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Previous research suggests both social contextual and individual difference variables contribute to chronic peer victimization. We tested whether two individual difference variables--anxiety sensitivity (AS) and internalizing symptoms (IS)--predicted persistent peer victimization in elementary school children. Participants were 677 fourth-grade students (51.8% girls) from 10 public elementary schools. We hypothesized that persistent victims would report the highest levels of AS and IS. We also expected that IS would mediate the link between AS and persistent peer victimization. Results indicated that persistent victims reported significantly higher levels of AS and IS than transient or limited victims, and we found evidence that IS functioned as an intermediate variable between AS and persistent peer victimization status. Implications and directions for research are discussed.

We examined the tendency for high status children to bully their classmates. Children liked by peers only (LPO), liked by teachers only (LTO), liked by both (Both), liked by neither (Neither), and children with average peer and teacher liking (Average) were compared on self-, teacher-, and peer-reported bullying. Participants were 676 fourth-grade children (50.7% girls). Children in the Neither group evinced the highest level of bullying, which increased significantly from fall to spring. We found little evidence that children in the Both group differed from other groups or that their bullying increased over time. Self-reported physical bullying increased for boys in the LPO and Average groups and for girls in the LTO and Neither groups. Gender-specific findings have implications for researchers and practitioners.

Repeated victims of school bullying are at risk for maladjustment and could potentially benefit from selective intervention. However, selective intervention requires a practical method for accurately identifying members of the targeted group. We examined the extent to which the global victimization item from the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire accurately identified children repeatedly victimized by peers. From a sample of 654 fourth-graders, we categorized 63 (9.7%) as repeated victims based on elevated reports of victimization from the same informant (self, teacher, peer) across two time points within an academic year. Logistic regression and ROC curve analyses examined the predictive utility of the recommended global item cutoff and more stringent cutoffs. Results indicated that the global victimization item offered limited utility as a means of identifying children categorized as repeated victims. We discuss possible reasons for the findings and potential implications for future research and practice.

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Teachers are key players in efforts to address school bullying and peer victimization. Recent studies found that teachers' responses to peer victimization can vary based on their beliefs and attitudes. We examined relations among teacher self-efficacy, teachers' intentions to use recommended antibullying practices, and peer victimization as rated by teachers and students. In Study 1 (N = 79), we examined the internal structure, reliability, and initial validity of the Teacher Efficacy for Antibullying Scale (TEAS), a new measure of teachers' self-efficacy regarding school bullying and peer victimization. In Study 2, we used data from elementary school teachers (N = 34) and their students (N = 654) to test whether the interaction between teacher self-efficacy and intentions to use recommended antibullying practices predicted children's peer victimization. We also tested whether the relation between teacher self-efficacy and children's peer victimization was curvilinear. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we found support for a curvilinear relation between teacher self-efficacy and children's peer victimization that was moderated by teachers' intentions to use antibullying practices; except in classrooms where teachers held very strong intentions to use best practices, children's peer victimization was greater in classrooms where teachers reported either very low or very high self-efficacy relative to classrooms where teachers had more moderate levels of self-efficacy. Discussed are the research and practice implications of these findings for teacher-based antibullying training and intervention.

Empirical data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families with school-aged children is limited. We used a cross-sectional, descriptive design to examine pandemic-related family impacts and whether impacts varied based on demographics. We also examined whether parenting behaviors in response to the virus and parent–child interactions were related to pandemic impacts and children's psychological adjustment. We surveyed 595 United States parents (69.2% non-Latinx White, 12.1% Black/African American) using Amazon Mechanical Turk in May 2020. Results revealed that families experienced negative and positive impacts related to the pandemic. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVAs indicated that parents of color, parents with lower income, and parents of elementary school children reported more negative impacts. Correlational analyses revealed parents who encouraged hygienic behaviors and promoted social connection reported their children engaged in more virus safety behaviors and experienced less impairment. Parents who limited access to COVID-19 information reported their children demonstrated more fear, impairment, and safety behaviors. Positive parenting was inversely related to negative pandemic impacts, whereas inconsistent discipline was positively related to negative pandemic impacts and to children's fear and impairment related to COVID-19. Recommendations for how practitioners and school personnel can support parents during the pandemic are provided. Impact Statement This study contributes to our growing understanding of demographic trends in parents' COVID-19 responses and also identifies parenting behaviors associated with children's adjustment to the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need for interventions to teach parents how to talk to their children about the virus and help their child cope with the pandemic. Interventions should also focus on helping parents learn and utilize positive and consistent parenting strategies. Schools should consider developing focused supports for families of color, of lower income, and with elementary school-aged children to help reduce burden associated with adverse impacts of the pandemic, such as children's transition to online learning from home [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequent co-occurrence of anxiety disorders and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in youth has spurred study of intervention practices for this population. As anxiety disorders in the absence of ASD are effectively treated using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) protocols, an initial step in evaluating treatments for comorbid youth has necessarily centered on adaptation of CBT. One primary limitation of this research, to date, is that interventions for adolescents with anxiety disorders and ASD have not been systematically tested. In this study, 20 adolescents (90% male) with ASD and a comorbid anxiety disorder, between ages 11 and 14 years (M = 12.2 years, SD = 1.11 years), participated in an open trial of modified CBT targeting anxiety with ASD. Findings demonstrated significant reductions in anxiety severity, as assessed by clinician and parent ratings, from baseline to post-treatment. In addition, reductions in parent-rated externalizing symptoms were observed. Gains were maintained at a 1-month follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodResultsConclusionsCurrent antibullying programs can reduce overall rates of victimization but appear to overlook processes that give rise to persistent peer victimization. Needed are studies that delineate the interplay between social contextual and individual difference variables that contribute to persistent peer victimization. We examined the extent to which two individual-difference variables – internalizing symptoms (IS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) – moderated the link between children’s average social preference score across the school year and their status as persistent victims.Participants included 659 4th-grade students (Mage = 9.31 years, SD = 0.50, 51.8% girls; 42.3% Latinx, 28.9% non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Pacific Islander, 7.7% Bi/Multiracial, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 1.7% Native American, and 3.4% unreported) from 10 public elementary schools in the U.S.As expected, higher social preference scores predicted a decreased likelihood of being persistently victimized. Conversely, IS and AS were positively linked to persistent victim status. AS significantly moderated the link between social preference and persistent victim status such that for children with high AS, compared to those with AS scores at or below the mean, the negative association between social preference and persistent victim status was attenuated.Findings provide evidence that children who experience high levels of IS and AS are at risk for being persistently victimized by peers and that high AS could signal increased risk for persistent victimization even when children are generally liked by peers. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to develop focused interventions for chronically bullied children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]