A mediation model for relational aggression, victimization, attachment, and depressive symptoms in Guam: A gender-informed approach

Guam Adolescents' Use of Strategies to Resist Cigarette, e-Cigarette, and Betel Nut Offers: Findings from a Focus Group Study

Background: This study examined resistance strategies used by predominantly Pacific Islander young adolescents in response to offers of tobacco, e-cigarettes, and betel [areca] nuts. This study was intended to inform the development of a prevention curriculum focused on training young adolescents from the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) on culturally appropriate strategies to resist substance use offers. Currently, very little is understood in terms of how Pacific Islander youths deal with tobacco and other substance use offers, although the use of tobacco products among Pacific Islander youths is high. Specifically, given the collectivist sociocultural orientation of the Pacific Islander communities, it is unclear whether the direct (overt) confrontational style of resistance is a viable mode of resistance for youths to practice when faced with a substance use offer. Methods: We conducted 10 focus groups with public middle school students (N = 34) from Guam, which is part of the USAPI. Results: Results suggested that, as with other communities in the U.S., the resistance strategies fall into two categories-overt/confrontational and non-confrontational resistance strategies. Overt/confrontational strategies included (a) saying "no" and (b) verbally confronting the offeror. Non-confrontational strategies included (a) avoiding or leaving the situation and (b) telling an adult. Conclusions: Our findings have implications for the development of culturally grounded interventions aimed at preventing youth tobacco and other substance use in Guam, the USAPI, and the Pacific region.

Longitudinal relationships between bullying and prosocial behavior: The mediating roles of trauma-related guilt and shame

The present study examined the relationships between bullying, trauma-related guilt, trauma-related shame, and prosocial behaviors. We investigated 1,322 college students using a longitudinal approach to explore the internal mechanism between bullying, prosocial behaviors, and the probable mediating effects of trauma-related guilt and shame. The results suggested that bullying negatively predicted prosocial behaviors and that trauma-related guilt played a positive mediating role. In contrast, trauma-related shame played a negative mediating role in the relationship between bullying and prosocial behaviors. These findings indicated that trauma-related guilt and shame played adaptive and maladaptive roles after bullying victimization, which also provided a theoretical basis for the relevant intervention.

Gender, Anxiety, and Legitimation of Violence in Adolescents Facing Simulated Physical Aggression at School

We analyzed gender and anxiety differences in middle school students facing a physical peer aggression situation. The participants were 1147 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (male: n = 479; female: n = 668) who watched a 12 s animation representing the situation and filled out a questionnaire to analyze the legitimation of violent behaviors and anxiety levels. We registered their decisions to solve the situation using a categorical scale that included assertive, avoidant, aggressive, submissive, and supportive behaviors. Gender was not associated with the adolescent's behaviors in facing a simulated peer aggression situation. However, male teenagers tended to perceive adults as sanctioners and neutrals; those who used the diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization to justify their behavior also showed a higher state of anxiety. Female teenagers who expected legitimation from their peers, presented higher anxiety as well. Educational interventions may use these results, helping adolescents to understand that their acts have substantial implications in the lives of others. It is essential to develop group interventions that modify how adolescents manage their conflicts and change gender stereotypes that significantly impact health. We highlight the need for linking families in educational programs facing the challenges of transforming the legitimization of violence in parental practices.

When peer norms work? Coherent groups facilitate normative influences on cyber aggression

Due to the impersonal and anonymous nature of cyberspace, past work underscored the pivotal role of social influence processes in cyberbullying among adolescents. However, there was also evidence revealing the weak influences that some referent groups yield on youth. The current study argues that the strength of normative influences on cyberbullying depends on the properties of the referent groups. In the school context, we examined whether class entitativity-the extent to which a class is a unified and coherent group, rather than a mere aggregation of students-moderated the relationship between class norms and cyberbullying. A total of 474 adolescent students responded to measures of descriptive and injunctive class norms about cyberbullying, perceived class entitativity, and cyberbullying. The results indicated that pro-cyberbullying descriptive and injunctive class norms were positively correlated with cyber aggression. Most importantly, higher levels of pro-cyberbullying class norms predicted increases in cyber aggression when students perceived their classes as highly entitative. In contrast, this effect was not significant when students perceived their classes having low entitativity. These findings promote an understanding of how peer norms work and provide an alternative strategy for interventions into cyber aggression in schools.