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Background: Children who come from families on welfare or government assistance might be at risk for bullying involvement. As research has shown, children living in poverty and experiencing family economic hardship are significantly likely to be involved in bullying in school. Objective: This study investigates whether welfare assistance is associated with children's bullying victimization and perpetration, controlling for the covariates including mother (educational level, marital status, employment status, perceived parenting) and child (sex, age, race/ethnicity) characteristics. The study also explores whether various kinds of welfare assistance programs, such as Medicaid, Cash Assistance, SNAP, free/reduced breakfasts or lunches at school and the WIC program are independently associated with children's bullying victimization and perpetration, controlling for the covariates. Method: Participants were 15,010 caregivers of children, ages 6-11 years, who completed the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). Results: Results suggest that children receiving welfare assistance were more likely to be victims and perpetrators of bullying than children not on assistance. All of the welfare assistance variables were associated with increased odds of bullying perpetration, and three out of five welfare assistance programs--Medicaid, SNAP, and free/reduced breakfasts or lunches at school were statistically significantly associated with increased odds of bullying victimization. Conclusion: Children in families receiving welfare assistance appear to be at an increased risk of being both victims and perpetrators of bullying, which suggests a need for bullying programming for this population.

Guided by the social-ecological perspective, we examined familial, peer, and school-related predictors of bullying victimization among a large sample of U.S. White, Black, and biracial adolescents. Data were drawn from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study, drawn from adolescents who self-identified as White, Black, or biracial. Of the total sample, 3211 were White, 1188 were Black, and 175 were biracial. Adolescents completed measures of bullying victimization, perceptions of family relations, peer relationships, and school connectedness. Biracial students reported more bullying victimization than White and Black students. For biracial adolescents, family affluence off, and negative perceptions of other students were both found to be positively associated with victimization. For Whites, age, difficulty in talking with parents, parents sometimes like me to make my own decision, parents almost never like me to make my own decisions were negatively associated with victimization. On the other hand, talking with friends and negative perceptions of other students were positively associated with victimization. Among Blacks, age, and parents who almost never like me to make my own decisions were negatively associated with victimization. However, a parent who is almost never loving was positively associated with victimization. Implications for future research and school-based practice are provided.

Objectives Adolescents' exposure to violence between parents acts as a precursor to risky behaviors; however, empirical studies that examined the potential pathways from exposure to violence between parents to risky behaviors are rare. Consequently, the prevention and intervention strategies for risky sexual activities are limited without the identification of malleable mediators. Methods Mediators on the association between adolescent exposure to parental fighting and risky sexual activities are examined, which include internalizing behaviors, running away from home, and affiliation with risky peers. Relationships between these variables are examined for males and females separately. The sample consists of 673 adolescents in a neighborhood located in Chicago's Southside who completed a survey. Results Exposure to parental fighting was not directly associated with risky sexual activities for either males or females. However, among females, exposure to parental fighting was significantly and positively related to internalizing behaviors and running away from home, and internalizing behaviors were also positively associated with running away from home. For males, however, only the association between internalizing behaviors and running away from home was found to be significant. Further, the relationship between exposure to parental fighting and risky sexual activities was mediated by running away from home. Conclusions Targeted strategies for prevention are critical for improving sexual health outcomes among adolescents in low-resourced urban neighborhoods., Author(s): Jun Sung Hong [sup.1] , Jingu Kim [sup.2] , Jane J. Lee [sup.3] , Mieko Yoshihama [sup.4] , Dorothy L. Espelage [sup.5] , Dexter R. Voisin [sup.6] Author Affiliations: [...]

Adolescent bullying is a concern for adolescents, parents, teachers, school officials, and the general public. The purpose of the study is to apply Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems perspective and explore factors that are correlated with bullying perpetration and victimization among 638 urban African American adolescents in Chicago's Southside. Bullying victimization and perpetration are found to be influenced by microsystem-level factors, such as exposure to delinquent peers, teacher support, and neighborhood disorganization. An intervention strategy that involves teachers is particularly important. Anti-bullying intervention and prevention programs in urban schools need to account for the unique situations of urban African American adolescents.

The current study aims to fill the existing research gaps by investigating the role of teacher care in protecting African American adolescents in under-resourced neighborhoods from negative outcomes of adverse life events. The study included 638 adolescents from four under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago's Southside who were assessed to determine the moderating role of caring teachers on the relationship between adverse adolescent experiences and risky sexual behaviors, substance use, bullying perpetration, and violent behaviors. Caring teachers had a significant moderating effect on the association between adverse experiences and both bullying perpetration and violent behaviors. Adolescents who perceived their teachers as caring showed lower tendencies towards bullying and violence, even if they had adverse experiences. These results highlight the crucial role of teacher care in supporting African American adolescents from under-resourced neighborhoods who have experienced adverse life events. It emphasizes educators' role in shaping our youth's future, especially those facing adversity and at a crossroads in their lives. Plain language summary: Despite adverse life events, adolescents who perceived their teachers as caring were less at risk of engaging in bullying and violence. Caring teachers are especially important for African American adolescents in under-resourced neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children from single‐parent families typically face severe developmental risks, especially those with prior experience in child abuse. This study aimed to investigate the child abuse experience and social competence of children from single‐parent families and discuss the possible mediation effect of resilience in Mainland China. This study analysed 431 single‐parent children samples collected in China (50% females, Mage = 13.10). Group comparison analyses were conducted to illustrate group differences in social competence between single‐parent children with and without child abuse experience. In addition, path analyses were conducted to examine the mediation effect of resilience between child abuse and social competence. This study findings indicated that single‐parent children with physical and emotional abuse experience did not perform significantly worse in social competence, but those with emotional neglect were found to do worse. Resilience fully mediated the effect of physical abuse and partially mediated the effect of emotional neglect on single‐parent children's social competence, while it did not mediate the impact of emotional abuse. This study contributes to understanding the mechanisms between child abuse, social competence and resilience of children from single‐parent families in Mainland China. The findings have implications for social services for single‐parent children who are abused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For antinuclear antibody (ANA) screening, the gold standard method is an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) using HEp-2 cells, and a serial dilution test is needed to determine the endpoint titer. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the estimated endpoint titer (eEPT) by the NOVA View system, by comparing it with the EPT by the serial dilution method (dEPT). The endpoint titers of a total of 1518 ANA positive cases with five major patterns including speckled, homogeneous, centromere, nucleolar, and nuclear dots patterns were determined using both the estimation function and the serial dilution method by the NOVA View system. A significant correlation between the light intensity unit (LIU) values and dEPTs was identified in all five patterns with high ρ values, ranging from 0.666 to 0.832. However, the overall exact match rate between dEPT and eEPT was 22.1% (336/1518), with the ±one-titer match rate being highest in the centromere pattern (62.8%, 81/129), and lowest in the homogeneous pattern (37.6%, 200/532). This suggests that while LIU values correlate well with dEPT, there are discrepancies in numerical agreement. Most cases that did not show an exact match, showed one-to-three-titer overestimations by eEPT. Therefore, adjusting eEPT downward significantly improved the concordance rates with dEPTs. Further investigation for an appropriate cutoff of LIU values for determining eEPT should be performed for clinical application and contribution to the standardization of the ANA titer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peer victimization is experienced by an alarming number of youth. A variety of coping strategies may be used by youth to avoid the risk of peer victimization, including behaviors such as avoidance, displaying a tough demeanor, defensive behaviors, establishing a reputation, and forming affiliations with family and community members. However, little research has examined how these coping strategies are simultaneously associated with peer victimization experiences. Objective: The present study explored how these five coping strategies were associated with peer victimization among African American youth living in low-income urban communities, a group of youth at risk for high levels of exposure to violence and victimization. It was hypothesized that more use of these strategies would be associated with less peer victimization. Method: The study comprised of 534 African American youth from low-income communities located in Chicago's Southside. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify which coping strategies, when assessed simultaneously, were associated with a lower risk of peer victimization. Results: Results indicated that defensive behavior was negatively associated with peer victimization. Higher levels of tough demeanor and affiliation with family and community members were associated with higher levels of peer victimization. Coping strategies of avoidance and establishing a reputation were not significantly associated with peer victimization. Conclusion: Peer affiliation does not always contribute to positive outcomes, particularly among adolescents in urban areas. A further examination of the coping strategies and socialization processes of urban African American youth in low-resourced communities is warranted.

Children and adolescents who are overweight or obese are at a heightened risk of bullying involvement. The aim of the literature review is to review empirical research on weight-based bullying published between 2006 and 2016. Extant research was categorised by the following themes: (1) prevalence of weight-based bullying and peer victimisation; (2) weight-based outcomes of bullying and peer victimisation; (3) bullying outcomes of weight gain and obesity; and (4) psychosocial distress and outcomes associated with weight-based bullying. Findings from the studies reviewed suggest that the prevalence of bullying is high in children who are overweight or obese. Moreover, longitudinal studies revealed that childhood bullying experiences can increase the risk of health problems, including weight gain and obesity. Further, children who are overweight or obese are at a heightened risk of bullying and peer victimisation. Finally, weight-based bullying experiences were found to be related to psychosocial problems, including lower motivation for physical activity, higher avoidance and emotional coping strategies, low self-esteem, and academic problems. Implications for practice are also discussed.

Guided by the social-ecological perspective, this study aims to explore how various social climates are associated with school motivation and the future orientation of 597 African American adolescents. We examined the direct and indirect effects of parent factors and school climate on future orientation through school motivation. School motivation was positively associated with a future orientation. Perceived parental expectations and teacher support were positively associated with their school motivation. However, bullying victimization was not negatively associated with school motivation, although greater perceived parental engagement and bullying victimization showed a more positive future orientation. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.

The purpose of the study is to explore whether the association between types of parenting styles and bullying and victimization are similar across White American, U.S.-born Asian, and foreign-born Asian adolescents. Authoritative parenting, which is characterized as being supportive and showing acceptance, is positively related to psychological well-being among White American youth. However, due to different cultural norms in parenting style, Asian parents whose parenting style appears to be controlling and lacking in warmth might differentially affect their children's behavior and socialization in school. Sample was drawn from the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) U.S. study. The most recent data were collected in the United States from 2009 to 2010. HBSC consisted of adolescents, aged 11, 13, and 15 years. The sample for the present study includes 1438 adolescents who identified as White American, U.S.-born Asian, or foreign-born Asian. Univariate analyses, bivariate analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. The regression analysis was conducted separately for bullying victimization and perpetration across foreign-born Asians, U.S.-born Asians, and White Americans. Among foreign-born Asians, mother's non-involvement was positively associated with bullying victimization. Among U.S.-born Asians, father's non-involvement was found to be positively associated with bullying victimization, and authoritarian parenting was positively associated with perpetration. Among White Americans, both authoritative parenting and mother's non-involvement were positively related to bullying perpetration. This study highlights the importance of understanding the association between types of parenting styles and adolescent bullying and victimization., Author(s): Jun Sung Hong [sup.1] , Dong Ha Kim [sup.2] , Ellen W. deLara [sup.3] , Hsi-Sheng Wei [sup.4] , Anh Prisner [sup.1] , Nicholas Benjamin Alexander [sup.1] Author Affiliations: [...]

The aim of the present study was to explore whether protective factors, such as ease of communication with parents, siblings, and best friends; parental awareness of student's friends and activities; higher numbers of best friends; positive perceptions of school climate; and teachers' opinion of student's academic performance, would buffer the link between peer victimization and weapon-carrying behavior among US adolescents. Data were derived from the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study in the US. A total of 12,642 US adolescents were included in the study sample. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and ordinary least squares regression. Partially supporting our hypothesis, we found that only mother's awareness of students' friends and activities ameliorated the effect of peer victimization on weapon-carrying behavior. In other words, bullied adolescents whose mothers were aware of their friends and activities were less likely to carry weapons. Mothers' awareness of their child's friends, behaviors, and activities is an important form of parental monitoring, and their involvement may protect their children from weapon-carrying behavior after experiencing victimization.

A growing body of research is exploring the affects school disorder has on educational progress. It is also known that educational success and failure are linked to gender, racial, and ethnic disparities. Other issues, however, remain less explored. For example, how do perceptions of individual adolescents about disorder affect behavior? Or whether or how school-level physical and social disorder are related to gender, racial, and ethnic disparities. Do any of these factors affect the likelihood of dropping out? This study draws from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, with a focus on a subsample consisting of Black/African American, Latina/o American, Asian American, Native American, multiracial American, and White American public school students in 580 public schools. We analyze the role school disorder has on dropping out, among racial and ethnic minority adolescents. The results suggest that, in general, school disorder has greater influence among racial and ethnic minority youth.

The present study applied the social-ecological framework to explore factors associated with adolescents' experiences in bullying victimization in Taiwanese middle schools. Data include a random sample of 1,262 students, ages 13-15, from 43 middle schools in Taiwan's New Taipei City. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was utilized to analyze the data, which included hierarchical and nested structures, such as individual and area level variables. Descriptive statistics and basic inferential analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses that individual (delinquency), family (parental monitoring), school (teacher support and teacher/staff punishment), community (community environment), and area levels (poverty rate) were associated with bullying victimization. Findings reveal that individual (Grade 7, conduct problems), school (teacher/staff punishment), community environment, and criminal activities had significant effects on bullying victimization in Taiwan. Implications for practice are discussed.

Violence and disorder occurring within schools have received increased attention and scrutiny over the years; however, few have explored how violence and school disorder are influencing the children of immigrants' likelihood of dropping out. The current study draws from a segmented assimilation framework to explore if and how the associations between violence, disorder, and school dropout vary across immigration generations. Data are drawn from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, and the sample for this study consists of 9,870 first- (N = 1,170, 12%), second- (N = 1,540, 16%), and third-plus (N = 1,117, 73%) generation public school students (N = 5,050; 51% female) in 580 public schools. Results indicate that school violence and disorder disrupt the educational progress of adolescents within immigrant families. Additionally, there are distinct racial and ethnic patterns in the link between school violence, disorder, and dropping out. The nuances of these findings and the implications for future research are discussed.

The aim of the current study was to longitudinally investigate the bi-directional relationship between moral disengagement and bullying perpetration in a sample of 1,354 students from 108 elementary classes in 69 public schools. Students participated in the study both at Time 1 (fourth grade) and around one year later at Time 2 (fifth grade). Structural equation model analyses showed that bullying perpetration at Time 1 predicted moral disengagement at Time 2, when controlling for moral disengagement stability over time. In addition, we found that moral disengagement at Time 1 also predicted bullying perpetration at Time 2, when controlling for bullying perpetration at Time 1. These findings suggest that teachers, school staff, and professionals should consider interventions that address moral disengagement when working with children involved in bullying.

The study proposes and tests the pathways from receiving welfare assistance to children's bullying victimization. Specifically, the study examines whether children's difficulty making friends and school disconnection mediate the association between welfare assistance receipt to children's bullying victimization. The 2019 National Survey of Children's Health dataset was used, and the sample consisted of 12,230 caregivers of adolescents, aged 12–17 years. A path model was utilized to explore the proposed pathways. Findings suggest that welfare assistance receipt was not significantly associated with children's bullying victimization. It was positively related to children's bullying victimization through the mediating roles of having difficulty making friends and school disconnection. Schools and communities need to create spaces where youth can connect with peers, which is an important part of their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, bullying research has focused on identifying protective factors associated with bullying involvement (e.g., victim, perpetrator) and adverse outcomes. In this study, religiosity was examined as a protective factor in the relationship between bullying involvement and friends' delinquency among a large sample of low-income urban African American adolescents (N = 753). Analysis of the cross-sectional data indicated that bullying perpetration, victimization, and victimization/perpetration were positively associated with greater friends' delinquency. Further, adolescents who bullied others were less likely to report having friends engaging in delinquency when they reported attending church or other religious services. Also, adolescents who reported both victimization and perpetration of bullying, who placed great importance on religious or spiritual beliefs, were less likely to associate with friends engaging in delinquency. This study demonstrates how religiosity should be considered in bullying prevention and intervention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family violence and youth violence have received a significant amount of research attention over the years. A large body of research findings has substantiated a significant association between experiences in family violence, such as maltreatment and exposure to parental violence, and youth violence, such as bullying, fighting, dating violence, gang violence. In honor of the late Dr. Anna Costanza Baldry, this special issue brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines (psychology, criminal justice, social work, and health science) to explore how family violence and youth violence are interrelated., Author(s): Jun Sung Hong [sup.1] , Benjamin W. Fisher [sup.2] , Dorothy L. Espelage [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.254444.7, 0000 0001 1456 7807, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, [...]

Violence against children is a worldwide problem, and a large body of research demonstrates both short-term and long-term negative outcomes. The present study employs structural equation modeling to examine the pathways from parents' use of corporal punishment and childhood adverse experiences to depression and substance use in adulthood. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 944 students (M.sub.age = 19.16, 69% females) attending ten public universities in 27 Ukrainian regions. The model provided a good fit for the data: [chi].sup.2 (59, N = 944) = 189.49, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.048. Higher scores on adverse childhood experiences (ACE) maltreatment items (psychological, physical and sexual abuse during childhood; b = .26, p < .001) were associated with higher depression during adulthood. Higher depression scores were linked with higher multiple substance use (b = .17, p < .001). Childhood adverse experiences had significant standardized indirect effect, mediated by depression, on adulthood involvement in substance use (b = 0.043, p < 0.01). Findings from this research suggest that young adults in Ukraine who remember being maltreated as children have a higher risk to develop depression and engage in substance use as adults., Author(s): Viktor Burlaka [sup.1] , Jun Sung Hong [sup.1] , Iuliia Churakova [sup.2] , Oleksii Serdiuk [sup.3] , Volodymyr Proskura [sup.4] , Dmytro Shvets [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.254444.7, 0000 [...]