Bullying: Effects on School-Aged Children, Screening Tools, and Referral Sources

Participants' Roles in Bullying Among 7-11 Year Olds: Results from a UK-Wide Randomized Control Trial of the KiVa School-Based Program

This paper describes the social architecture model of school-based bullying behavior. The model proposes that the behavior of all students affects rates of bullying. Alongside self-reported victims and bullies, the model identified four bystander roles: assistant, reinforcer, outsider, and defender. The level of support for bullies varies based on school policies that address bullying and promote school connectedness. The universal components of the KiVa school-based anti-bullying program designed to teach pupils to stand against bullying are described. The Stand Together trial, a UK-based randomized controlled trial, recruited 11,000+ students from 118 schools across the UK, half of whom received the KiVa program whilst the remainder delivered usual practice to address bullying. The main trial results reported a significant reduction in victimization in favor of KiVa. This paper examines data collected on the pupil-reported Participant Role Questionnaire (PRQ), one of the secondary measures used to explore whether significant reductions in victimization were accompanied by changes in bystander behavior. The results showed reductions in the student response rates of self-identified roles as bullies, assistants, and reinforcers in favor of KiVa, but outsider roles increased, and defender roles reduced. This provides tentative support for the social architecture model as taught in the Stand Together KiVa trial but also suggests that further work needs to be conducted to support the development of defender behaviors and address this important public health challenge.

Post-stress Social Interaction and 3-Cyano-N-(1,3-Diphenyl-1H-Pyrazol-5-yl) Benzamide Treatment Attenuate Depressive-like Behavior Induced by Repeated Social Defeat Stress

Persistent stress increases the probability for developing depression significantly thereafter. Repeated social defeat stress is a widely used model to investigate depressive-like behavior in preclinical models. Hence, the repeated social defeat stress model provided an ideal animal model, through which the hypotheses of prevention and treatment can be investigated. We have successfully induced depressive-like behavior for male C57BL/6J mice with this model. Here, we reported that certain level of during-stress social interactions with single female or multiple male peer(s) exerted a positive role in preventing the development of depressive-like behavior induced by repeated social defeat stress. Our data suggested that the stress-susceptible mice may benefit from positive social interaction, which reduces the chance for depressive-like behavior development. Since numerous studies indicate that the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) plays an important role in various cognitive functions, we further investigate the treatment effect of 3-cyano-N-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-yl) benzamide (CDPPB) on the depressive-like behavior induced by repeated social defeat stress. Most importantly, robust anti-depressant effects have been achieved through modulating the mGluR5 function. We found that single oral dose administration of CDPPB (20 mg/kg), to some extent, alleviated the social avoidance behaviors for the stress-susceptible mice. Our data implies that the CDPPB, a positive allosteric modulator of mGluR5, is a promising anti-depressant candidate with limited side effect.

Intercultural Differences between Spain and Italy Regarding School Bullying, Gender, and Age

The objectives of this research were to establish the differences between Spain and Italy regarding the presence of bullying in primary and secondary schools, as well as to determine whether there are differences between experiencing or perpetrating bullying and gender and age in the practice of school bullying. To assess the EBIPQ scores in terms of country and gender, the chi-squared test was used, and ANOVA was applied for age. A total of 1536 students from primary and secondary schools in Spain and Italy participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 10 to 19 years (mean = 13.01, standard deviation = 2.19). The results revealed statistically significant differences in terms of bullying categories concerning the country of origin and gender, with a higher number of Italian participants in the role of "no victim aggress" and Spanish participants in the roles of "victim" and "victim and aggress". Additionally, there were more boys in the role of "victim and aggress" and girls in the role of "no victim aggress". Regarding age, statistically significant differences were found, with older students taking on the role of "aggress" on average, while younger students assumed the role of "victim".

School and electronic bullying among adolescents: Direct and indirect relationships with sadness, sleep, and suicide ideation

INTRODUCTION

Bullying is an increasing concern for education, health, and policy. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period for the development of depressive symptoms and suicidality following exposure to bullying. However, limited research investigating the potential impact of depressive symptoms on the bullying-suicide relationship exists.

METHODS

Using national data (N = 13,677) from the most recent 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence among adolescents' (school/electronic) bullying victimization, depressive symptoms (sadness; sleep), and suicide ideation as well as their associations including direct and indirect relationships including exploring differences by gender and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Descriptive results indicated an increase in the prevalence of adolescents being bullied (both on school property and electronically), experiencing feelings of sadness, and hopelessness as well as a decrease in getting more than 8 h of sleep between 2017 and 2019. In 2019, over one-third of respondents felt sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks or more in a row, which stopped them from doing some usual activities. Structural equation modeling indicated that (school/electronic) bullying was directly associated with feelings of sadness/hopelessness and suicide ideation, with sadness mediating the link between bullying and suicide ideation.

CONCLUSION

Now more than ever, it is critical to promote the collaboration between educators, mental health specialists, policymakers, and researchers to develop and implement evidence-based strategies and approaches to preventing and reducing both bullying victimization and the associated psychological distress and mental health outcomes.

Psychological Resilience May Be Related to Students' Responses to Victims of School Bullying: A Cross-Sectional Study of Chinese Grade 3-5 Primary School Students

BACKGROUND

School bullying is a major public health problem with a large impact on children's health. There is an increasing number of cases of school bullying reported in China. Studies have shown that the health consequences of different ways of responding to school bullying may be quite different and that psychological resilience is also closely related to aggressive behaviors. However, there has been little research on whether individuals with different psychological resilience levels respond differently.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between responses to school bullying and psychological resilience, which may provide new ideas and strategies to better prevent and intervene in school bullying.

METHODS

A random sample of 5425 primary school students aged 7-14 years were recruited in Luzhou, China. All students completed a questionnaire anonymously. The statistical significance of differences between groups was tested using the χ² test or t test. Binary logistic regression was conducted to explore the relationship between responses and psychological resilience.

RESULTS

Over two-thirds of primary school students in this study reported experiencing bullying in the past year. The rate of positive responses among victims was 69.10% (2596/3757, 95% CI: 67.62~70.58%). There was a positive relationship between psychological resilience and positive responses. This relationship was observed for all victims (OR = 1.605, 95% CI: 1.254~2.055), especially male victims (OR = 2.300, 95% CI: 1.624~3.259).

CONCLUSIONS

There was a positive relationship between primary school bullying responses and psychological resilience among victims, with differences by sex. Therefore, increasing students' level of psychological resilience, possibly by improving their responses, is important for preventing school bullying. Meanwhile, effective interventions for school bullying should be developed from multiple perspectives, particularly sex, bullying roles, and psychological resilience.

Six-year changes of posttraumatic stress symptoms and depressive symptoms among Chinese earthquake survivors: A network analysis

BACKGROUND

The risk factors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) and depressive symptoms have been well-established, but whether the network structure of their symptoms changes over time remains unclear. This study aims to examine the six-year changes of network structure of PTSS and depressive symptoms among Wenchuan earthquake adult survivors in China.

METHODS

In this pooled cross-sectional study, respondents were sampled from the same population at each of the five waves (N = 1343, 1205, 1177, 1376, and 1339). The network structure of them was investigated using network analyses.

RESULTS

The study shows network connections stable across waves were the positive connections between hyperarousal and intrusions, hyperarousal and somatic symptoms, and two dimensions of positive effects. Stable negative connections were those between depressed affects and positive effects, avoidance and depressed affects, avoidance with interpersonal symptoms and avoidance with somatic symptoms. Across waves, fearful emotion consistently was the strongest bridge symptom connecting with PTSS symptoms. However, for PTSS the strongest bridge symptom varied across time as it was avoidance in wave 1 but were hyperarousal in other four waves.

LIMITATIONS

This study was based on a pooled cross-sectional survey, which inhibits conclusions regarding causal influences between symptoms at the individual patient level.

CONCLUSIONS

The network structure of PTSS and depressive symptoms was partly stable, yet also varied across survey waves. Core symptom clusters for PTSS and depressive symptoms were avoidance and depressed affect, respectively. The central role of these clusters in PTSS and depressive symptoms has important implications to future psychiatric programs.

Formation of protagonist adolescents to prevent bullying in school contexts

OBJECTIVE

to develop a participative strategy of health education in the formative process of protagonist adolescents aimed at preventing school bullying.

METHOD

qualitative interventive-participatory research, based on the Community-Based Participatory Research and in the Culture Circles of Paulo Freire. The sample was intentional, with the participation of 12 adolescents who were considered leaders. For data production at the moment of educational intervention, observation techniques were employed with note-taking in a field diary, plus photographic and video records.

RESULTS

the pedagogical intervention model raised the opportunity for the adolescents' active participation, aiming at the development of skills that create pro-social behaviors, empathetic and assertive relations, which are able to face bullying and transform the school environment. Final considerations: the use of participative methodologies, in the youth protagonism perspective, has the potential to support educational practices of school nurses in collaboration and leadership of antibullying programs.

A study on the school violence experience of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the context of bullying

INTRODUCTION

School violence causes harmful effects to victims. Harmful effects are likely to persist into adulthood. There are many studies about the relationship between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and school violence. But, there are few comparative studies dividing groups by the context of bullying and by the school grade. Therefore, this study will identify the differences between general students and patients with ADHD under treatment, creating two groups (one with experience of the perpetration of violence and one with victimization).

METHODS

This study was conducted by questionnaires that dealt with experiences of being a bully and being bulled at school in the past year as six items each. A 5-point Likert scale was used. The ADHD group was 49, and the general students group was 245. The data were compared using the chi-squared test. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24, with statistical significance at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

The ADHD group was significantly high who reported severely beating other people than the general group. Likewise, ADHD group who reported threatening other people was significantly higher than in the general group. However, for the remaining items, there was no significant difference between the ADHD group and the general student group.

DISCUSSION

Previous studies suggested that ADHD symptoms are major causes of both bullying and being the victim of bullying. However, in this study, ADHD patients have more being the victim of bullying experiences than general students. Further, a well-designed study will be needed to accurately evaluate the relationship between school violence and ADHD.