Guadalupe Espinoza

Bullying Experiences and Compromised Academic Performance Across Middle School Grades

The goal of the study was to examine whether bullying experiences are associated with lower academic performance across middle school among urban students.The ethnically diverse sample was drawn from a longitudinal study of 2,300 sixth graders (44% Latino, 26% African American, 10% Asian, 10% White, and 10% mixed) from 11 public middle schools. Results of multilevel models (MLMs) showed that grade point averages and teacher-rated academic engagement were each predicted by both self-perceptions of victimization and peer nominations of victim reputation, controlling for demographic and school-level differences as well as overall declines in academic performance over time. Further MLM analyses suggested that most of the victimization effect was due to between-subject differences, as opposed to within-subject fluctuations, in victimization over time. The results of the study suggest that peer victimization cannot be ignored when trying to improve educational outcomes in urban middle schools.

Gender Differences in the Relations among Patriarchal Beliefs, Parenting and Teen Relationship Violence in Mexican Adolescents

Teen relationship violence is a global phenomenon associated with adverse outcomes. As in other countries, teen relationship violence is of concern in Mexico. However, few studies have examined the risk and protective factors of teen relationship violence among Mexican adolescents. This study examined whether patriarchal beliefs and exposure to authoritarian parenting among Mexican adolescents are associated with perpetration and victimization of physical and verbal-emotional teen relationship violence. Two hundred and four students (15–18 years old) from Monterrey, Mexico, completed questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age revealed that among girls, authoritarian parenting was associated with physical and verbal-emotional victimization and verbal-emotional violence perpetration. Among boys, higher endorsement of patriarchal beliefs was associated with lower reports of physical perpetration and physical victimization.

Peer Victimization and School Adjustment Among Ethnically Diverse Middle School Students: Does Ethnic Ingroup Representation Matter?

Although research has shown that peer victimization is related to negative school outcomes, whether ethnic ingroup size alters victimization-adjustment links is unclear. This study examines whether smaller ethnic ingroup representation amplifies the negative associations between peer victimization and school adjustment. We also examine whether ingroup representation may be more salient for some ethnic groups than others. The ethnically diverse sample includes 4,577 students from 26 schools spanning from the fall of sixth grade to spring of seventh grade (41% Latino, 26% White, 17% Asian American, 16% African American). An interaction between victimization and ethnic ingroup representation emerged only among Latino students. Latino youth victimized in the sixth grade, who attended a school with fewer same-ethnic peers, showed increases in negative seventh-grade climate perceptions and decreases in engagement. Our findings highlight that for Latino youth, ethnic ingroup representation is an important factor to consider when examining the school-related adjustment of victimized youth.