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Evidence suggests an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, particularly among emerging adults. However, theories on altruism born of suffering or adversarial growth suggest that we might also see prosocial behavior as a function of the pandemic, which may protect against mental health challenges. Because cultural values are central in determining prosocial behavior, the current study explored how cultural values were differentially associated with adaptive prosocial behaviors that might protect against mental health challenges. Participants for the current study included 5,682 young people aged 18–25 years from 14 different countries around the world (68% female, 62% college students). Path analyses suggested that there were few differences in patterns as a function of culture, but revealed that horizontal individualism and horizontal and vertical collectivism were indirectly associated with lower levels of depression via prosocial behavior toward family members. Discussion focuses on the importance of coping by strengthening family relationships via prosocial behavior during the pandemic.

Anti-bullying interventions often assume that knowing how it feels to be bullied increases empathy for victims. However, longitudinal research on actual experiences of bullying and empathy is lacking. This study investigated whether within-person changes in victimization predicted changes in empathy over 1 year using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Self- and peer-reported victimization, and cognitive and affective empathy for victims were measured in a sample of 15,713 Finnish youth (M[subscript age] = 13.23, SD[subscript age] = 2.01, 51.6% female; 92.5% had Finnish-speaking parents; data was collected in 2007-2009 when information about participants' race/ethnicity was not available due to ethical guidelines for the protection of personal information). Results indicated small, positive longitudinal associations from victimization to cognitive empathy. Implications for empathy-raising interventions are discussed.

Defending peers who have been bullied is often thought to put defenders at risk of becoming victimized themselves. The study investigated the concurrent and prospective associations between defending and (peer- and self-reported) victimization, and examined popularity and classroom norms as potential moderators. Participants included 4085 Finnish youth (43.9% boys; M[subscript age] = 14.56, SD = 0.75; 97% born in Finland). Concurrently, defending was positively associated with self-reported victimization in classrooms with high bullying-popularity norms (b = 0.28, SE = 0.16). Defending was negatively associated with peer-reported victimization in classrooms with high defending-popularity norms (b = -0.07, SE = 0.03). Defending was not significantly associated with future victimization, suggesting that it is generally not a risk factor for victimization.

A substantial body of evidence verifies that social-emotional learning (SEL) can be effectively taught in schools and can reduce the prevalence and impact of emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) among children and youth. Although the positive effects of SEL on individual student's emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes have been investigated in some detail in recent years, most studies have focused on evaluating programs aimed at directly training social and emotional competencies with a focus on the individual. Far less is known about the role of interpersonal group dynamics and systems functioning at the levels of the peer group, classroom, and school community. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and Harris's group socialization theory, this article reviews the literature on SEL and group dynamics to identify the ways in which existing SEL frameworks already encapsulate social group processes that contribute to the promotion of positive social-emotional development of children and youth. The goals of this contribution are twofold: (a) to document how EBP can be attenuated by addressing group-level processes that already exist within SEL practices and (b) to provide educators with specific SEL strategies to address group dynamics in their classrooms to optimize outcomes for all students, including students with EBP.

The role of moral disengagement strategies and religiosity related to ethnic and homophobic prejudice were investigated in a sample of 550 Italian secondary school teachers (76.4% female, age range: 20–70; M = 46.18) who completed the teachers' attitudes towards the representation of homosexuality in film and television scale; the Italian version of the moral disengagement scale; the subtle and blatant prejudice scales; and three items to evaluate their religiosity. Evidence suggests that moral disengagement processes matter for subtle ethnic prejudice, but not for blatant ethnic prejudice or homophobic prejudice. Results based on a structural equation model show that teachers who are more prone to use moral disengagement mechanisms have higher levels of subtle ethnic prejudice, while teachers who are older and more religious have higher levels of homophobic prejudice. The results of a multiple group structural equation model showed that high versus low levels of religiosity among teachers did not moderate the strength of these associations. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the impact of peer bystanders on school bullying, this cross-sectional study examined whether student responses to bullying that they witnessed varied as a function of sex and grade. In a school-based survey regarding social experiences at school, Grade 4 to 11 students (N = 9397, 51% male) who reported witnessing bullying (68%) rated how often they had engaged in different bystander responses. Results indicated significant differences across sex and grade level, such that younger students and girls were more likely to report taking positive action than were older students and boys by directly intervening, helping the victim, or talking to an adult. Generally, boys and girls were equally likely to report that they "ignored or avoided the person(s) who bullied" although reports that they "did nothing" increased with grade level. Implications for schoolwide antibullying intervention efforts are discussed. (Contains 3 tables, 6 figures and 2 notes.)

The current study examined how children's relationship with the bully and victim impacted their reactions as bystanders. An ethnically diverse sample of 2,513 Canadian students in grades 4–7 responded to questions about their experiences of bullying, including the frequency with which they witnessed bullying at school. Approximately 89% of the sample reported witnessing bullying at school during the current school year. Subsequently, participants were asked to recall a specific bullying incident that they witnessed and describe: (1) their relationship with the bully and victim; (2) how they felt while witnessing; and (3) how they responded as a bystander. Compared to situations where they didn't know the victim, bystanders were more likely to intervene directly (e.g., try to stop the bully, comfort the victim) if they liked the victim, and less likely to tell an adult if they disliked the victim. Aggressive intervention was more common if the witness didn't like the bully, but also if they didn't like the victim compared to if they didn't know them. Regarding emotions, anger emerged as an especially powerful predictor of bystander defending, with youth being over five times more likely to try to stop the bullying or comfort the victim if they felt angry. Implications of these findings for the development of ecologically valid, anti‐bullying interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]