Elizabeth Englander

Spinning Our Wheels: Improving Our Ability to Respond to Bullying and Cyberbullying

Bullying is physical and or psychological abuse perpetuated by one powerful child upon another, with the intention to harm or dominate. Bullying and aggression in schools has reached epidemic proportions. Abusive bullying behaviors begin in elementary school, peak during middle school, and begin to subside in high school. Bullying behaviors are associated with catastrophic violence. Cyberbullying has emerged as one result of the increasingly online social life in which modern teens and children engage. Mediation may be inappropriate. The only safety mechanism that children will ultimately retain is the one between their ears.

Is Bullying a Junior Hate Crime? Implications for Interventions

Hate crimes and bullying behaviors among children have similarities. Both often focus on “different” individuals as preferred targets, such as those from controversial groups (e.g., homosexuals). Thus, unequal power exists between a bully and his or her victim, and this dynamic precludes the use of equal-power interventions such as mediation. A second similarity is a lack of basic respect for all persons and the subsequent justification of violence against a particular person or group. A third similarity is the predominance of these behaviors among young (juvenile) offenders. These similarities between hate crimes and bullying in children may inform bullying-prevention efforts. Programs need to reduce bullying behaviors by focusing on tolerance of differences, the promotion of positive attitudes toward diversity, and negative attitudes toward hate-based victimization of people who may be different from the mainstream. The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Centers Anti-Bullying Program provides a model for this approach.

Pressured Sexting and Revenge Porn in a Sample of Massachusetts Adolescents

Digital communications are largely used for positive interactions but can also be a vehicle for harassment. Previous research has made is clear that sexting occurs, at times, because of peer pressure. This study examined pressured sexting and the unauthorized release of images in a cross-sectional sample studied in 2013-15. The convenience sample examined 1,320 students in Massachusetts. Over the years, more students admitted to sexting, but fewer reported any degree of pressure to sext. More than a third of sexters in 2014 and almost half of sexters in 2015 reported that the picture had been released without their consent. Interestingly, this did not seem to occur primarily within established relationships; instead, it seemed to target most often sexters who declined to date someone. Unauthorized distribution was related to several risk factors, including younger-aged sexters, those who sexted to multiple recipients, and those who were pressured into sexting initially.

Risky Business: Talking with Your Patients About Cyberbullying and Sexting

This article reviews cyberbullying and sexting research and presents new research exploring relatively neglected areas of cyberbullying and cell phone ownership among children and outcomes following sexting in college. Two samples are studied: 4584 elementary school children and 1332 college freshman. Findings include: owning a cell phone increased the risk of becoming involved in cyberbullying in grades 3, 4, and 5; and, of college freshman who sexted, 61% reported no outcomes, 19% reported negative outcomes, 13% reported positive outcomes, and 7% reported mixed outcomes. This information may be useful when considering discussing these digital technology risks with patients.

A model for providing bullying prevention programs to K-12 education while training future educators

Abstract The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center is an academic center located on a public university campus and staffed by faculty and students. The Center provides high-quality, evidence-based programming for students, educators, and other community members involved in K-12 education. The focus is on understanding and preventing social problems among children, with a particular emphasis on bullying, cyberbullying, and digital communications. The Center and available programming are described. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered through informal and formal research methodologies are presented and suggestions made for future evaluation efforts are discussed. cyberbullying, bullying, evidence-based, prevention, primary school (or elementary and middle school), secondary school (or high school), professional development, service learning, University model, high-status peers.

A comparison of attributions, self-esteem, anxiety, and parental attachment in sexually abused and non-abused Korean children

ABSTRACT This study attempts to address the dearth of information about child sexual abuse (CSA) and psychological functioning in Korean children by measuring the psychological impact of sexual abuse on children in South Korea. The original data were collected on 92 sexually abused children (age 13 or younger) who underwent medical forensic interviews and psychological evaluations prior to treatment. This study collected additional data reflecting specific psychological evaluations from a control group drawn from five randomly chosen elementary schools. The psychological impact on the group of sexually abused children was compared to the control group via the assessment of four major psychological diagnostic criteria: (1) Child Attribution Perception Scale (CAPS), (2) Self-Esteem Scale (SES), (3) Parental Behavior Scale-Child reporting (PBS), and (4) State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Children (STAI-C). Using structural equation modeling, the findings indicated that the abused and control-group children differed significantly on these four psychological criteria. Policy recommendations addressing victim, parent, and health provider needs are reviewed.