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One of the characteristics of individuals on the autism spectrum is the restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities which have been considered the result of a direct deficit in self-regulation skills. Peer-mediated intervention (PMI) is one of the ways to support young children on the autism spectrum for following school routines independently. PMI is an evidence-based practice based on behavioral principles to train typical peers to help with students on the autism spectrum. By using PMI, students on the autism spectrum can have more interaction opportunities with typical peers. Students on the autism spectrum can become less dependent on adult support to complete the expectations independently or with peers' support. The aim of this study is to use PMI to support students with autism and ADHD aged 7–8 in a regular classroom to complete the behavioral expectations in Taiwan. This study used a multiple probe design across three participants to determine the effects of the intervention. The researchers trained seven typically developing peers on how to prompt and reinforce the target children. This study took both peers and target children's data. The data shows a positive result for target children to follow the expectations independently and most peer models can prompt and reinforce the target children after being trained. Our study has extended the effectiveness and usage of PMI in teaching behavioral expectations in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stigmatization of individuals with disabilities is a widespread social justice issue. This paper introduces a study of disability, stigmatization and self for children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. It is the first of two companion papers. It examines the problem of stigmatization from the perspectives of experienced elementary school educators practicing in diverse cultural contexts. We conducted cross-cultural analyses of individual, audio recorded interviews with 26 Japanese, 43 Korean, 16 Taiwanese and 18 US educators, including school social workers. Educators from all four cultural groups described disability and stigma as challenging children's development of self: children with disabilities may experience the self as isolated and inadequate, and typically-developing peers may experience the self as lacking culturally expected values of empathy and respect. Educators' understandings of children's experiences also were culturally nuanced. Educators variously described children with disabilities as experiencing a sense of not belonging [Japan], loss of motivation [South Korea], too much shame [Taiwan], and low self-esteem [US]. They variously described typically-developing children as challenged to show empathy [Japan], include children with disabilities in their peer group [South Korea], develop benevolence [Taiwan], and show respect for individual differences [US]. We contextualize educators' perceptions within their specific sociocultural-historical contexts. Our second paper will focus on solutions; specifically, educators' perspectives on how to minimize stigmatization and support the development of self for children with disabilities and their typically-developing peers. Together, these companion papers provide social workers with valuable perspectives for eliminating the stigmatization of children with disabilities in future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While a link between parental depression and adolescent school victimization is frequently hypothesized, studies on this association have shown mixed results. In addition, adolescent depression has been considered a potential psychosocial mechanism underlying the link between parental depression and adolescent school victimization. However, studies to support this proposition are lacking. This paper examines the direct effect of parental depression on adolescent victimization by peers and teachers in school as well as indirect effect through adolescent depression in an Asian context (Taiwan) and further examines differences in the interrelationships of parental depression, adolescent depression, and school victimization by peers and teachers across gender and school age groups.Methods: Data were obtained from a random sample of 2,419 students (grades 7-12) and their parents in one of the largest metropolitan areas in Taiwan.Results: Parental depression did not have a significant direct association with either type of school victimization. However, parental depression showed a significant indirect association with both types of school victimization through adolescent depression. These findings applied to both males and females and both junior and senior high school students.Limitation: The study utilized cross-sectional data, and the findings cannot be used to build causal relationships.Conclusion: Our findings provide empirical support that parental depression has indirect associations with school victimization by peers and teachers through adolescent depression. The results support the importance of including family-based approaches for depression targeting parents and adolescents in future victim intervention/prevention school programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the associations among supportive parenting, function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict, and peer conflict resolution (i.e., compatibility, compromise, self-sacrifice, utility, and escape). It was hypothesized that adolescents' function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict mediates the relationship between their perceived supportive parenting and their tendency to adopt different resolution strategies in peer conflict. Chinese adolescents aged 15 to 18 years were recruited from Taiwan as participants, and 498 valid responses were obtained. By utilizing structural equation modeling, the present study found the following results: (1) perceived supportive parenting was positively associated with adolescents' tendency to adopt the compatibility and compromise resolution strategies but negatively associated with their tendency to adopt the escape resolution strategy; (2) perceived supportive parenting was positively associated with adolescents' function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict, which was positively related to their tendency to adopt the compatibility, compromise, and self-sacrifice resolution strategies but negatively related to their tendency to adopt the escape resolution strategy; and (3) the mediating role of adolescents' function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict in the relationship between their perceived supportive parenting and their tendency to adopt different peer conflict resolution strategies was significant. We discuss the implications and limitations of these findings. Highlights: Chinese adolescents' perceived supportive parenting was related to their appraisals and resolutions of peer conflicts. Chinese adolescents' perceived supportive parenting was positively related to their function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict. Chinese adolescents' function-oriented appraisal of peer conflict was positively associated with their tendency to adopt compatibility, compromise, and self-sacrifice resolution strategies but negatively associated with their tendency to adopt the escape resolution strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether cultural differences exist between the ways U.S. and Taiwanese college students perceive peer victimization using both an experimental vignette method and an open‐ended question format. A total of 1,125 college students (53% female) from the United States (n = 535) and Taiwan (n = 590) read and responded to vignettes which depicted peer interactions in the college context. The peer interactions varied along three factors expected to be associated with differentiating victimization from affiliative teasing: hostility, playfulness, and relationship closeness. Controlling for individual factors of sex, prior victimization, prior teasing, and emphasis on interpersonal harmony, students perceived more victimization when both hostility and a lack of playfulness were present. Culture interacted with the situational factors such that both hostility and lack of playfulness were stronger predictors of perceived victimization for Taiwanese than for U.S. college students. In open‐ended responses about sensitive topics, "Ability and academic performance" and "Self/thoughts/characters/habits" were more indicative of victimization for Taiwanese college students. "Health and disability" was more salient as indicative of victimization for U.S. college students. Findings from this study are among the first to evaluate signals of peer victimization with a cultural comparison; they can be used to inform victimization intervention programs or socioemotional curriculums in late adolescence to be culturally relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Students with physical symptoms and diseases may be at an increased risk of peer victimization. This study examined the associations of several medical conditions (obesity, asthma, allergy, epilepsy, and diabetes) with experience of physical, verbal, and relational victimization among children. A sample of 6,233 fourth-grade students from 314 elementary schools in Taiwan was recruited for the analysis. The mean age of the sample was 10.5, with an even distribution of gender (50.3% male and 49.7% female). Children with asthma, allergy, and epilepsy reported higher frequencies of peer victimization. Those who took daily medications or received treatment were also at a higher risk of being victimized. Diabetes and obesity were not found to be associated with peer victimization. The findings highlighted that children with physical conditions suffer maltreatment from peers. Sensitivity training should be provided to school health professionals, so they can evaluate the risk of victimization among students with special needs during assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the determinants of students’ willingness to intervene in bullying incidents, as well as the process underlying students’ defending behaviors. The participants were 24 students (12 defenders and 12 outsiders) recruited from six secondary schools in southern Taiwan. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data and a grounded theory approach to analyse the data. The results showed that bystanders in bullying situations tended to assess the perceived severity of a bullying incident, personal responsibility, affective factors, victim characteristics, relationship with the victim, and other factors before committing to an intervention. This study found four possible phases of defending behavior: a) personal assessment affects a bystander’s decision to act as a defender or an outsider; b) a defender evaluates the severity of a situation and the relationship with the bully to determine strategies for defending; c) defenders who come forward to intervene are interrogated or threatened by bullies; and d) defenders then reassess whether to intervene again. The results of this study suggest that bystander intervention programs can encourage students’ personal responsibility, awareness of the severity of school bullying, improvement of interpersonal relationships, and self-efficacy to raise bystanders’ willingness to defend a victim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most systems for training self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviour focus on the provision of a learner-centred environment. Such systems repeat the training process and place learners alone to experience that process iteratively. According to the relevant literature, external scaffolds are more promising for effective SRL training. In this work, group awareness and peer assistance are used as external scaffolds in the process of training SRL behaviour, enhancing opportunities for self-reflection and stimulating and encouraging learners. This work further develops a system, called self-regulated learning with group awareness and peer assistance (SRL-GAPA). Experimental results reveal that SRL-GAPA provides significantly more participation in online training tasks and learning activities, better SRL behaviour and better learning achievement than the traditional SRL system (i.e,, a learner-centred environment). The SRL-GAPA benefited poorly self-regulated learners more than highly self-regulated students. Some implications of this finding are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of risk factors have been identified as able to engender adolescent vulnerability to depressed mood. Recently, the social work profession has started to validate spirituality as integral to individual well-being, and as a protective factor of one's poor adjustment outcome. The present study aims to investigate spirituality as a protective factor for depressed mood among Taiwanese adolescents. Risk factors examined include family economic strains, parent-adolescent conflict, negative peer relationships and academic expectation stress. Using a cross-sectional quantitative research design, we utilised the multi-stage, random cluster sampling method to select respondents. A total of 1,325 Taiwanese students from grades 10 to 12 were recruited to complete the self-reported questionnaires. Results of multiple linear regression analyses indicated that controlling for gender and age, family economic strains, pa rent-adolescent conflict, negative peer relationships and academic expectation stress were positively associated with depressed mood. Spirituality was found to be negatively associated with depressed mood, and to partially moderate the association between negative peer relationships and depressed mood. Findings suggest that the culturally specific concern of spirituality should be incorporated into helping depressed adolescents. Spirituality should be examined cross-culturally in social work research, education and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]