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Defenders, or children who help victims, are studied less often than children who bully or are victims of bullying. In this study, the authors examined middle schools students' perceived normative pressure from significant others to help victims. Findings suggest that normative pressure from best friends mediated gender and defending, and the interaction of age and best friends' pressure was significantly related to defending. The article suggests implications for bullying prevention in middle schools.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to hear from a group of African American parents who were living in poverty about their experience participating in a short-term, intensive child–parent relationship therapy intervention (CPRT). The parents who participated were recruited from a parent enrichment program for parents of preschoolers and were interviewed about the parent–child relationship before and after the group sessions. In addition, parents reported on barriers to utilizing counseling services related to their parenting needs. Following an intensive 4-week CPRT group intervention, the parents described their experiences about participating in the group sessions and how it impacted their parent–child relationship. Parents discussed changes in their perceptions of parenting, child’s play, and CPRT group process. Implications are discussed.

Reason for living is a seldom-studied concept that may have important implications for college student affairs. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of attachment style in close friendships and emotional autonomy from parents on college students' reasons for living. A sample of 441 undergraduate students participated by completing an online survey, including attachment style, emotional autonomy, and reasons to live. FINDINGS suggested gender, attachment avoidance, and dependence on parents are predictors of college students' reasons for living. Language: en

As part of a semester-long student-led wellness program, graduate students in counselor education were introduced to a variety of self-care strategies, including dyadic and experiential activities for the mind, body, and spirit. The conceptual framework for the pilot program was the Adlerian-based Indivisible Self Model of Wellness. The complementary Five-Factor Wellness Inventory, which integrates Adler’s construct of holism and life tasks, was used as a pre- and post-test measure to determine changes to individual wellness. Additionally, the researchers gathered subjective feedback from participants regarding their experiences in the wellness program. Findings showed that offering this relatively simple and flexible wellness program had a positive impact on students’ knowledge and practice of wellness.

Zachary comes running up ahead of his mom and sisters to wrap me in a great six-year-old hug. He has a huge smile on his face, and I notice that both he and his sisters are wearing the same clothing that they had on last time I saw them. It's 40 degrees outside, but all three of them only have on sweatshirts and Zachary's toes are poking out of his boots. However, not a hair is out of place on any of their heads, and Zachary proudly pulls out his homework from his worn backpack. He says, "Guess what? I wrote all my letters. Want to see?" Zachary is one of 16 million children living in poverty in the United States (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011). Though the U.S. is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, 9.2 million families were living in poverty in 2010 (DeNavas-Walt et al., 2011). Moreover, while children only account for 24.4 percent of the population, 35.5 percent of the people living in poverty are children (DeNavas-Walt et al., 2011). With such staggering numbers, professional counselors are likely to work with families facing obstacles because of strained financial situations. Therefore, as professionals, counselors must ask themselves if they are prepared to work with families living in poverty. Families living in poverty may show up for counseling in schools, agencies, and other institutions without their basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and safety being fully met. Though professional counselors are usually developmentally or wellness based in theoretical orientation, in practice, they may find themselves discouraged when working with families who live in poverty. Thus, in the midst of linking families to much needed resources, they may focus solely on what the family is lacking and the multiple problems they face versus identifying and building on existing strengths. Furthermore, many counselors are often not of the same social class or economic status as families living in poverty, so their middle class worldviews, biases, and expectations for change modifies their perceptions of non-middle class behaviors as divergent from the norm. This in turn negatively influences their choice of counseling interventions and limits counseling outcomes (Liu, Soleck, Hopps, Dunston, & Pickett, 2004). In doing so, they may inadvertently paralyze themselves and the family. Limited research in professional counseling literature addresses how to counsel families in poverty. In 2002, Brown noted the absence of research and literature counseling families below the poverty line, asserting that existing approaches do not address the specific needs of this population. Moreover, in the last ten years, much of the counseling literature on this topic has been focused on working with low-income students and families within a school context (i.e. Amatea & West-Olatunji, 2007; Amatea, Smith-Adcock, & Villares, 2006; Sheely-Moore & Bratton, 2010) or on parenting practices (i.e. Adkison-Bradley, 2011; Kelch-Oliver, 2011; McWey, 2008). In the few outcome studies available, there also is indication that many barriers exist for low-income families in utilizing traditional counseling services (e.g., transportation), which can lead to a high counseling drop out rate (e.g., Lyon & Budd, 2010; Schwarzbaum, 2004; Toporek & Pope-Davis, 2005). Therefore, a paucity of literature and outcome research on counseling the poor has led many to question how the counseling process should differ when working with families that are poor versus with those who are not experiencing economic hardship. Also, what should counselors be aware of and how should they position themselves to work effectively with families living in poverty? In 2011, Foss, Generali and Kress answered Brown's (2002) call and proposed a model that calls for a strengths-based, multilevel counseling approach for use with individuals living in poverty. In their CARE model, the authors identified four areas of focus with individuals: (a) cultivating a positive relationship; (b) acknowledging the realities of the poor; (c) removing barriers for healthy development; (d) and expanding strengths. …

Teachers who are child centered focus on building empathy, responsibility, and prosocial behaviors in children. In child-centered classroom management, teachers intentionally communicate to children that they are fully accepted as they are and capable of directing their own behavior. Thus, children are allowed to find their own strengths, make choices for themselves, and accept the consequences of their choices. In this article, the authors present a rationale for elementary classroom teachers to become more child centered in their day-to-day interactions with students. A case vignette is included to illustrate child-centered classroom management.

High school delinquency, adolescent behaviors ranging from repeated school misconduct to being arrested, is a critical concern in the United States. Though widely believed that reputation is related to adolescent behavior, few studies have addressed the relationship between adolescent reputation and delinquency. Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study: 88 (NELS), the current study examined adolescents’ individual characteristics, reputation enhancement, peer affiliation, parent involvement, and school delinquency. Results showed that peer affiliation and school bonding had strong indirect effects on high school delinquency through reputational constructs. Practice implications for school settings are included.

Over the years, literature on the phenomenon of bullying has evolved from treating bullying as an individual behavior to understanding it as a group process. Other than those of the bully and the victim, researchers have identified several roles children assume in bullying situations, with some assuming a pro-social role, often called the defender, in bullying scenarios. Practice literature continues to concentrate its attention narrowly on the bully and the victim, rather than on defenders. Understanding the individual and social circumstances related to defending suggests new avenues for practitioners interested in promoting improved peer relations in schools.

This article highlights the nature of relational aggression among females in the mass media and how to use the same media to counteract aggression. Relationally aggressive behaviors depicted in media include backstabbing, manipulating, and gossiping. These behaviors are associated with negative mental health outcomes for girls and women. We offer counseling interventions using a feminist framework with the understanding that females develop self-identity within the context of broader sociocultural structures.

The authors briefly introduce the concepts, techniques, and theory of identity development associated with J. L. Moreno's (1946, 1969, 1993) Psychodrama. Based upon Loganbill, Hardy, and Delworth's (1982) model, counselor identity development is conceptualized as consisting of seven developmental themes or vectors (e.g., issues of awareness and effective use of emotions in counseling, issues of professional ethics in counseling practice, etc.). Development along these seven psychosocial vectors may be regarded as resembling the process of role repertoire expansion described in Moreno's (1993) identity development theory. The authors present four representative psychodrama activities that have been used with supervisees in group supervision.

According to the reputation enhancement theory, social bonds influence adolescents’ delinquent activity indirectly through the reputations they select. Findings from the current study of a school-based sample of female adolescents indicate that bonds to parents affect reputation enhancement beliefs, which, in turn, predict delinquent activity. Furthermore, mother-daughter bonds appear to moderate the relation between reputation enhancement and delinquency, where under the condition of weak bonds to mother, the relation between reputation and delinquency is the strongest.

Using a longitudinal national database, the authors conducted a path analysis of girls’ school delinquency to determine the indirect and direct effects of socioeconomic status, parental involvement, bonding to school, and girls’ self-perception of reputation on school delinquency during middle school and high school. Self-perception of reputation was the most influential factor in girls’ school delinquency, followed by bond to school and socioeconomic status. Implications for school counselors are presented.

Explanations of girls' delinquency traditionally have emphasized individual and family dysfunction. Though recent explanations have emerged that promote less pathological views of girls' delinquency, there are still commonly held views that girls who are delinquent are anomalous. The current study examined reputation theory as a psychosocial explanation of girls' delinquent behavior. Reputation theory suggests that social bonds to others influence delinquent behavior indirectly through adolescent reputation choices. In this study, girls' social bonds and self-perception of reputation were related to minor and serious delinquent behavior. Bonds to father and to school were the most influential social bonds. This study also found that reputation beliefs mediate the relationship between social bonds and girls' offending. In general, reputation theory was supported by the findings of this study. These findings contribute to the emerging body of literature that portrays girls in more control of their ...