This study investigated the evolving relations between peer victimization and social/emotional difficulties in middle to late childhood. Peer assessments of peer victimization and social/emotional difficulties (aggressive behavior, social withdrawal, and emotional vulnerability) were collected over 4 years for 1,035 children attending Grades 3-6…

We examined whether the bystanders' behaviors in bullying situations influence vulnerable students' risk for victimization. The sample consisted of 6,980 primary school children from Grades 3-5, who were nested within 378 classrooms in 77 schools. These students filled out Internet-based questionnaires in their schools' computer labs. The results…

Contextual differences in the association between different forms of aggressive behavior and victimization were studied with a sample of 197 boys and 149 girls from mixed-sex schools and in 336 girls from all-girl schools (M = 10.21 years of age) in two cities in Colombia. Results showed that boys generally engage in more physical than relational…

This study examined early elementary school children's trajectories of peer victimization with a sample of 218 boys and girls. Peer victimization was assessed (via peer report) in kindergarten and first, second, and fifth grades. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine multiple types of relationships (mother-child, student-teacher,…

Children's relational schemas have been found to account for, and moderate, links between peer victimization and psychosocial difficulties. The present study extends this research by examining whether children's mental representations of their teachers' responses to students' peer harassment moderate associations between peer victimization and…

The relations among peer victimization, effortful control, school engagement, and academic achievement were examined in a group of 390 (212 boys and 178 girls) racially diverse (38.20% Latino and 46.70% White) 6- to 10-year-old children. Specifically, a multimethod, multi-informant approach was used in which data were gathered using self-report,…

This study examined concurrent and longitudinal associations among peer victimization, peer status, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (i.e., suicidal ideation and nonsuicidal self-injury [NSSI]) over a 2-year period. A community sample of 493 adolescents (51% girls) in Grades 6-8 participated in the study. Participants completed measures…

This study investigated why some adolescents who are victimized through peer bullying are more negatively impacted than others. Drawing from research on peer victimization and suicidology, two theoretically derived models were investigated, one examining social hopelessness as a risk factor, the other examining social support as a protective…

The eight contributions to this special issue provide an informative focus on many aspects of peer-based victimization in schools. Often using sophisticated quantitative and analytic procedures, they advance our knowledge in several important domains, pointing out important contextual variables, interactions, and mediating factors in the negative…

This study examined the development of flexibility and abstraction in preschool children by using a newly designed Pattern Completion Task (PCT) and the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST). In the PCT, children were presented with an incomplete pattern consisting of different-colored shapes and were asked to select the colored shape that…

This project examines the adjustment sequelae of perceived popularity beyond high school, and the moderating role of relational aggression (RA) in this process. Yearly sociometric measures of popularity and RA were gathered across grades 9-12 for a sample of 264 adolescents in a lower-middle-class high school. In addition, data on post-high school…

We examined individual differences in shame responding in early childhood and predictive relations with shame proneness in middle childhood. Child shame responding, parental shaming, and child temperamental inhibition were assessed at Time 1 (n = 225, aged 3-4 years), shame responding was reassessed at Time 2 (n = 199, aged 5-7 years), and shame…

The influence of using substances with friends on future individual use was examined in the context of parental monitoring rules and the ecology of peer activities. A 1-year longitudinal study design included a combined sample of North Italian and French Canadian adolescents (N = 285, 53% girls, M = 14.25 years). Data analyses were conducted using…

The transition to primary school is an important time for both children and parents. The aim of this randomized controlled study was to assess the effectiveness of a Transition to Primary School Parent Program in strengthening parent knowledge and confidence to manage the transition process, increasing parent involvement in their children's…

The broad objective of the study was to understand better anxiety among adolescents in Kolkata city, India. Specifically, the study compared anxiety across gender, school type, socio-economic background and mothers' employment status. The study also examined adolescents' perceptions of quality time with their parents. A group of 460 adolescents…