, Victim, and Bully-Victim

Youth Aggression and Peer Victimization as Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use: A Longitudinal Analysis of Youth with Aggressive Behavior Problems

Youth who are behaviorally aggressive and victimized by their peers comprise a significant population with specific risks and vulnerabilities relative to substance use. The goals of the current study were to examine the roles that youth aggression and peer victimization play in determining the timing of alcohol and marijuana use initiation and the frequency of use 5-years later in a sample of at-risk, aggressive youth. 360 youth (Mage= 10.17 years; 65% boys, 35% girls; 78.1% African American, 20.3% Caucasian, 1.4% Hispanic, and 0.3% other) recruited for a prevention program for at-risk youth were followed for 5 years (4th - 9th grade). Cox PH regressions were conducted to predict timing of alcohol and marijuana use initiation. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were used to predict frequency of alcohol and marijuana use 5 years later. Results showed that peer victimization inferred decreased risk of alcohol use initiation. However, this effect was only observed for youth with relatively moderate, and low levels of aggression. Findings suggest that differences in youth aggression and victimization interact to predict distinct outcomes, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive approach when working with aggressive youth who have experienced peer victimization.

Prevalence and Predictors of Alcohol Use among School-Going Adolescents in Panama: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of alcohol use among school-going-age adolescents in Panama. Using a national school-based cross-sectional survey, data from a proportionate sample of school-going adolescents aged 13-17 years were obtained from the 2018 Panama Global School-based Student Health Survey [GSHS]. Data were analysed with a Pearson's Chi-square test and weighted binary logistic regression. The results were reported with their corresponding adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) and level of significance set at p < 0.05. The prevalence of alcohol use among adolescents in Panama was 30.6%. The odds of alcohol use were lower among adolescents in a lower grade than those in upper grades, and lower in those who did not eat from a restaurant than those who ate from a restaurant. Further, the likelihood of alcohol use was significantly high among those who engaged in physical fights, were seriously injured, were mostly worried, and whose parents used any form of tobacco. Other results showed that the odds of alcohol use were high among sedentary respondents, those who had multiple sexual partners and those who used amphetamines. Based on the present findings, a collaborative approach (i.e., stakeholders- the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education- community-individual levels) towards the development and adherence of appropriate interventions aimed at reducing alcohol use is required in Panama. Specific preventive interventions would be fundamental in promoting a positive school climate to help reduce adolescents' alcohol use and, perhaps, other anti-social behaviours (e.g., physical fights and bullying).

Racial/Ethnic Bullying Subtypes and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use Among US Adolescents

BACKGROUND

The study examines the rate of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among White, African American, and Latino adolescents and whether racial/ethnic bullying subtypes (victim-only, bullies-only, and bully/victim) are related to alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use.

METHODS

We used data from the 2009-2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 9863) to examine differences in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among White, African American, and Latino adolescents in the USA, and assessed whether racial/ethnic bullying involvement was associated with alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among these adolescents. Adolescents were categorized into four groups based on whether they had experienced racial bullying perpetration, victimization, both perpetration, and victimization, or neither perpetration nor victimization. Descriptive statistics were conducted to examine the distributions of the study variables and describe the samples. Spearman's rank-order correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships among the variables. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among the racial bully victimization, perpetration, and victimization-perpetration groups compared to the non-involved group by race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

The White victim-only group was more likely to use alcohol but less likely to use tobacco. The African American victim-only group was more likely to use alcohol, and the bully/victim group was more likely to use marijuana. The Latino victim-only group was more likely to use alcohol, whereas the bully/victim group was more likely to use tobacco.

CONCLUSION

Our findings have implications for the development and implementation of prevention and intervention programs across different racial/ethnic adolescent groups.

Subtypes of Bullying and Types of Substance Use among Urban African American Adolescents: Who Is Likely to Use What?

The present study examined the types of drugs likely to be used by bullies, victims, and bully/victims. Participants comprise African American adolescents from three high schools, one youth church group, two community youth programs, and four public venues in low-income communities in Chicago's Southside. A series of logistic regression analyses and latent class analyses were employed. Victims are likely to use alcohol, marijuana, and lean/krokodil. Bullies were likely to use alcohol and marijuana. Bully/victims were not at risk of any of the substances. Our LCA findings revealed a lower occurrence of substance use among victims although 30% used alcohol and marijuana; more than half of bullies showed high levels of alcohol, marijuana, and lean/krokodil use; a diverse pattern of drug use was shown among bully/victims although their lean/krokodil and crack/cocaine use was higher than other subgroups of bullying. The drugs of choice for African American bullies, victims, or bully/victims are variable.

Examining the Prevalence and Risk Factors of School Bullying Perpetration Among Chinese Children and Adolescents

Background and Objectives

School bullying threatens the health of children and adolescents, such as mental health disorders, social deviant behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and coping difficulties. The present study aims to address (1) prevalence rates of both traditional and cyber school bullying perpetration, and (2) the associations between self-control, parental involvement, experiencing conflicts with parents, experiencing interparental conflict, and risk behaviors, and school bullying perpetration among Chinese children and adolescents.

Method

This study used data from a national representative school bullying survey (n = 3,675) among children and adolescents from all grades (primary school 4th grade to high school 12th grade) in seven cities in China. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate the effects of these predictive factors on traditional and cyber school bullying perpetration, respectively. Seven control variables were included, such as gender, boarding school, family socioeconomic status, and parents' education levels.

Results

The sample comprised 52% female, 18% at boarding school, 70% of the participants' academic performance was average or above. Approximately 17.3% of the participants reported participating in traditional school bullying against their peers, and 7.8% perpetrated cyberbullying behaviors. Also, after controlling sociodemographic characteristics and high self-control, parental involvement reduced the likelihood of traditional and cyberbullying perpetrating. Experiencing interparental conflict and risk behavior was significantly associated with increased perpetration of traditional and cyber school bullying. We found that having a conflict with parents was significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration.

Implications

Findings have implications for practice. Anti-bullying intervention programs targeting this population should consider these factors. For example, school administrators may develop school programs involving parents in the efforts and interventions workshops improving children and adolescents' levels of self-control. Limitations are also discussed.

Self-Efficacy and External Locus of Control as Predictors of Participant Roles in Relational Aggression

We examined the extent to which the perceived behavioral control factors of pro-social, emotional, or verbal-social self-efficacy (SE) as well as external locus of control (LOC) explain the variance between different participant roles: relational aggressors, relational victims, relational aggressive-victims, and bystanders. Participants included 1,518 adolescents (61.6% boys and 38.4% girls) from 15 Israeli middle and high schools. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated relational aggressors, and aggressive-victims had lower pro-social SE and higher verbal-social SE than relational victims and bystanders. Relational aggressors, aggressive-victims, and victims had more extensive external LOC than bystanders. The theoretical contribution of verbal-social SE is discussed, and practical implications are highlighted, in particular, regarding the relational aggressive-victim, who exhibits high-risk behaviors.

Polysubstance use among adolescents in Malaysia: Findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2017

BACKGROUND

Polysubstance use is defined as the use of more than one non-prescribed licit or illicit substance either concurrently or simultaneously. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of single substance users and polysubstance users and 'their associated factors among adolescents in Malaysia.

METHODS

This study was a secondary data analysis from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2017, a cross-sectional survey conducted among Malaysian school-going adolescents aged 13 to 17. The NHMS utilised a two-stage stratified cluster sampling. Multivariate Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis was applied.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of single substance use and polysubstance use among adolescents were 17.2% and 5.1% respectively. The multinomial model showed a higher likelihood of being single or polysubstance user among male (single user OR = 3.0, poly user OR = 4.6), others Bumiputeras vs Malay (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 5.3), those who live with a single parent (single user OR = 1.2, poly user OR = 1.4), involved in truancy (single user OR = 1.7, poly user OR = 3.6) and being bullied (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 3.4), those who had lack of peer support (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 1.4), poor parental bonding (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 1.8), depression (single user OR = 1.4, poly user OR = 3.2) and those who had no close friend (single user OR = 1.3, poly user OR = 2.7).

CONCLUSION

Our study highlighted multiple significant associated factors of single and polysubstance use among adolescents in Malaysia. This result can assist in the development of specific intervention and prevention programs targeting high-risk groups.

The Effect of Anger and Family Functions on Bullying Behavior in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder between the Ages of 15 and 25

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of anger and family functions on bullying behavior in adolescents and young adults who are followed up with the diagnosis of substance use disorder.

METHODS

A total of 100 patients, whose ages were between 15 and 25 years and who were diagnosed as having substance use disorder, were included as study participants. All participants were subjected to the Sociodemographic Data Form, Family Assessment Device, Trait Anger-Anger Expression Scale, and Bullying Tendency Scale.

RESULTS

It was found that there was a positive relationship between bullying tendency scores and trait anger and anger expression outward scores and a negative relationship with anger control scores. It was observed that there was a positive correlation between subdimension scores of problem solving, roles, and showing necessary attention with respect to family function dimensions and bullying tendency scores. In the multivariate regression model evaluating the predictive power of independent factors associated with bullying tendency, it was observed that anger control from anger subdimensions and problem solving from family function subdimensions had a predictive effect on bullying tendency, and the combination of these 2 factors explained 26% of bullying tendency scores.

CONCLUSION

In this study, it was observed that most of the anger and family function dimensions were related to bullying tendency; in particular, the anger control difficulties and the problem-solving skills in the family were the factors that predicted bullying behavior. We think that addressing these factors that have an impact on bullying behavior in the treatment process will be important to regulate the relations with the outside world in this age group.

Longitudinal associations between bullying and alcohol use and binge drinking among grade 9 and 10 students in the COMPASS study

OBJECTIVES

Adolescents involved in bullying are at increased risk for alcohol use; however, much of this research has been cross-sectional. The aim of this work was to therefore examine the longitudinal associations between bullying and future alcohol use.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the COMPASS study. The current study used a 2-year linked sample of grade 9 and 10 students from 2015 to 2017 (n = 6005). Students were asked to report their involvement with bullying as well as alcohol use and binge drinking behaviours. Generalized estimating equations regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between bullying involvement at baseline and alcohol use and binge drinking at follow-up.

RESULTS

Overall, 20% of students in grades 9 and 10 reported involvement in bullying. There was evidence of a modest longitudinal association between bullying and binge drinking. Being a bully or bully-victim at baseline was associated with increased odds of initiating future binge drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Being a bully or bully-victim in grade 9 or 10 was associated with initiating binge drinking within the following 2 years. Targeted alcohol use prevention programming may benefit these groups.

Family Violence, Sibling, and Peer Aggression During Adolescence: Associations With Behavioral Health Outcomes

Bullying and sibling aggression can appear as similar behavior, though the latter is comparatively understudied. Aligned with the Theory of Intergenerational Transmission of Violence, research suggests that exposure to family violence increases an individual's risk for perpetrating violence in their own future relationships. Additionally, Problem Behavior Theory suggests that engaging in one problem behavior (e.g., bullying) increases the likelihood of engaging in other problem behavior (e.g., substance use). In Phase 1, this study of middle school students from the U.S. examined how exposure to family violence predicted membership in latent classes of bullying and sibling aggression perpetration (N = 894, sampled from four middle schools). In Phase 2, we used mixture modeling to understand how latent classes of family violence, sibling aggression, and bullying predict future substance use, mental health outcomes, and deviance behavior later in high school. Results yielded four profiles of peer and sibling aggression: high all, high sibling aggression, high peer aggression, and low all aggression. Youth who reported witnessing more family violence at home were significantly more likely to fall into the sibling aggression only and high all classes, compared to the low all class. Phase 2 results also yielded four classes: a high all class, a sibling aggression and family violence class, a peer aggression class, and a low all class. Individuals in the high all class were more likely to experience several unfavorable outcomes (substance use, depression, delinquency) compared to other classes. This study provides evidence for pathways from witnessing violence, to perpetrating aggression across multiple contexts, to developing other deleterious mental and behavioral health outcomes. These findings highlight the negative impact family violence can have on child development, providing support for a cross-contextual approach for programming aimed at developing relationships skills.

Peer Victimization, Mood Symptoms, and Alcohol Use: Examining Effects among Diverse High School Youth

Peer victimization is associated with alcohol use among adolescents. However, few studies have examined the mediating role of depression and anxiety, or differences by race. The current study examined the prospective relationship of peer victimization, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and alcohol use across two timeframes: 9th to 11th grade and 10th to 12th grade among African American and White youth. Two thousand two hundred and two high school youth (57.6% female) who identified as either African American (n = 342, 15.2%) or White (n = 1860, 82.6%) provided data on study variables. Path analysis among the overall sample indicated that anxiety symptoms was a significant mediator for both timeframes, with depressive symptoms mediating the pathway during the 10th to 12th grade timeframe. The findings were most consistent among White youth, with no significant indirect effects observed for African American youth. Thus, addressing depressive and anxiety symptoms may be effective targets to decrease alcohol use risk as a result of peer victimization among White youth. However, further research is needed to better understand risk models for peer victimization exposure on substance use outcomes among racial/ethnic minority youth.

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.

Bullying: What the PNP Needs to Know

Despite generations of doubt about the true impact of bullying, it is now clear that childhood bullying can have significant lifelong consequences for victims and bullies alike. Recent school shootings and suicides by students who have been victims of bullying have helped to solidify public awareness of the gravity of the problem of childhood bullying. Adults who were frequently bullied in childhood have an increased frequency of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality, extending into middle age (Arseneault, 2017). In fact, frequent bullying in childhood may impact victims similar to experiencing multiple adverse childhood experiences (Takizawa, Maughan, & Arseneault, 2014). Bullying also has a detrimental effect on young perpetrators (Zuckerman, 2016). Bullying is clearly a pediatric health care problem. This continuing education article will explore bullying in terms of definitions, epidemiology, types, risk factors, resilience factors, consequences, and implications for practice.

Parental and school bonding in Iranian adolescent perpetrators and victims of bullying

This study compared parental and school bonding in adolescents in Iran who are perpetrators of bullying, victims of bullying and not-involved in bullying. Secondary school students ( N = 240) were selected by cluster random sampling and screening, and categorized as perpetrators of bullying ( N = 80), victims of bullying ( N = 80) and non-involved ( N = 80) by teacher and vice-principal nominations. The Parental Bonding Instrument and the School Bonding Scales were completed by the students. With some exceptions (i.e., no between-group differences in maternal overprotectiveness and boys reported higher levels of school involvement than girls), results suggest similar patterns in Iran as in Western societies. With regard to parental bonding, perpetrators of bullying reported lower levels of maternal and paternal care than victims of bullying and non-involved students, higher levels of paternal overprotectiveness than non-involved students, higher levels of paternal authoritarianism (or lower levels of autonomy) than victims and non-involved students, and higher levels of maternal authoritarianism than victims. For school bonding, perpetrators of bullying reported lower levels of school and teacher attachment than the other two groups and victims reported lower levels of school and teacher attachment than non-involved students. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.