Izaskun Orue

Cyberbullying in adolescents: Modalities and aggressors' profile

In this study, a questionnaire (Cyberbullying Questionnaire, CBQ) was developed to assess the prevalence of numerous modalities of cyberbullying (CB) in adolescents. The association of CB with the use of other forms of violence, exposure to violence, acceptance and rejection by peers was also examined. In the study, participants were 1431 adolescents, aged between 12 and17years (726 girls and 682 boys). The adolescents responded to the CBQ, measures of reactive and proactive aggression, exposure to violence, justification of the use of violence, and perceived social support of peers. Sociometric measures were also used to assess the use of direct and relational aggression and the degree of acceptance and rejection by peers. The results revealed excellent psychometric properties for the CBQ. Of the adolescents, 44.1% responded affirmatively to at least one act of CB. Boys used CB to greater extent than girls. Lastly, CB was significantly associated with the use of proactive aggression, justification of violence, exposure to violence, and less perceived social support of friends.

The impact of violence exposure on aggressive behavior through social information processing in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to violence (EV) in several contexts predicts aggressive behavior through social information processing (SIP) in adolescents. Six hundred and fifty adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 participated in a 3-wave longitudinal study. The participants completed measures of proactive and reactive aggression at all waves, SIP measures at Time 1 and Time 2, and violence exposure at Time 1. It was expected that SIP would mediate the predictive relationship between EV and aggressive behavior. We found that total Time 1 EV predicted Time 3 reactive aggression. The influence of EV on proactive aggression was direct. Slight differences emerged, however, for victimization and witnessing violence. Witnessing was associated with reactive aggression via both hostile attribution and response selection, whereas victimization predicted reactive aggression via hostile attribution only. Results also suggested that the types of exposure that are most relevant for the development of aggressive behavior are community and school violence. Finally, male adolescents experienced more EV than female adolescents in all contexts except in the home. The findings indicate that intervention in social-cognitive mechanisms is important to reduce aggressive behavior in adolescents who have been exposed to violence.

Child-to-Parent Violence Emotional and Behavioral Predictors

Child-to-parent violence (CPV) includes acts committed by a child to intentionally cause physical, psychological, or financial pain to a parent. Available data indicate increasing rates of CPV in Spain, which have been attributed to a tendency toward more permissive parenting styles and changes in the power cycles within the families. The primary aim of this study was to assess the predictive role of some behavioral and emotional characteristics of adolescents who perpetrate CPV. A total of 1,072 adolescents (601 girls) filled out measures of CPV, proactive and reactive aggression, depressive symptoms, and substance abuse at Time 1, and measures of CPV 6 months later. The results showed that CPV was predicted by proactive, but not by reactive, aggression. This finding supports an instrumental role for CPV, which should be understood in the context of permissibility and lack of limits within the family. Depression and substance abuse also predicted the increase of CPV over time. Moreover, there were no sex differences in the prevalence of physical CPV, but verbal CPV was more predominant among girls. Although there were sex differences in some of the risk factors for CPV, the predictive model linking these risks to CPV was similar for boys and girls. Findings of this study suggest a psychological profile that combines internalizing problems and an instrumental use of violence in adolescents who perpetrate CPV. These characteristics are important for interventions.

Social Information Processing as a Mediator Between Cognitive Schemas and Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents

This longitudinal investigation assessed whether cognitive schemas of justification of violence, mistrust, and narcissism predicted social information processing (SIP), and SIP in turn predicted aggressive behavior in adolescents. A total of 650 adolescents completed measures of cognitive schemas at Time 1, SIP in ambiguous social scenarios at Time 1 and Time 2, and reactive aggression at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3 to determine whether SIP measured at Time 2 mediated between the cognitive schemas measured at Time 1 and the aggressive behavior measured at Time 3. The results showed that each schema predicted different SIP components: Justification of violence predicted aggressive response access, narcissism predicted anger and aggressive response access, and mistrust predicted more hostile attributions and less anger. Only the SIP component of aggressive response access was directly associated with reactive aggression. The mediational model was quite similar for boys and girls although some paths, such as the association between aggressive response access and reactive aggression, were higher for boys.

Early maladaptive schemas and social anxiety in adolescents: The mediating role of anxious automatic thoughts

Cognitive models state that cognitions are organized hierarchically, so that the underlying schemas affect behavior via more automatic, superficial cognitive processes. This study aimed to demonstrate that early maladaptive schemas predict anxious automatic thoughts, and to show that such automatic thoughts act as mediators between schemas and prospective changes in social anxiety symptoms. The study also examined an alternative reverse model in which schemas acted as mediators between automatic thoughts and social anxiety. A total of 1052 adolescents (499 girls and 553 boys; M(age)=13.43; SD(age)=1.29) completed measures of early maladaptive schemas, socially anxious automatic thoughts, and social anxiety symptoms at Times 1, 2, and 3. The results revealed bidirectional longitudinal relationships among schemas and automatic thoughts that were consistent in content (e.g., the disconnection/rejection schemas and automatic thoughts of negative self-concept). Furthermore, the automatic thoughts of anticipatory negative evaluation by others at Time 2 mediated the relationship between the other-directedness schemas at Time 1 and social anxiety symptoms at Time 3. These findings are consistent with hierarchical cognitive models of social anxiety given that deeper schemas predict more surface-level thoughts. They also support that these more surface-level thoughts contribute to perpetuating schemas. Finally, results show that early maladaptive schemas of the other-directedness domain play a relevant role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety.

Cognitive Mechanisms of the Transmission of Violence: Exploring Gender Differences among Adolescents Exposed to Family Violence

This study focuses on the mechanisms through which exposure to family violence leads to aggressive behavior in adolescents who were the victims of abuse and neglect. A sample of 166 adolescents from residential child welfare and protection centers for victims of abuse and neglect completed measures of victimization and witnessing violence at home, three schemas (justification of violence, mistrust, and grandiosity), aggressiveness (proactive and reactive), and depression. The results showed that witnessing family violence is more intensely associated with aggressiveness than victimization, and that part of this association is mediated by schemas of justification of violence and grandiosity. Victimization was associated with less aggressiveness and more depression, through the schema of mistrust. In girls exposure to family violence was more intensely associated with aggressiveness.

Violencia filio-parental en la adolescencia: características ambientales y personales

Resumen En este estudio se evaluó el perfil de los adolescentes que ejercen violencia física y verbal contra sus progenitores. Participaron 1427 adolescentes (728 chicas, 682 chicos) que contestaron numerosas medidas personales y ambientales. Los resultados mostraron que mientras que las agresiones verbales menos severas, como chillar a los progenitores, ocurren en el 65.8% de los casos, las agresiones físicas son mucho menos frecuentes (7.2%). La violencia contra los progenitores se asocia a exposición a la violencia familiar, baja disciplina ejercida por los progenitores, amigos con problemas de conducta, síntomas de depresión, conducta delincuente, consumo de drogas, impulsividad, creencias justificadoras de la violencia y de grandiosidad. Los chicos ejercen más la violencia física mientras que las chicas ejercen más actos de violencia verbal. Por último, las madres sufren más actos de violencia verbal que los padres.

Problematic Internet use and problematic alcohol use from the cognitive–behavioral model: A longitudinal study among adolescents

Problematic Internet use (PIU) and problematic alcohol use are two pervasive problems during adolescence that share similar characteristics and predictors. The first objective of this study was to analyze the temporal and reciprocal relationships among the main components of PIU from the cognitive-behavioral model (preference for online social interaction, mood regulation through the Internet, deficient self-regulation, and negative consequences). The second objective was to examine the temporal and reciprocal relationships between PIU components and problematic alcohol use. We also examined whether these relationships differ between males and females. The sample comprised 801 Spanish adolescents (mean age=14.92, SD=1.01) who completed the measures both at Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) six months apart. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship among the variables. Results showed that deficient self-regulation at T1 predicted an increase in preference for online interactions, mood regulation, and negative consequences of the Internet at T2. In turn, the emergence of negative consequences of PIU at T1 predicted a rise in problematic alcohol use at T2. Longitudinal relationships between different components of PIU and between the components of PIU and problematic alcohol use were invariant across genders. Deficient self-regulation, consisting of diminished self-control over cognition and behaviors related to the Internet, plays a central role in the maintenance of PIU, increasing the preference for online interactions, mood regulation, and negative consequences from Internet use over time. In turn, adolescents who present negative consequences of PIU are vulnerable targets for problematic alcohol use.

Evaluation of the cognitive-behavioral model of generalized and problematic Internet use in Spanish adolescents

BACKGROUND Problematic use of Internet is a growing concern that interferes in the family and academic life of adolescents. This study had three related objectives: 1) to analyze the psychometric properties of the Revised Generalized and Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS2) among Spanish adolescents; 2) to examine the theoretical cognitive-behavioral model of generalized and problematic Internet use; and 3) to study the relationship between the type of Internet use and generalized and problematic Internet use. METHOD Participants were 1,021 adolescents in Bizkaia (55.7% girls, mean age = 14.95 years, SD = 1.71). RESULTS Factor analyses confirmed the internal structure of four factors originally proposed for GPIUS2, called Preference for online social interaction, Mood regulation, Deficient self-regulation, and Negative consequences. Consistent with the theoretical model, preference for online social interaction and mood regulation increased the likelihood of reporting deficient self-regulation, which, in turn, was associated with negative consequences for the adolescents. CONCLUSIONS The GPIUS2 is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used in adolescent samples. Furthermore, the results support the cognitive behavioral model of problematic Internet use in adolescents.

The role of emotion regulation in the predictive association between social information processing and aggressive behavior in adolescents

The primary aim of this study was to assess the moderating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between some components of social information processing (hostile interpretation and anger) and aggressive behavior. The secondary aim was to assess whether emotion regulation, hostile interpretation, and anger account for gender differences in aggressive behavior. A total of 1,125 adolescents (627 girls) filled out the social information processing questionnaire to assess hostile interpretation, anger, and emotion regulation. Reactive and proactive aggressive behaviors were assessed by self- and peer reports. The results showed that adaptive regulation negatively predicted aggressive behavior and moderated the relationship between anger and reactive aggressive behavior. Boys’ higher scores for aggressive behavior were accounted for by their higher scores for anger and lower scores for emotion regulation. However, the strength of the relationships among variables was similar for both boys and girls. Findings of this study indicate the importance of emotion regulation as a target for aggressive behavior interventions.