François Bowen

Are There Detrimental Effects of Witnessing School Violence in Early Adolescence

PURPOSE We prospectively tested the extent to which witnessing school violence predicts psychosocial and school adjustment in students while accounting for their prior psychosocial characteristics and peer victimization. We also explored the role of feelings of insecurity in explaining this relationship. METHODS Questionnaires were administered to 1104 students (52% boys) from five high schools from the Montreal area (Quebec, Canada) at the beginning, middle, and end of seventh grade. Self report measures included sociodemographic characteristics, victimization, witnessing violence, feelings of insecurity, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and measures of engagement, achievement, and truancy as indicators of school adjustment. RESULTS Witnessing school violence was a comparatively better predictor of subsequent externalizing problems and school adjustment than actual victimization. Conversely, relative to having experienced violence as a witness, actual victimization more reliably estimated later internalizing problems. Feelings of insecurity partially explained the development of school engagement and truancy. CONCLUSIONS Our findings underscore the implications of school violence as a public health and safety issue, the consideration of witnessing as important in estimating its impact, and a comprehensive approach when developing and implementing strategies that aim to prevent this form of community violence.

Effects of Friends’ Characteristics on Children’s Social Cognitions

Based on the notion that friends play a fundamental role in children’s social cognitive development, the study investigates the relation between friends’ characteristics (i.e., aggressiveness and prosociality) and children’s interpretation of social cues and generation of responses in hypothetical provocation situations. The study was conducted with a sample of 322 children (155 boys, 167 girls) from first through sixth grade. The results showed that, for older children only, friends’ aggressiveness predicted an increase of the frequency of aggressive solutions, whereas friends’ prosociality predicted an increase of the frequency of pacifistic/prosocial solutions. The latter effect was only true for non-aggressive children, though. The results are discussed in terms of the possible mechanisms underlying the differential effects of friends’ characteristics on children’s social cognition.

Childhood internalizing problems: Prediction from kindergarten, effect of maternal overprotectiveness, and sex differences

Used kindergarten teacher-rated anxiety-withdrawal, peer-rated popularity and shyness, and mother-rated adaptability to predict 5th-grade teacher-, peer-, and self-rated internalizing problems in 144 boys and 125 girls. The effect of maternal overprotectiveness (OP) as a moderator between kindergarten variables and 5th-grade outcomes was also examined. Kindergarten peer-rated low popularity was the best predictor of later internalizing problems for boys and girls, followed by peer-rated shyness for boys and teacher-rated anxiety-withdrawal for girls. Moderating effects of maternal OP were found only for boys. Maternal OP moderated the relation between kindergarten popularity and teacher-rated anxiety-withdrawal and 5th-grade teacher-rated anxiety-withdrawal for boys. Unpopular, anxious-withdrawn boys were more likely to be seen later by their teachers as anxious-withdrawn if their mothers were nonoverprotective.

Reciprocal Associations Between Interpersonal and Values Dimensions of School Climate and Peer Victimization in Elementary School Children

We examine longitudinal relations among childrens and parents’ reports of peer victimization and their perceptions of school climate dimensions reflecting school interpersonal relationships (relationships among children and their teachers and peers, and of parents and principals) and values (fairness and equity of access to resources). Children were in Grades 3 and 4 at Time 1 (Mage = 9.32, SDage = .74; 49% boys). Bidirectional influences of school climate and reports of peer victimization were investigated in path models across grade (Time 1 to Time 2) and within a grade (Time 2 to Time 3). Child and parent reports of school climate dimensions showed considerable stability. Hypothesized reciprocal relationships between each of the school climate dimensions and peer victimization were significant. Child-reported frequency of parent involvement in school activities was associated with lower levels of peer victimization within a school year. Parent perceptions of involvement in school activities and the schools’ connection with the community were unrelated to the childrens reports of peer victimization. Childrens negative cognitions or “worldviews” coupled with peer victimization may fuel problems with school connectedness, safety, and help seeking. Findings shed light on possible pathways for reducing peer victimization by leveraging specific aspects of the social climate within schools.

Teaching Multiethnic Urban Adolescents How to Enhance Their Competencies: Effects of a Middle School Primary Prevention Program on Adaptation

This study evaluated a program that promoted adaptation of students in their first year of secondary school. Participants included 896 multiethnic urban students mostly from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The program focused on developing healthy self-perceptions, and cognitive, affective and behavioral skills. Multiple regression analyses revealed the predicted positive effects of the program on psychological and social outcomes. However, there was also an unexpected negative outcome for a subgroup of students (11%) made vulnerable by stressful family experiences. These findings broaden our understanding of the effects of such programs and underline the need to address the specific coping competencies of students more at-risk.

Moral reasoning about school bullying in involved adolescents

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate how bullying incident participant roles and moral reasoning relate to each other in adolescents. To do so, we examined sociomoral judgments about hypothetical bullying incidents and moral disengagement in adolescents identified as bullies, defenders of the victim and passive bystanders. Six-hundred and twenty-six high school students (13- to 15-years-old) took part in this study and 131 were assigned a specific bullying incident participant role through peer nomination. Findings reveal that defenders of the victim show greater and more uniform moral sensibility than did both bullies and passive bystanders. Sociomoral reasoning helped differentiate between both bully subtypes (bully-leaders and bully-followers) and passive bystander beyond displaying greater moral disengagement than defenders did.

A141: Active Engagement of Teens with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Medical Education: What Do They Think Their Contribution Might Be?

The unique expertise and contributions to teaching of patients with chronic diseases is increasingly recognized and valued in medical education. Specifically in rheumatology, patient educators (also referred as patients partners) programs have been developed and shown to be effective for MSK exam teaching. To our knowledge, this educational strategy has never been adapted to pediatrics. We believe adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) might benefit from participation in such educational programs. Since little is known about how teens with JIA could actively be engaged in medical education, the main aim of the study was to explore and develop a detailed understanding of their perspective about potential contributions as patient educators.