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School bullying is a serious public health concern in many countries worldwide. Over recent decades, several effective anti-bullying prevention programs have been developed. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an adapted version of the “Equipping Youth to Help One Another (EQUIP) for Educators” (EfE) program in reducing adolescents’ engagement in school bullying perpetration by correcting their use of self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs). Furthermore, guided by the vantage sensitivity framework, we investigated whether the intervention effects varied depending on the adolescents’ gender and environmental sensitivity. A quasi-experimental pretest/post-test with a control group design involved 354 Italian middle and high school adolescents (51.7% males; Mage = 14.86, SD = 2.54). Both the control (n = 187) and experimental group (n = 167) completed self-report questionnaires, before and after the intervention. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant moderated mediation effect: highly sensitive males participating in the EfE program decreased their engagement in bullying by reducing CDs, compared to females and those with low- and medium- sensitivity. These findings support the effectiveness of the EfE program in equipping youth to think and act more responsible and shed light on “why” and “for whom” the intervention might work better to counteract school bullying during adolescence.

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents., The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in:CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, (38), 3, 286-301, 2011.Marta Wallinius, Peter Johansson, Martin Larden and Mats Dernevik, SELF-SERVING COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTShttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810396139by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.http://www.uk.sagepub.com

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents., The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in:CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, (38), 3, 286-301, 2011.Marta Wallinius, Peter Johansson, Martin Larden and Mats Dernevik, SELF-SERVING COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTShttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810396139by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.http://www.uk.sagepub.com

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents., The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in:CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, (38), 3, 286-301, 2011.Marta Wallinius, Peter Johansson, Martin Larden and Mats Dernevik, SELF-SERVING COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTShttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810396139by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.http://www.uk.sagepub.com

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents., The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in:CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, (38), 3, 286-301, 2011.Marta Wallinius, Peter Johansson, Martin Larden and Mats Dernevik, SELF-SERVING COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTShttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810396139by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.http://www.uk.sagepub.com

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents.

The reliability and validity of the self-report questionnaire How I Think (HIT), designed to assess self-serving cognitive distortions related to antisocial behavior, was tested among Swedish offender and nonoffender adults and adolescents (N = 364). The results showed self-serving distortions to be more common among offenders and to predict self-reported antisocial behavior when tested among adults. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed, in contrast to earlier findings, that the underlying structure of the HIT was best explained by a three-factor solution with one major cognitive factor, referred to as "criminal mind." It was concluded that the HIT, after further examination of its structural and divergent validity, could be used as a measure of criminal thinking in adults as well as in adolescents., The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in:CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, (38), 3, 286-301, 2011.Marta Wallinius, Peter Johansson, Martin Larden and Mats Dernevik, SELF-SERVING COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTShttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854810396139by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.http://www.uk.sagepub.com