Latent Profiles of Anxious Children and Their Differences in Aggressive Behavior

School anxiety profiles in Spanish adolescents and their differences in psychopathological symptoms

School anxiety and psychopathological symptoms tend to co-occur across development and persist in adulthood. The present study aimed to determine school anxiety profiles based on Lang’s model of the triple response system (cognitive anxiety, psychophysiological anxiety, and behavioral anxiety) and to identify possible differences between these profiles in psychopathological symptoms (depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, anxiety, psychoticism, obsessive-compulsive, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation). The School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and the Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire (SA-45) were administered to 1525 Spanish students (49% girls) between 15 and 18 years old (M = 16.36, SD = 1.04). Latent Profile Analysis identified four school anxiety profiles: Low School Anxiety, Average School Anxiety, High School Anxiety, and Excessive School Anxiety. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences among the school anxiety profiles in all the psychopathological symptoms examined. Specifically, adolescents with Excessive School Anxiety showed significantly higher levels of the nine psychopathological symptoms than their peers with Average School Anxiety and Low School Anxiety. In addition, the Excessive School Anxiety profile scored significantly higher in phobic anxiety than the High School Anxiety group. These findings allow to conclude that it is necessary enhance well-being and reduce psychopathology of those adolescents who manifest high and very high reactivity in cognitive, psychophysiological, and behavioral anxiety.

Bullying and Cyberbullying in Primary School: The Impact of Gender and Student Academic Performance

(1) Background: This study examines school bullying and cyberbullying, which are unfortunate realities in our schools that require interdisciplinary, multidimensional educational interventions in order to enhance the quality of the educational process. (2) Methods: The study analyzes the results of the application of the School Harassment Questionnaire (CAES) to 494 students in the sixth year of primary school, aged between 11 and 13, in the Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. The results are presented for each dimension and item in the instrument, then analyzed by gender and student academic performance. (3) Results: The results indicated statistically significant differences in the variables examined, particularly in the variable Skills for Conflict Resolution. (4) Conclusions: The use of this instrument and results such as those in this study could enhance teachers’ awareness of the reality of their classrooms, from the school climate to the relational conflicts that may be present. This allows teachers to look into preventive action to encourage the comprehensive development of all students, with tutorial action being essential.

School Refusal Behavior and Aggression in Spanish Adolescents

In order to reduce school attendance problems and aggressive behavior, it is essential to determine the relationship between both variables. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the mean differences in scores on aggression, based on school refusal behavior, and (2) to analyze the predictive capacity of high scores on aggression, based on school refusal behavior factors. The sample consisted of 1455 Spanish secondary school students, aged 13–17 (M = 14.85; SD = 1.56). The School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (I. Avoidance of negative affectivity, II. Escape from aversive social and/or evaluative situations, III. Pursuit of attention from significant others, and IV. Pursuit of tangible reinforcement outside of school) and the Aggression Questionnaire (I. Physical Aggression, II. Verbal Aggression, III. Anger, and IV. Hostility) were used. Results indicated that students having high levels of Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility received significantly higher scores on school refusal behavior. In most cases, school refusal behavior was found to be a positive and statistically significant predictor of aggression. Students that base their school refusal on the pursuit of tangible reinforcements outside of school earned higher scores, and other functional conditions underlying school refusal behavior were found to be associated with aggression issues. The role of aggression as a risk factor for school refusal behavior is discussed.

Identifying Profiles of Anxiety in Late Childhood and Exploring Their Relationship with School-Based Distress

Failure in dealing with anxiety-provoking situations and stressors in the school setting may have negative consequences not only on children’s performance, but also on their well-being in the future. This research aimed to examine the relationship of forms of anxiety (anticipatory anxiety, school-based performance anxiety, and generalized anxiety) with sources (teacher interactions, academic stress, peer interactions, and academic self-concept) and manifestations (emotional, behavioral, and physiological) of school-based distress. Specifically, our objectives were to examine the correlations between anxiety and school-based distress and, using a person-centered approach, to verify whether different anxiety profiles differed in their levels of distress. The Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety-Revised (VAA-R) and the School Situation Survey (SSS) were administered to 756 Spanish students (M_age = 9.6, SD = 1.12); 50.3% were girls. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed a positive and significant association between each form of anxiety and each source and manifestation of distress. The latent profile analysis identified three anxiety profiles: High Anxiety, High School-based performance Anxiety, and Low Anxiety. The High Anxiety profile scored significantly higher in all sources and manifestations of distress than the Low Anxiety profile. The High Anxiety profile showed significantly higher scores in peer interactions and emotional and behavioral manifestations of distress than the group High School-based performance Anxiety. Suggestions for intervention strategies according to the risk profile are discussed.