Grace Skrzypiec

School bullying by one or more ways: Does it matter and how do students cope?

Students (n = 452; ages 12—14 years) attending two South Australian metropolitan high schools completed the ‘Living & learning at school: Bullying at school’ survey in which they reported ways they were bullied and the strategies they would use to deal with bullying. Results showed that a small proportion of students were bullied in three or more ways, and that males and females differed in the coping strategies they would use if bullied. Significant differences were found between bullied and not bullied students in their use of ‘problem-focused’ in contrast to ‘emotion focused’, or ‘approach’ in contrast to ‘avoidance’ coping strategies, with bullied students more likely to use ‘avoidance’ strategies. Findings suggest that in terms of coping, it does matter whether or not a student is bullied in multiple ways.

Teenage vegetarianism: Beauty or the beast?

The aim of this study was to examine the likely cognitive and social ideological influences associated with teenage vegetarianism. Two thousand adolescents (mean age 16 years) took part in a survey conducted in 52 South Australian schools. The data collected from two questionnaires was reduced in complexity by principal components analyses and the resulting factor scores examined via ANOVA which compared female Non-Vegetarians (NV) with Full and Semi Vegetarians (FSV). FSV exhibited more concern for the environment, animal welfare and gender equity than non vegetarians. In addition, and contrary to our initial hypotheses, FSV reported more concern about their appearance, greater use of TV programs for behavioural modelling, and greater prevalence of extreme weight loss behaviours. The findings suggest a possible developmental link between teenage vegetarianism and eating disorders which may be part of female adolescent identity development.

Do attitudes predict red meat consumption among young people

The roles of attitudes to red meat (beef and lamb cuts) in red meat consumption were examined through a random postal survey in which nine hundred and three young Australians (aged 18 to 32 years) participated. Respondents completed a 42‐item Attitudes to Red Meat Questionnaire (ARMQ) derived from previous research. A combination of attitudinal and demographic variables accounted for almost one third of the variance in reported red meat consumption. Principal components analysis of ARMQ revealed a key sensory and social enjoyment attitude component, labelled “Appreciation,” which alone accounted for 20% of the red meat consumption variance. Additional attitude components included concerns about animal welfare, health restraint, organoleptic consequences and affordability‐convenience. Together, these attitude factors accounted for more variance than any combination of demographic items, although the meat consumption of men and women was found to be predicted by slightly different sets of attitudinal and de...

Students with Self-identified Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (si-SEND): Flourishing or Languishing!

Students’ wellbeing is an essential component of their ability to function well, not only at school but also in all life domains. Many studies have investigated student wellbeing. However, empirical studies about the wellbeing of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are scarce. Furthermore, many studies have adopted a deficit view of wellbeing and mental [ill]-health. This study adopted a more positive perspective. We administered a questionnaire assessing social-emotional and psychological wellbeing, global self-concept, resilience, bullying, mental ill-health and school satisfaction to 1930 students, aged 13–15 years, who were attending seven mainstream schools in South Australia. Of those students, 172 self-identified as having SEND. Results showed significant differences, with students who self-identified with SEND not faring as well as other students on all measures. In particular, just over one third (39.9%) of students who self-identified as having SEND reported that they were flourishing, compared with just over half (57.6%) of the students who did not indicate that they had special needs. The findings indicate that more attention needs to be given to designing and implementing supports to improve the wellbeing and school satisfaction of students who self-identify as having SEND.

No more bullying: an analysis of primary school children’s drawings of school bullying

Bullying in schools is an international problem impacting negatively on children’s well-being. Children’s drawings can provide an insight into their emotional states. There is little published literature that uses children’s drawings to gain better understandings of the nature and impact of bullying. We report two studies using indicators of emotional distress to examine Australian primary school children’s drawings about bullying. In Study One, children’s drawings were examined using indicators of size, detail and line heaviness in terms of gender and developmental trends. The analysis showed no main differences for gender, however, there were clear developmental aspects to children’s depictions of school bullying. In Study Two, children’s self-reported victimisation was associated with the degree of detail and the relative distance between the protagonists represented in the drawings. The studies suggest that drawings could be used to counsel young people and help remediate the effects of bullying.

Thinking patterns, victimisation and bullying among adolescents in a South Australian metropolitan secondary school

Responding to staff concerns about anti-social behaviour among students (n = 311, 50.5% boys, age range 13–16 years) at a low socio-economic Adelaide metropolitan school, we investigated victimisation and bullying and associated patterns of thinking. Two instruments were administered: the How I Think Questionnaire, which measures self-serving cognitive distortions; and the Bullying Experiences Questionnaire, which requires students to rate victimisation and bullying. The study revealed that: levels of distorted thinking were high; the most frequent forms of victimisation and bullying were verbal, indirect and physical; there were low levels of more extreme forms of victimisation and bullying; and there were higher levels of cognitive distortions among bullies and bully-victims. The research confirms the role of distorted thinking in the enactment of anti-social and bullying behaviours and provides a contemporary update of the types of victimisation/bullying in an Australian secondary school in 2011. Implications for interventions using social-cognitive approaches are addressed.

Involvement in Bullying During High School: A Survival Analysis Approach

Knowledge about the risks of bullying involvement during any year of high school is an important element of interventions for changing the likelihood of being bullied. Three cohorts of Australian students (n = 1,382) were tracked from 7th grade to 11th grade. The study showed that some students continue their involvement in bullying, while in addition, new bullies and new victims emerge during each high school year. The findings indicated that the risk of bullying involvement ranged from 16% (as a bully) to 36% (as a victim), increasing to 54.5% and 56.3%, respectively, if a student was a bully or a victim in 7th grade. The risk to students of becoming victims, bullies, or bully–victims in each year of high school suggests that bullying prevention initiatives should be designed to suit students at different stages of adolescent development.

School Bullying, Victimization and Pro-social Behaviour

This chapter will provide an overview of the international research relating to bullying, victimization and pro-social behaviour. Historical, cultural and social factors related to school bullying, victimization and pro-social behaviour will provide a backdrop to the discussion. While bullying at school has long been recognised as existing in literature the empirical study of the phenomenon really did not begin until 1989–90. The interesting question concerns just why school bullying has become the focus of so much research internationally? Part of the answer to this question is the impetus that international research has given to the research. The chapter will describe the nature and developmental course of bullying including cyberbullying.

Young Australians’ Attitudes to the Military and Military Service

What are young Australians’ understandings of, and attitudes to, the military and military service? This article describes a pilot study of 320 young Australian university students’ attitudes to the military and military service during a time when Australia was engaged in the Afghanistan war. The main purpose of this study was to develop a survey instrument for further work in researching civil–military relations in Australia. Civil–military relations describe the complex set of relationships between the civil and military spheres. The role of the military, the relationship between the state and the military, the division of labor between civilian and military entities, foreign policy, and knowledge of military service are some of the fields that constitute a study of civil–military relations. This article reports on beliefs about, and attitudes to the specificities of military service and responses to the broader field of civil–military relations.

Mainland Chinese students’ mental health: baseline data and cautionary notes when exporting/importing psychological scales

ABSTRACT There is a growing interest in mainland China about schools’ roles in supporting students to develop positive mental health. However, relatively little data have been collected about mainland Chinese students’ mental health. This article reports a collaborative study, by eastern and western researchers, to translate and administer the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a School Satisfaction Scale (SSS) to students in mainland China. We discuss the possible absence of some western psychological constructs in eastern contexts, and possible cultural differences in the levels of participants’ compliant responses. Descriptive results indicated that the mainland Chinese students’ SDQ responses were similar to students in comparative countries. Factor analyses indicated that the SDQ needed modification when used with our mainland Chinese sample. Structural equation modelling showed relationships between higher school satisfaction and lower mental difficulties. The study provides baseline data to inform school-based mental health promotion initiatives in mainland China. Broader outcomes are to inform researchers and educators about processes and cautions when using previously validated questionnaires in new cultural contexts. We highlight the need for close east–west researcher collaboration when exporting/importing psychological questionnaires. Graphical Abstract