Bullying, Cyberbullying and Mental Health: The Role of Student Connectedness as a School Protective Factor

Traditional bullying and cyberbullying are linked to adverse mental health outcomes. Student connectedness has been recently identified as a potential protective factor in these relationships. Nonetheless, the multilevel nature of these interactions has been frequently overlooked. The present study pretends to fill this gap by exploring the associations between individual levels of bullying and cyberbullying and three adjustment outcomes (i.e., suicidal behavior, symptoms of depression, and self-esteem), as well as the moderating role of the school level of student connectedness on these relationships. The participants in this work were 1,774 students aged 14-18 years (M = 15.70, SD = 1.26), of which 53.7% were female, from 31 secondary schools in Spain. We used previously validated self-reported questionnaires in this study. Traditional victimization and cybervictimization, as well as cyberbullying, were positively related to suicidal behavior and depression, and were negatively related to self-esteem. Conversely, individual levels of student connectedness were associated with lower levels of suicidal behavior and depression, and with higher levels of self-esteem. Moreover, school levels of student connectedness buffered the adjustment problems experienced by victims of cyberbullying. These findings highlight the importance of student connectedness as a possible target for school-based cyberbullying prevention. (AU)

El acoso escolar y el ciberbullying están asociados a efectos adversos para la salud mental. La cohesión entre estudiantes se ha identificado recientemente como un potencial factor protector respecto a este tipo de relaciones. No obstante, con frecuencia se ha pasado por alto la naturaleza multinivel de estas interacciones. El presente estudio pretende llenar este vacío explorando la asociación entre el nivel individual de acoso y ciberbullying y tres indicadores de ajuste (i.e., conducta suicida, síntomas de depresión y autoestima), así como el papel moderador del nivel escolar de cohesión estudiantil en estas relaciones. Los participantes fueron 1,744 estudiantes de 14-18 años (M = 15.70, DT = 1.26), de los cuales el 53.7% eran mujeres, de 31 centros de educación secundaria de España. En el estudio se utilizaron autoinformes previamente validados. La victimización tradicional y la cibervictimización, así como el ciberbullying, se relacionaron positivamente con la conducta suicida y la depresión y negativamente con la autoestima. Por el contrario, los niveles individuales de cohesión entre estudiantes se asociaron con niveles más bajos de conducta suicida y depresión y con niveles más elevados de autoestima. Además, los niveles escolares de cohesión entre estudiantes amortiguaron los problemas de adaptación experimentados por las víctimas de ciberbullying. Estos hallazgos destacan la importancia de la cohesión entre estudiantes como un posible objetivo de cara a la prevención del ciberbullying. (AU)

Bullying, Cyberbullying and Mental Health: The Role of Student Connectedness as a School Protective Factor.

Traditional bullying and cyberbullying are linked to adverse mental health outcomes. Student connectedness has been recently identified as a potential protective factor in these relationships. Nonetheless, the multilevel nature of these interactions has been frequently overlooked. The present study pretends to fill this gap by exploring the associations between individual levels of bullying and cyberbullying and three adjustment outcomes (i.e., suicidal behavior, symptoms of depression, and self-esteem), as well as the moderating role of the school level of student connectedness on these relationships. The participants in this work were 1,774 students aged 14-18 years (M = 15.70, SD = 1.26), of which 53.7% were female, from 31 secondary schools in Spain. We used previously validated self-reported questionnaires in this study. Traditional victimization and cybervictimization, as well as cyberbullying, were positively related to suicidal behavior and depression, and were negatively related to self-esteem. Conversely, individual levels of student connectedness were associated with lower levels of suicidal behavior and depression, and with higher levels of self-esteem. Moreover, school levels of student connectedness buffered the adjustment problems experienced by victims of cyberbullying. These findings highlight the importance of student connectedness as a possible target for school-based cyberbullying prevention.

El acoso escolar y el ciberbullying están asociados a efectos adversos para la salud mental. La cohesión entre estudiantes se ha identificado recientemente como un potencial factor protector respecto a este tipo de relaciones. No obstante, con frecuencia se ha pasado por alto la naturaleza multinivel de estas interacciones. El presente estudio pretende llenar este vacío explorando la asociación entre el nivel individual de acoso y ciberbullying y tres indicadores de ajuste (i.e., conducta suicida, síntomas de depresión y autoestima), así como el papel moderador del nivel escolar de cohesión estudiantil en estas relaciones. Los participantes fueron 1,744 estudiantes de 14-18 años (M = 15.70, DT = 1.26), de los cuales el 53.7% eran mujeres, de 31 centros de educación secundaria de España. En el estudio se utilizaron autoinformes previamente validados. La victimización tradicional y la cibervictimización, así como el ciberbullying, se relacionaron positivamente con la conducta suicida y la depresión y negativamente con la autoestima. Por el contrario, los niveles individuales de cohesión entre estudiantes se asociaron con niveles más bajos de conducta suicida y depresión y con niveles más elevados de autoestima. Además, los niveles escolares de cohesión entre estudiantes amortiguaron los problemas de adaptación experimentados por las víctimas de ciberbullying. Estos hallazgos destacan la importancia de la cohesión entre estudiantes como un posible objetivo de cara a la prevención del ciberbullying.

Socialization of Gender Stereotypes Related to Attributes and Professions Among Young Spanish School-Aged Children.

Modern societies increasingly show more egalitarian attitudes related to sexism and gender equality. However, there is still an important gender gap in wages and professions as well as in expectations surrounding male and female characteristics. Developmental studies carried out from an ecological perspective confirm that these influences come from the closest environments (mainly family and school) but also from more distant systems such as media or cultural values. As children are socialized in these norms and values, they increasingly internalize those schemes and use them to judge others, to choose friends and playmates, and to construct expectations of them. On this basis, the aim of this study was to examine the degree of gender bias internalization in a group of Spanish children. Two tasks were applied to a group of 149 public school boys and girls (aged 4-9 years). Results showed that, already from an early age, the participants had internalized traditional gender roles, especially when asked to assign masculine attributes. Moreover, group differences were found given that boys seemed to be more aware of expectations surrounding masculinity and girls assigned the attributes associated with femininity to women more often than boys. Furthermore, a developmental pattern similar to one obtained in previous studies was observed. Younger children already apply gender roles as part of their increasing acquisition of knowledge in the social field, but there is a big increase in the strength of this bias as they grow older. Psychological and educational implications of these findings are discussed, especially considering that the male gender role seems to be more rigid and less malleable. In this regard, developmental and environmental studies should be considered when designing early intervention programs to reduce sexism and to promote equity in schools and families. As research has already shown what type of environments affect children's acquisition of traditional gender roles, society must make an effort to promote more egalitarian environments that will serve as protective factors in their future psychological, social and professional development.

Perfiles neuropsicológicos en anorexia y bulimia nerviosa / Neuropsychological profiles in anorexia and bulimia nervosa

Introducción. Los trastornos de la alimentación son trastornos mentales graves que se manifiestan de diferentes formas diagnósticas, como la anorexia nerviosa y la bulimia nerviosa. En los últimos años, diversos estudios han enfatizado la participación de procesos neuropsicológicos en la anorexia y la bulimia nerviosas. Objetivo. Revisar las evidencias sobre los déficits en funciones ejecutivas, sesgos atencionales y coherencia central en la anorexia y la bulimia nerviosas en relación con un perfil neuropsicológico de riesgo, un perfil neuropsicológico diferente asociado a las mencionadas patologías alimentarias y el papel de variables (índice de masa corporal, edad, ansiedad, impulsividad, alexitimia, estado de ánimo, imagen corporal) en la presencia de déficits neuropsicológicos. Desarrollo. Revisión de los estudios empíricos de los últimos siete años encontrados en las bases de datos Medline y PsycINFO para inglés, y Dialnet y Psicodoc para castellano. Se han seleccionado 28 artículos para el objetivo propuesto. La elección de los documentos se realizó conforme a unos criterios preestablecidos. Conclusiones. Según las evidencias disponibles, parece existir un perfil de riesgo caracterizado por rigidez cognitiva y coherencia central débil. Los resultados parecen más consistentes en relación con el perfil de riesgo en la anorexia nerviosa. Además, tanto en la anorexia como en la bulimia nerviosa existen sesgos atencionales relacionados con el reconocimiento de emociones y aspectos sociales, y el rasgo de alexitimia es una variable moduladora en dicha dificultad

Introduction. Eating disorders are severe mental disorders that appear in different diagnostic forms, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In recent years, a number of studies have highlighted the involvement of neuropsychological processes in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Aim. To review the evidence on the deficits in the executive functions, attentional biases and central coherence in anorexia and bulimia nervosa in relation to a neuropsychological risk profile, a different neuropsychological profile associated with the aforementioned eating pathologies and the role of variables (body mass index, age, anxiety, impulsiveness, alexithymia, mood, body image) in the presence of neuropsychological deficits. Development. We reviewed the empirical studies conducted in the last seven years found in the Medline and PsycINFO databases for English, and Dialnet and Psicodoc for Spanish. Twenty-eight articles were selected as suitable for the purposes of this study. The documents were chosen on the basis of a set of pre-established criteria. Conclusions. According to the evidence available, there seems to be a risk profile characterised by cognitive rigidity and weak central coherence. The results appear to be more consistent as regards the risk profile in anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, in both anorexia and bulimia nervosa there are attentional biases related to the recognition of emotions and social aspects, and the alexithymia trait is a modulating variable in this difficulty

Violencia entre iguales en Educación Primaria: el papel de los compañeros y su relación con el estatus sociométrico / Peer harassment in primary school: the role of peers and its relationship with sociometric status

Durante la última década se ha producido un giro en el estudio de la violencia entre iguales, pasando de analizar únicamente las características individuales de la díada agresor-víctima a considerarlo un proceso grupal, en el que la mayoría de los niños desempeñan un papel. Este estudio utiliza una versión adaptada del Participant-Role Questionnaire para identificar estos roles en 2.050 niños españoles de edades comprendidas entre 8 y 13 años, relacionando los papeles con la pertenencia a uno de los cinco estatus sociométricos. Los análisis factoriales revelaron la existencia de cuatro roles, indicando que la escala adaptada resultaba válida para diferenciar: el agresor, la víctima, el defensor de la víctima y el observador pasivo. Los chicos desempeñaban con mayor frecuencia los roles de agresor y víctima. El papel desempeñado estaba relacionado con el estatus sociométrico en el aula. Los avances en la medida de la violencia entre iguales como proceso grupal y el éxito de las estrategias de intervención pueden depender de la diferenciación de los roles que desempeñan los compañeros, ayudando a movilizar la presión de los iguales y privando a los agresores de su apoyo social (AU)

During the last decade, there has been a change in peer harassment research from a focus on the characteristics of the Aggressor-Victim dyad to the recognition of peer harassment as a whole group process, with most of children playing some kind of role. This study uses a shortened adaptation of the Participant-Role Questionnaire approach to identify these roles in 2,050 Spanish children aged 8 to 13 years. These Participant Roles were related to belonging to one of the fi ve sociometric status groups. Factor analysis revealed four different roles, indicating that the adapted scale remains a reliable way of distinguishing the Aggressor, Victim, Defender of the victim, and Outsider roles. Boys played the roles of Aggressor and Victim significantly more frequently. The children’s Participant Role was found to be related to their sociometric status. Progress in the measurement of peer harassment as a group process and the success of intervention strategies may depend on finding clearer distinctions among the different peer roles, mobilizing peer pressure, and isolating aggressors from their social support (AU)

[Peer harassment in primary school: the role of peers and its relationship with sociometric status]. / Violencia entre iguales en Educación Primaria: el papel de los compañeros y su relación con el estatus sociométrico.

During the last decade, there has been a change in peer harassment research from a focus on the characteristics of the Aggressor-Victim dyad to the recognition of peer harassment as a whole group process, with most of children playing some kind of role. This study uses a shortened adaptation of the Participant-Role Questionnaire approach to identify these roles in 2,050 Spanish children aged 8 to 13 years. These Participant Roles were related to belonging to one of the five sociometric status groups. Factor analysis revealed four different roles, indicating that the adapted scale remains a reliable way of distinguishing the Aggressor, Victim, Defender of the victim, and Outsider roles. Boys played the roles of Aggressor and Victim significantly more frequently. The children's Participant Role was found to be related to their sociometric status. Progress in the measurement of peer harassment as a group process and the success of intervention strategies may depend on finding clearer distinctions among the different peer roles, mobilizing peer pressure, and isolating aggressors from their social support.