Sheri Bauman

Best Practices for Missing Data Management in Counseling Psychology

This article urges counseling psychology researchers to recognize and report how missing data are handled, because consumers of research cannot accurately interpret findings without knowing the amount and pattern of missing data or the strategies that were used to handle those data. Patterns of missing data are reviewed, and some of the common strategies for dealing with them are described. The authors provide an illustration in which data were simulated and evaluate 3 methods of handling missing data: mean substitution, multiple imputation, and full information maximum likelihood. Results suggest that mean substitution is a poor method for handling missing data, whereas both multiple imputation and full information maximum likelihood are recommended alternatives to this approach. The authors suggest that researchers fully consider and report the amount and pattern of missing data and the strategy for handling those data in counseling psychology research and that editors advise researchers of this expectation.

Preservice teachers' responses to bullying scenarios: Comparing physical, verbal, and relational bullying

In the present study, 82 undergraduate students in a teacher education program responded to 6 written vignettes describing school bullying incidents. Scenarios described physical bullying, verbal bullying, and relational bullying events. Respondents rated relational bullying as the least serious of the 3 types. Participants had the least empathy for the victims of relational bullying and were least likely to intervene in relational bullying incidents. When asked to describe interventions they would use in these cases, the preservice teachers proposed the least severe actions for both perpetrators and victims of relational bullying compared with other forms of bullying. Results were compared with those of practicing teachers in a previous study. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed. Two supplemental studies, conducted to address concerns about seriousness of bullying scenarios, are also described.

Associations among Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide in High School Students.

This study examined associations among depression, suicidal behaviors, and bullying and victimization experiences in 1491 high school students using data from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results demonstrated that depression mediated the association between bullying/victimization and suicide attempts, but differently for males and females. Specifically, depression mediated the link between traditional victimization and suicide attempts similarly across gender, whereas depression mediated the link between cyber victimization and suicide attempts only for females. Similarly, depression mediated the link between traditional bullying and suicide attempts for females only. Depression did not mediate the link between cyberbullying and suicide attempts for either gender. Implications of the findings are discussed, including the importance of greater detection of depression among students involved in bullying, and the need for a suicide prevention and intervention component in anti-bullying programs. Findings suggest that bullying prevention efforts be extended from middle school students to include high school students.

Cyberbullying in a Rural Intermediate School: An Exploratory Study

Students (N = 221) in an intermediate school (grades 5-8) in a rural area of the Southwestern United States completed a survey regarding their familiarity with technology and their experiences with cyberbullying during the school year. Initial evidence of survey reliability is presented. In the sample, 1.5% of participants were classified as cyberbullies only, 3% as cybervictims only, and 8.6% as cyberbully/victims. Grade and gender differences were investigated. The best predictor of cyberbullying in a regression equation was cybervictimization, and vice versa. Self-blaming attributions predicted emotional distress in response to a cyberbullying scenario; moral disengagement predicted acting out behaviors in response to the same scenario. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The Reliability and Validity of the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II for Children and Adolescents

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) using two samples of Mexican American children: 292 middle school students from a mid-sized culturally diverse southwestern city, and 116 third-through fifth graders in culturally homogeneous rural elementary schools. Results provided evidence of the reliability and validity of this measure of acculturation for both age levels. Factor analysis supported the two-scale structure reported by Cuéllar. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was adequate for both samples. Validity was demonstrated by the significant association between the distribution of acculturation status and sample group. Language of form (English or Spanish) selected by the student was correlated with acculturation status.

US teachers' and school counsellors' strategies for handling school bullying incidents

A sample of 735 US teachers and school counsellors completed an online survey asking how likely they would be to use various strategies to respond to a hypothetical bullying incident. Analyses examined their use of five strategies: Ignoring the incident, Working with the bully, Working with the victim, Enlisting other adults, and Disciplining the bully. Differences in mean scores based on these strategies were found by gender of participant, the presence or absence of school anti‐bullying policies and programmes, and previous anti‐bullying training. Teachers and school counsellors differed on four of the five scale scores. Qualitative comment data add to the findings. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Knowledge and Beliefs about Bullying in Schools Comparing Pre-Service Teachers in the United States and the United Kingdom

A questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about bullying used in a study of pre-service teachers in the United Kingdom was replicated on a sample of 82 pre-service teachers in the United States. Results were similar for both groups of pre- service teachers. Participants had some accurate knowledge as well as some beliefs and attitudes that would not be consistent with effective teacher behaviours towards students involved in bullying. Both samples were interested in further training as part of their teacher preparation programs. Implications for training of pre-service teachers are discussed.

Cyber and Bias-based Harassment: Associations With Academic, Substance Use, and Mental Health Problems

PURPOSE To examine how two forms of interstudent harassment, cyber and bias-based harassment, are associated with academic, substance use, and mental health problems. METHODS We used a population-based survey of 17,366 middle and high school students that assessed harassment due to race/ethnicity or sexual orientation, and harassment through the Internet or text messaging along with other forms of interstudent harassment. RESULTS Odds ratios indicated that students experiencing both cyber and bias-based harassment were at the greatest risk for adjustment problems across all indicators, with suicidal ideation and attempts having the largest risk differences. CONCLUSIONS Assessments of adolescent health and adjustment should include questions regarding both cyber and bias-based harassment.

Bullying and Cyberbullying Among Deaf Students and Their Hearing Peers: An Exploratory Study

A questionnaire on bullying and cyberbullying was administered to 30 secondary students (Grades 7-12) in a charter school for the Deaf and hard of hearing and a matched group of 22 hearing students in a charter secondary school on the same campus. Because the sample size was small and distributions non-normal, results are primarily descriptive and correlational. No significant differences by hearing status were detected in rates of conventional or cyberbullying or both forms of victimization. Cyberbullying and cybervictimization were strongly correlated, as were conventional bullying and victimization. Moral disengagement was positively correlated only with conventional bullying. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The role of elementary school counselors in reducing school bullying

In this article, I review the literature on school bullying with an emphasis on elementary schools. Bullying is defined and described, 3 types of bullying are discussed, and the importance of relational bullying is emphasized. I review existing programs to reduce bullying with attention to empirical studies. Barriers to implementation of effective programs are acknowledged. Given the expertise and role of elementary school counselors, they are in a unique position to be leaders in reducing school bullying, a view that is consistent with the American School Counseling Association national model for professional school counseling. I suggest ways in which school counselors can have a significant influence on school bullying, outline implications of research for best practice, and discuss the need for future research.