Victimization and depressive symptoms in early adolescence: The role of perceived school climate.

Nearly 4 million adolescents in the United States experience clinical depression, and this alarming rate has increased in recent years. Adolescents' perceptions of their school's climate may moderate the association between victimization and depressive symptoms, including suicidality; however, it is unclear whether perceived school climate would act as a buffer or intensifier of the association between victimization and depressive symptoms. The present study examined how different types of victimization (traditional, cyber, and homophobic) are associated with depressive symptoms in middle schoolers (N = 1,151), and whether these associations are buffered or exacerbated by how adolescents perceive school climate. Multiple moderated regression analyses revealed traditional and cyber victimization were significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas homophobic victimization was not directly associated with depressive symptoms. Further, perceived school climate moderated these associations, exacerbating the link between cyber victimization and depressive symptoms, and buffering the link between homophobic victimization and depression. Results support the importance of middle schoolers' perceptions of school climate in understanding the associations between victimization experiences and depressive symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent mental health profiles through a latent dual-factor approach.

The dual-factor model of mental health emphasizes the integration of subjective well-being and psychopathology to obtain a complete conceptualization of mental health. When used in schoolwide screenings, this dual-factor approach provides a more comprehensive picture of students' mental health. In a sample of adolescents (N = 404) attending a Midwestern U.S. middle school (Grades 6-8), the current study empirically identified mental health groups through latent profile analysis (LPA) and examined how profile membership was predicted by various demographic variables, academic achievement, general grit, academic grit, and growth mindset. Three mental health profiles emerged: Complete Mental Health (above average life satisfaction and affect, below average internalizing and externalizing problems), Symptomatic but Content (average to above average life satisfaction and affect, above average internalizing and externalizing difficulties), and Troubled (below average life satisfaction and affect, above average internalizing and externalizing difficulties). These profiles partially supported the dual-factor model of mental health, although a vulnerable group was not identified. Gender, SES, racial identity, and IEP status were significant predictors of mental health profile membership. Academic achievement, general grit, academic grit, and growth mindset were also significant predictors of mental health group membership. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed, including how these findings inform school psychological theory and practice.

Bidirectional associations between biased language exposure and school-based relationships across gender.

Students often hear their peers use biased language regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability status in the school setting. Prior research has indicated that biased language is related to school climate, and specifically to school-based relationships between peers and between students and their teachers. This study investigated the longitudinal associations among student-student relationships, teacher-student relationships, and being the target of or hearing biased language in middle school students. Students (N = 501; 46.5% White, 21.8% Hispanic, 13% African American, and 15% Multi-Racial; 48.7% female) reported on how much they were targeted or heard biased language related to race/religion, sexual orientation, and disability status. Students also reported on their relationships with their peers and teachers. Using a cross-lagged panel model with the overall sample, a negative unidirectional association from being the target of or hearing biased language and student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships was identified. Separate models for boys and girls identified unique patterns. For boys, biased-language exposure predicted more negative student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships, whereas for girls, biased-language exposure was not associated with school-based relationships. Implications include addressing language use and building positive student-student and teacher-student relationships.

Deconstructing bullying roles: A longitudinal latent profile analysis of bullying participant behaviors for students in grades 4 through 12.

Bullying behavior is understood as a complex social phenomenon that includes many, and sometimes overlapping, bullying participant behaviors. The current study utilized latent profile analysis (LPA) at two time points approximately one year apart and examined what bullying participant behavior groups emerged based on students' reported levels of bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior. Additionally, longitudinal latent profile analyses (LLPA) were utilized to examine potential changes in groups over time. Results suggested four groups found at two timepoints: (a) Uninvolved-Occasional Defending, with defending at a monthly rate and infrequent engagement in other behaviors; (b) Frequent Defending-Occasional Victimization, with monthly victimization and weekly defending behaviors; (c) Frequent Victimization-Occasional Broad Involvement, with weekly levels of victimization and monthly bullying, defending, and outsider behaviors; and (d) Frequent Broad Involvement, with weekly engagement in all of the bully participant behaviors (i.e., bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior). The largest proportion of students (more than half) were in the Uninvolved-Occasional Defending group, which was also the most stable group over time. The smallest group (7%) was Frequent Broad Involvement, which was the least stable group over time, with students in this group typically moving to groups with at least occasional broad involvement of bullying participant behaviors. More male students than female students were in both broad involvement groups (i.e., Frequent Victimization-Occasional Broad Involvement; Frequent Broad Involvement) and more female students than male students, as well as more elementary students than secondary students, were in the Frequent Defending-Occasional Victimization group. The current study suggests that researchers should use caution when categorizing or conceptualizing simple bullying participant roles such as bully or victim, or even "bully-victim," especially if the other bullying participant behaviors are not assessed. Practitioners should develop interventions that capitalize on the high proportions of students engaging in some level of defending and account for the complex social ecology that suggests that students are engaging in complex overlapping patterns of bullying participant behaviors.

Parent and peer social support compensation and internalizing problems in adolescence.

The general benefits of social support are well-documented; however, little is understood about the unique contributions of social support from specific sources, such as parents and peers. In addition, it is unknown whether social support from some sources might buffer against a lack of social support from another source for the outcome of internalizing problems. The current study investigated two research questions: (a) What is the association between social support from mothers, fathers, classmates, and close friends and internalizing problems for adolescent boys and girls? and (b) Can social support from one source (e.g., mothers) buffer against internalizing problems when social support from another source (e.g., fathers) may be lacking? Do these associations vary by gender? These research questions were examined with a sample of 364 middle school students (61.3% female). Students completed a series of self-report questionnaires assessing social support and internalizing symptoms. Multiple group structural equation models indicated that social support provided general benefits from all sources for early adolescent boys and girls. Regarding stress-buffering with low support as a stressor, no evidence was found for compensation between mothers and fathers. Mother support compensated for low classmate support for both boys and girls and father support compensated for low classmate support for boys. Classmate support compensated for low close friend support for boys. Implications in the context of the school environment for both boys and girls are discussed.

Disability, poverty, and other risk factors associated with involvement in bullying behaviors.

Using a stigma-based bullying framework, the current study investigated how (a) disability status was related to bullying-related behaviors when controlling for gender, grade level, and free or reduced lunch status; (b) gender, grade level, and free or reduced lunch status moderated the associations of disability status with bullying-related behaviors; and (c) classification in specific disability categories was associated with bullying-related behaviors with a sample of 10,483 students (47.8% female) in elementary, middle, and high school. School records data were collected on grade level, gender, free or reduced lunch price status, disability status, and disability category. Students completed the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ), rating five types of bully role behaviors (bullying behavior, assistant behavior, victimization, defending behavior, and outsider behavior). Findings indicated that having a disability was associated with increased victimization, assisting, and defending behavior. Furthermore, disability status interacted in meaningful ways with several demographic factors: (a) females with a disability reported more victimization and reported engaging in more outsider behaviors than females without a disability, (b) elementary students with a disability reported more assisting and less defending behaviors than those without a disability, (c) high school students with a disability reported less bullying and assisting behaviors and more defending behaviors than those without a disability, and (d) students with a disability from low socioeconomic backgrounds reported more bullying and outsider behaviors than students not from lower socioeconomic family backgrounds. When comparing students from specific disability categories to those with no disability, students with an emotional disability reported more assisting, victimization, and outsider behaviors; students with other health impairment reported more assisting, victimization, and defending; students with autism reported less defending and outsider behaviors; and students with a learning disability reported more defending behavior. Exploratory analyses of the effects of school-level factors found that school size (enrollment) was positively related to prevalence of assisting and outsider behavior. The percentage of low-income students in a school was positively associated with the extent of victimization and defending behaviors reported, but negatively associated with the extent of outsider behaviors reported.

Academic Grit Scale: Psychometric properties and associations with achievement and life satisfaction.

After a decade of research, grit has been linked to many adaptive outcomes for adolescents and the development of school-based interventions for promoting adolescents' grit has been recommended. However, a reconceptualization of grit and its measurement may be vital for future grit research and application. The currently predominant grit assessments may be inappropriate for youth populations, yielding evidence of low psychometric properties and variable criterion-related validity. In a sample of adolescents (N = 757) in sixth to eighth grade, the current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Academic Grit Scale, a novel measure of domain-specific grit. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a single-factor structure of the Academic Grit Scale, and evidence of high internal consistency reliability and construct validity was observed. Results indicated positive associations between academic grit and academic achievement, life satisfaction, and school satisfaction. Furthermore, academic grit demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond that of general grit in association with these outcomes. Implications of the findings are discussed, including the potential to inform applied practices in schools and future empirical investigations.

Examining the effects of adult and peer mediated goal setting and feedback interventions for writing: Two studies.

The current study investigated the effects of goal setting and performance feedback on Curriculum Based Measurement in Written Expression (CBM-WE). This two-study investigation examined the utility of the intervention using two different delivery mechanisms. In Study 1, fourth grade students (n=114) were provided both with (a) feedback from their teachers regarding their performance on CBM-WE probes and (b) new weekly goals or no feedback and goals, once a week for a ten-week intervention period. Study 2 examined the effects of this intervention with a sample of fifth grade students (n=106) when feedback and individual goals were provided by peers within their classrooms twice weekly over the course of eight weeks compared to a practice only control condition. Results in both studies indicated that students receiving the goal setting and feedback intervention performed significantly higher on production-dependent writing indices post-intervention than control groups (ES=.12-.28). Implications regarding the usefulness of goal setting and feedback utilizing CBM procedures are discussed.

Students' ratings of teacher support and academic and social-emotional well-being.

Data on students' perceptions of teacher social support, academic functioning, and social-emotional functioning were collected from a sample of 796 7th and 8th grade middle school students using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000), Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and school records, and the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children, Second Edition, Adolescent Version, (BASC-2 SRP-A; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004). The purpose of the current study was to examine possible gender differences in perceptions of the frequency and importance of different types of teacher support and the related academic and social-emotional outcomes. Girls rated Emotional and Appraisal Support as more important than did boys. Teacher Emotional Support was significantly and positively related to grade point average (GPA) for boys and girls. For girls only, Emotional and Informational Support were significantly related to ITBS Reading scores, and Emotional, Informational, and Instrumental Support were significantly related to ITBS Math scores. Regarding social-emotional variables, Emotional Support was significantly and negatively related to School Problems, Internalizing Problems, Inattention/Hyperactivity, and overall Emotional Symptoms and positively related to Personal Adjustment for both boys and girls. Furthermore, Emotional Support from teachers was more strongly related to Inattention/Hyperactivity for girls than boys. These results emphasize the importance of providing teacher social support, especially emotional support, to students in early adolescence and recognizing gender differences in the function of specific types of teacher support.