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No presente artigo, apresentamos um panorama acerca da teoria da crença no mundo justo e da socialização legal, objetivando expor uma visão geral das perspectivas de estudos e suas aproximações para compreender como crianças e adolescentes legitimam as autoridades e dão sentido ao cumprimento das regras a partir da crença na justiça. O artigo apresenta uma análise da literatura dividida em três eixos: exposição da socialização legal como campo de pesquisa que investiga a internalização de normas e regras sociais, a formação de confiança nas autoridades e o desenvolvimento de atitudes e comportamentos em relação às leis; apresentação da teoria da crença no mundo justo, cujo intuito consiste em identificar os mecanismos pelos quais os indivíduos elaboram as noções de justiça; e discussão sobre como as percepções da justiça podem influenciar as relações das crianças com as autoridades e mobilizar diferentes atitudes diante de normas e leis. Com base nas evidências apresentadas, concluímos que uma elevada crença no mundo justo aumenta o nível de cooperação com as autoridades, uma vez que os indivíduos são motivados pelas expectativas de tratamentos justos e de esforços recompensados

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of school relationships in shaping students' character development in middle childhood. Students and teachers completed surveys on student-teacher relationships, peer relationships, social-emotional learning (SEL), parent-teacher communication, and character strengths of fairness, hope, bravery, teamwork, self-regulation, social responsibility, and prosocial leadership. Participants were 1881 Brazilian children in fourth or fifth grade across 288 classrooms and 60 schools. Data were analyzed using a multi-level model framework. Higher student-student relationships were associated with higher starting scores of character strengths paired with a stronger increase among classes whose relationships improved over time. Higher quality student-teacher relationships were associated with a larger increase in character strengths among boys. Teachers' usage of SEL strategies, student-teacher relationships and student peer relationships were important predictors of both classroom baselines and the change in character strengths across time. Most of the existing literature on character strengths is based on older adolescent samples from affluent countries and with little Latin American representation. This study supports existing literature on the relevancy of character strengths in the educational context, but adds the importance of seeing it as a contextual and relational outcome.

Positive perceptions of school climate are associated with lower frequency of peer victimization and aggression in children. Understanding "how" school climate influences aggression and victimization is essential to guiding school-level interventions to enhance character strengths such as social responsibility. In this short-term longitudinal study, we test a theoretical model arguing that children's social responsibility mediates the links between their positive perceptions of school climate (comprised of authoritative disciplinary classroom structure, classroom support, and teachers' use of social-emotional learning [SEL] strategies) and changes in their reports of victimization and aggression, in a sample of Brazilian students in Grades 4 and 5 (N = 1,850). Findings gave some support to our model, particularly in the prediction of aggression. Children's perceived social responsibility mediated the effects of positive school climate in predicting declines in aggressive behaviors. Specifically, teachers' use of SEL strategies and classrooms with more structure and support predicted lower levels of aggression through increases in students' social responsibility. In addition, social responsibility mediated the association between teachers' use of social emotional strategies and declines in victimization. The direct effect of classroom support on victimization was also significant.

The current study investigated the relationships between bonding social capital, perceptions of justice, and well-being (i.e. the level of depressive symptoms endorsed) in middle and high school students. Previous research has found personal belief in a just world (BJW) and bonding social capital to be associated with positive student well-being outcomes; however, prior research has not yet examined the relationships between these three variables simultaneously. Students from four schools (N = 602) completed questionnaires to better understand the relationships between bonding social capital, personal BJW, and well-being, and how these variables differ based on racial and socioeconomic background. Of note, the questionnaire included one narrative response question to better understand the sources that influence perceptions of justice. There were racial and/or socioeconomic differences in all three variables. Students from racially and/or socioeconomically privileged backgrounds reported significantly higher bonding social capital, higher personal BJW, and/or more positive well-being outcomes. Students' families and their own lived experiences (i.e. past negative experiences) were cited most frequently as impacting perceptions of justice on the narrative response question. Finally, personal BJW partially mediated the relationship between bonding social capital and well-being. Data from the narrative responses and the mediating effect of personal BJW highlight the importance of students' interactions with their immediate environments in shaping perceptions of justice and well-being.

Substantial research has established the connection between students' beliefs in a just world (BJW) and their perceptions of and behaviors in the school. While much of that research has acknowledged that the relationship between BJW and school variables must be bi-directional, little empirical evidence exists on how the school climate shapes students' perceptions of justice. This study draws from a comprehensive sample of Brazilian students from third through twelfth grade (n = 18,514) across 122 public schools in Southern Brazil. Results reveal that school climate variables account for 12.1-19.6% of the variance of students' BJW, with middle school being a time of strongest influence. Perceptions of rule fairness, student--student relationships, and positive and socio-emotional learning techniques were significant predictors across all grade levels. Additional analyses revealed that teachers' positive and socio-emotional techniques can act as a moderator between school climate and students' BJW. The results provide more tangible ways to integrate just world research into the educational context by bridging the gap between school climate research and just world theory. This study provides empirical data for the bidirectionality of BJW and school context and opens the discussion on how the school sets students' future expectations of justice.

Recent research has established the importance of children and adolescents developing a growth mindset for future success and motivation. This research tests believes about fairness, adult trust, and school climate that are theoretically foundational for establishing a cognitive connection between effort and outcome. Regressions and MANOVAS were conducted to understand the direct and indirect relationships between perceptions of justice, adult trust, school climate and growth mindsets.The first study included 363 children from Brazilian public schools and the findings supported our hypothesis that adult trust partially mediates the relationship between justice perceptions and growth mindset. The second study included an adolescent sample (n = 497) from more diverse backgrounds and included a measure of institutional mindset. In this study, school fairness and solidarity mediated the relationship between perceptions of justice on institutional growth mindset. This research can help inform educators and researchers of other constructs necessary to foster a growth mindset.

Most research on justice perceptions stems from high‐income contexts, even though most youth grow up in contexts of inequality and injustice. This study examines the development of justice perceptions in 659 Brazilian adolescents (51.3% male; 45.2% White) in São Paulo across 3 years, ages 12, 13, and 14. Perceptions of justice of the world declined with age and perceived justice in one's personal life differed across ethnic, economic, and educational groups. Privileged groups differentiated more between their evaluations of the world and their personal lives. K‐means clustering revealed five trajectories of justice beliefs, which significantly differed across school type, race/ethnicity, and income levels. Evidence suggests that personal belief in a just world reflects known social group inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Justice is at the center of many definitions of character across various lines of research, yet there is little empirical research on how the justice of contexts can foster character virtues. The current study draws from a sample of 1,865 Brazilian fourth and fifth graders across two time points in 60 schools (42.7% White; 48.3% male). A multilevel structural equation model demonstrated the mediating role that justice beliefs play between authoritative school climate and socio-emotional learning, and the character virtues of bravery, fairness, and prosocial leadership even after accounting for grade, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). This study highlights the importance of understanding the contextual justice of children's environments on the development of character virtues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from just world theory and system justification theory, this study explores how privileged status influences perceptions of justice. Data from 475 Brazilian adolescents across three schools shed light on how adolescents' social demographics (ethnicity, education, and income) influence their perceptions of fairness. Adolescents from higher income or educational privilege backgrounds had higher personal belief in a just world (BJW), and better perceptions of legal authorities, but lower general BJW. The opposite was true for less privileged adolescents, indicating that those from lower income homes are less likely to differentiate between personal and general BJW. Contrary to the hypothesis, ethnicity was not a significant variable, but the results were in the expected direction. This research is discussed under the framework of system justification theory and just world theory and provides insight into how the theories complement each other in socially unequal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to capture a snapshot of the lives of Brazilian preadolescents and gain a deeper understanding of the variables that influence compliance with parental rules. This analysis draws from the São Paulo Legal Socialization Study, a cohort study (N = 800; age = 11 years) from public and private schools. Descriptive statistics provide a perspective on normative Brazilian parenting practices and preadolescents' perceptions of parental legitimacy across multiple domains. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that procedural justice, global legitimacy, issue-specific legitimacy, and disciplinary techniques all significantly predicted compliance across issues and between preadolescents. Parents who used constructive disciplinary practices paired with procedural justice practices were more likely to be perceived as legitimate authorities and to have their preadolescent children comply with their rules. Our findings broaden the literature on constructive parenting practices in preadolescence, and allow for greater generalizability of current Western research to a diverse metropolitan setting in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of justice have been extensively researched within just world theory as both defensive coping mechanisms and as personal resources. This paper advocates for more programmatic efforts to be devoted to understanding perceptions of justice as rational reflections of individual access to justice. Justice Capital is conceptualised here as an individual difference based on status, microsystem authorities, effort-effect pipeline, voice, and society. These dimensions can overlap and operate on both personal and systemic levels. It is a form of capital to experience the effect of one's actions, to be treated fairly by authorities, to self-advocate, and to live in a society that has a higher justice baseline. Currently, just-world theory correlational research alternates between its positive and negative effects and between viewing belief in a just world as a predictor or as an outcome. For research to move forward productively in this field, researchers must articulate and investigate when self-evaluations of justice are rational reflections of participants' individual access to justice and connect research to existing injustices. This paper points to existing evidence of a Justice Capital interpretation and suggests how this construct can advance the theory into new directions of empirical research., (© 2021 International Union of Psychological Science.)