Antisocial Behavior and Interpersonal Values in High School Students.

This article analyzes the characteristics of antisocial behavior and interpersonal values of high school students (Compulsory Secondary Education) (CSE), the profile of students with high levels of antisocial behavior with regard to interpersonal values, and possible protection from antisocial behavior that interpersonal values could provide. The Interpersonal Values Questionnaire was used to assess interpersonal values, and the Antisocial-Delinquent Behaviors Questionnaire was employed to assess antisocial behaviors. The sample was made up of 885 CSE students aged 14-17. The results revealed a greater prevalence of antisocial behaviors among males and fourth-year CSE students. Moreover, antisocial behaviors were more frequent among participants with high scores in Stimulation, Recognition, Independence, and Leadership and low scores in Conformity and Benevolence. Lastly, logistic regression analyses showed that low scores in Conformity and Benevolence and high scores in Independence predicted high scores in antisocial behavior. The possibility of identifying certain interpersonal values which could positively or negatively affect the appearance of antisocial behavior during adolescence is discussed.

System to Detect Racial-Based Bullying through Gamification.

Prevention and detection of bullying due to racial stigma was studied in school contexts using a system designed following "gamification" principles and integrating less usual elements, such as social interaction, augmented reality and cell phones in educational scenarios. "Grounded Theory" and "User Centered Design" were employed to explore coexistence inside and outside the classroom in terms of preferences and distrust in several areas of action and social frameworks of activity, and to direct the development of a cell phone app for early detection of school bullying scenarios. One hundred and fifty-one interviews were given at five schools selected for their high multiracial percentage and conflict. The most outstanding results were structural, that is the distribution of the classroom group by type of activity and subject being dealt with. Furthermore, in groups over 12 years of age, the relational structures in the classroom in the digital settings in which they participated with their cell phones did not reoccur, because face-to-face and virtual interaction between students with the supervision and involvement of the teacher combined to detect bullying caused by racial discrimination.

Instructional Changes Adopted for an Engineering Course: Cluster Analysis on Academic Failure.

As first year students come from diverse backgrounds, basic skills should be accessible to everyone as soon as possible. Transferring such skills to these students is challenging, especially in highly technical courses. Ensuring that essential knowledge is acquired quickly promotes the student's self-esteem and may positively influence failure rates. Metaphors can help do this. Metaphors are used to understand the unknown. This paper shows how we made a turn in student learning at the University of Almeria. Our hypothesis assumed that metaphors accelerate the acquisition of basic knowledge so that other skills built on that foundation are easily learned. With these goals in mind, we changed the way we teach by using metaphors and abstract concepts in a computer organization course, a technical course in the first year of an information technology engineering degree. Cluster analysis of the data on collective student performance after this methodological change clearly identified two distinct groups. These two groups perfectly matched the "before and after" scenarios of the use of metaphors. The study was conducted during 11 academic years (2002/2003 to 2012/2013). The 475 observations made during this period illustrate the usefulness of this change in teaching and learning, shifting from a propositional teaching/learning model to a more dynamic model based on metaphors and abstractions. Data covering the whole period showed favorable evolution of student achievement and reduced failure rates, not only in this course, but also in many of the following more advanced courses. The paper is structured in five sections. The first gives an introduction, the second describes the methodology. The third section describes the sample and the study carried out. The fourth section presents the results and, finally, the fifth section discusses the main conclusions.

Drug use in adolescents in relation to social support and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior / Consumo de drogas en adolescentes y su relación con el apoyo social y las conductas agresivas reactivas y proactiva

BACKGROUND: Aggressive behavior in adolescents, along with drug use, has become one of the great issues in education in recent years, among other things, due to its relationship with school failure and delinquency. The purpose of this paper was to find out whether social support fulfils a basic role in decision-making on drug use and the behavior of adolescents. METHOD: 822 high school students participated in the study (M = 14.84, SD = 0.87). Data were collected with the Peer Conflict Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and an ad hoc questionnaire on drug use. RESULTS: The results show that drug use is significantly related to reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. It was also observed that higher use is significantly related to perceived social support by the peer group, and less support by family. DISCUSSION: It was shown that substance use is related to perceived social support by the adolescent's peer group and to aggressive behavior. It is therefore necessary to intervene in both respects to avoid the presence of substance use in schools

ANTECEDENTES: la presencia de conductas agresivas en los adolescentes, unido al consumo de drogas, se ha situado en los últimos años como una de las grandes problemáticas dentro del ámbito educativo. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la relación de la agresividad y el apoyo social con el consumo de alcohol y tabaco, dos de las drogas más frecuentes entre los jóvenes. MÉTODO: en el estudio han participado 822 adolescentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (M = 14,84; DT = 0,87). Para recoger los datos se ha utilizado el Peer Conflict Scale, la Escala Multidimensional de Apoyo Social Percibido y un cuestionario realizado ad hoc de consumo de drogas. RESULTADOS: los resultados mostraron que el consumo de drogas está relacionado con las conductas agresivas tanto reactivas como proactivas. Asimismo, se observó que a mayor consumo mayor es también el apoyo social percibido por parte del grupo de iguales, y menor apoyo por parte de la familia. DISCUSIÓN: los resultados obtenidos se discuten en relación a la necesidad de intervenir en estas áreas para evitar la presencia de consumo de sustancias en los centros educativos

Drug use in adolescents in relation to social support and reactive and proactive aggressive behavior.

BACKGROUND: Aggressive behavior in adolescents, along with drug use, has become one of the great issues in education in recent years, among other things, due to its relationship with school failure and delinquency. The purpose of this paper was to find out whether social support fulfils a basic role in decision-making on drug use and the behavior of adolescents. METHOD: 822 high school students participated in the study (M = 14.84, SD = 0.87). Data were collected with the Peer Conflict Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and an ad hoc questionnaire on drug use. RESULTS: The results show that drug use is significantly related to reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. It was also observed that higher use is significantly related to perceived social support by the peer group, and less support by family. DISCUSSION: It was shown that substance use is related to perceived social support by the adolescent’s peer group and to aggressive behavior. It is therefore necessary to intervene in both respects to avoid the presence of substance use in schools.