No safe haven: locations of harassment and bullying victimization in middle schools

No Safe Space at School: Exploring Power Dynamics, Bullying Locations, and Maladaptive Behaviors Among US Adolescents

School bullying is not merely a random event but rather involves intricate power dynamics in each bullying event. However, less is known about whether this power asymmetry could lead to different spatial patterns of bullying within the school environment, contributing to distinct perceptions of the usage of social spaces within the school context defined by bullies and victims. Further, it remains unclear how differentiated bullying victimization experiences and power imbalances could jointly result in victims' heterogeneous maladaptive behavioral responses. In response, this study was the first to conduct latent class analysis to identify subgroups of victims of bullying and compare these subgroups based on power differences with the bullies, locations of bullying, and their associations with distinct behavioral responses. This study used the adolescent sample from the 2022 School Crime Supplement (SCS) of the National Crime Victimization Survey (n = 1249; ages 12-18 years [mean: 14.3; SD: 1.85]; 45.8% male; 79.3% White, 9.8% Black, 2.5% Asian, and 8.4% other racial groups). Five victim classes emerged: "Marginal victims" (29.3%), "Outpowered victims" (28.2%), "Classroom-specific victims" (16.7%), "Hallway-specific victims" (16.8%), and "Pervasive victims" (9%). Results of logistic regression revealed that "Outpowered victims" and "Pervasive victims" were significantly more likely to exhibit maladaptive behaviors such as avoidance and fear, but only the "Pervasive victims" group showed an increased likelihood of carrying weapons to school, compared to the "Marginal victims" group. The findings suggest that bullying is intricately tied to power dynamics, with dominant-subordinate relationships reproduced in school spaces. Structured areas, such as classrooms and hallways, emerged as key bullying sites, challenging assumptions that bullying primarily occurs in unstructured spaces. This study reveals how power imbalances between adolescents shape their perception and use of school spaces, demonstrating that youth develop different behavioral responses based on their position in social hierarchies.

The Global Prevalence of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Schools between 2012 and 2022: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

This review aimed to synthesize existing research on the prevalence of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) in schools, while also identifying key moderators that influence these rates.

METHODS

A comprehensive database search from 2012 to 2022 was conducted. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were performed to examine the impact of various moderators on prevalence rates.

RESULTS

70 studies with sample sizes ranging from 381 to 4,511 were included. The global prevalence of CSEA in schools was found to be 1.6%. Key moderators included the study's regional origin, the income level of the country, and the type of CSEA, with no significant variations noted based on gender, sample source/participant age, response rate, time period, data collection year, and publication year.

DISCUSSION

Highlighting the need for ongoing vigilance in CSEA prevention within schools, the study suggested targeted interventions based on identified moderating variables.

Parental Knowledge, Beliefs, Practices, and Barriers Related to Children's Bladder Health in the School Environment

BACKGROUND

Pediatric lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are a set of common childhood problems. Community-level interventions that target behavioral change among children with LUTS can improve symptoms outside of the clinic environment. Parents, navigating the home and school environments, are key in supporting healthy bladder behaviors. Thus, we asked parents about their perceptions and barriers related to pediatric bladder health.

METHODS

English-speaking parents (n = 30) of children ages 5-10 years with and without LUTS were interviewed. Transcripts were coded iteratively by two independent coders using deductive and inductive approaches that emphasized consensus coding and peer debriefing.

RESULTS

Ninety-three percent of participants were women, 50% were 30-39 years old, and 60% held a graduate degree. Parents identified school-, classroom-, and child-based barriers to bladder health. These included the bathroom environment, restrictive policies for bathroom use, and anxiety on how and when to use the bathroom.

CONCLUSIONS

Addressing school-, classroom-, and child-based barriers is necessary to promote healthy bladder habits among children in the school environment and beyond. Recommended school-based interventions include bathroom use and sanitation policies that support students' voiding needs, teachers' professional development, and school readiness initiatives. Limitations include participation of English-speaking parents only.

How does the school built environment impact students' bullying behaviour? A scoping review

RATIONALE

School bullying is a public health concern affecting the physical and mental health of children and young people. While school-based interventions to prevent bullying have been developed internationally, the effectiveness of many interventions has been mixed and modest. Despite a growing recognition that the school built environment may impact bullying behaviour, few anti-bullying interventions have addressed the built environment.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic scoping review explored existing literature for evidence that the school built environment influences bullying behaviour in school students.

METHODS

The review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework for scoping reviews. A search of six databases (Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus and The Cochrane Library) identified studies addressing primary, middle and secondary school students, bullying, school bullying locations, and school built environments. Peer-reviewed journal articles published in English prior to July 19, 2021, were included.

RESULTS

In total, 7568 documents were screened by title and abstract. Following a full-text review, 61 studies (63 articles) were selected; 43 studies identified school bullying locations, and 19 studies linked features of the school built environment to bullying behaviour. Classrooms, playgrounds, and corridors were identified as common bullying locations. Features of the school built environment linked to bullying behaviour included security cameras, architectural design, aesthetics, seating, and vandalism.

CONCLUSIONS

This review identified key school settings for anti-bullying interventions and identified gaps in existing built environment and bullying literature. Further analyses of published studies will inform anti-bullying policy and practice.

Disparities in Perpetrators, Locations, and Reports of Victimization for Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

PURPOSE

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents are more likely to become victims of bullying and harassment than heterosexual, cisgender adolescents, but little is known about the contextual details of these victimization experiences. This study aims to examine by whom and where adolescents are bullied or harassed, to whom adolescents report such victimization, and whether these experiences differ between SGM and heterosexual, cisgender adolescents.

METHODS

Participants in this nationally representative study were 29,879 students (mean age = 14.1) from 136 Dutch middle/high schools across grades 7-12 (14.5% sexual minority, 2.7% gender minority) who completed a survey about their school-based experiences.

RESULTS

Perpetrators of victimization of SGM students were more often teachers and school staff compared with heterosexual, cisgender adolescents. Furthermore, SGM students experienced victimization in private locations (in the rest- or changing rooms/parking lots, at home), more often than heterosexual, cisgender students. Finally, SGM students felt less safe than their heterosexual, cisgender peers to report these experiences to teachers or parents, and were more likely to report their experiences to the police or the school janitor. SGM students who reported victimization experiences were less likely to receive support: the problems were less often acted on and persisted more often than those of heterosexual, cisgender students.

CONCLUSIONS

SGM adolescents are not only victimized more often, but also by different perpetrators (teachers, other school staff) and in more private places. Their victimization is also less likely to be recognized or acted on by those responsible for adolescent's safety: teachers or parents.

School Toileting Environment, Bullying, and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in a Population of Adolescent and Young Adult Girls: Preventing Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Consortium Analysis of Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether the school toilet environment at age 13, including bullying at toilets, is associated with female lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) at ages 13 and 19, as little is known about the association among school toilet environment, voiding behaviors, and LUTS in adolescent girls.

METHODS

The sample comprised 3962 female participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. At age 13, participants reported on 7 school toilet environment characteristics and a range of LUTS items. At age 19, participants completed the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire.

RESULTS

All toilet environmental factors were associated with at least 1 LUTS outcome at age 13. Holding behavior was associated with all school toilet environmental factors, with odds ratios ranging from 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05, 1.76) for dirty toilets to 2.38 (95% CI: 1.60, 3.52) for feeling bullied at toilets. Bullying was associated with all daytime LUTS symptoms and nocturia; odds ratios ranged from 1.60 (95% CI: 1.04, 2.07) for nocturia to 2.90 (95% CI: 1.77, 4.75) for urgency. Associations between age 13 school toilets and age 19 LUTS were in the same direction as age 13 LUTS.

CONCLUSION

This is the first examination of associations between school toilets and LUTS. Toileting environments were cross-sectionally associated with LUTS in adolescent girls. While further work is needed to determine whether these associations are causal, school toilet environments are modifiable and thus a promising target for LUTS prevention.

Left Off the Route: A Qualitative Examination of Urban Bus Drivers Wanting to be Players in the Bully Prevention Solution

Every school day millions of children board the bus from home and school oftentimes with 90 others including a bus driver. Perhaps not found in a bus drivers' job description are the details to monitor and respond to all suspected bullying behaviors. Being bullied can have long-term negative consequences for both bullies and victims. The school bus has been identified as a potential hot spot for student bullying, wherein bus drivers may see, hear, and respond to several types of bullying on a daily basis that often require support from school officials. However, a bus driver's ability to intercede effectively in cases of school bus bullying may be limited. This qualitative study used a nonprobability, purposeful sample to examine 18 urban African American school bus drivers' and bus attendants'experiences in addressing school bus bullying within the context of their riders and school officials. Using focus groups, a definition of school bullying was read aloud to provide context to six questions from a semistructured interview guide that related bus drivers' experiences in responding to acts of bullying. An interpretive phenomenology method was used throughout the data analysis process. Several key themes and practices emerged. Results suggest bus drivers' reports were mostly passified and not taken seriously. Furthermore, these bus drivers' experiences overwhelmingly reflected a lack of both being taken seriously and being included in decision making. This led to a key stakeholder: bus drivers, being left out of the process. From these drivers' interviews, a model was developed to illustrate their lived experiences from behind the wheel to working with the school in responding to bullying.

Critical Evaluation of the Case for Pausing California's School-based Fitness Testing

Objective

We undertook a literature review to evaluate the evidence for an association among school-based fitness testing and bullying, weight-based teasing (WBT), and/or gender discrimination.

Methods

We searched the peer-reviewed literature using PubMed, ERIC and GOOGLE Scholar to identify articles related to school-based physical fitness testing (K-12) on the one hand and bullying, WBT, and/or gender discrimination on the other.

Results

We identified 12 studies on the impact of school-based physical fitness testing (PFT) on bullying and WBT. These studies do not support the assertion that PFT places students at elevated risk for bullying and/or WBT as compared to other school settings. There is a dearth of studies investigating an association between PFT and gender discrimination.

Conclusions

The concerns about PFT as a widespread cause of bullying and WBT are not supported by the evidence. It is likely that school climate is a stronger determinant overall of these negative student interactions and that more rigorous teacher training would ameliorate student concerns about fitness testing. Nevertheless, more rigorous research is warranted to determine with confidence that PFT does not elevate students' risks for bullying and WBT and to examine the risks for students with non-binary gender.

Prevalence of the bullying phenomenon in a schools sample of Palermo, Sicily: a pre-post intervention observational study among teachers

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

Bullying involves a significant percentage of school-age children. According to the latest available surveillance data, in Sicily, the estimated prevalence among 11-15 years old children is 14%. This study aimed to estimate a prevalence of the bullying phenomenon, observed by teachers, in a sample of secondary schools of Palermo, Sicily. Moreover, after the conduction of preventive interventions among teachers, aimed to evaluate any modification in bullying prevalence.

METHODS

A cluster sampling selection according to socio-economic level of the school neighborhood was carried out. Two anonymous online questionnaires, pre and post-intervention, were administered to the 63 teaching staff, belonging to second and third year classes of ten secondary schools enrolled. Preventive interventions were conducted among teachers by experienced researchers.

RESULTS

Prevalence of bullying reported decreased significantly from 44.4% to 19.0% (p-value 0.001), comparing pre and post-intervention questionnaires. A reduction in the prevalence of verbal and physical bullying and a concomitant slight increase of indirect bullying were also observed. All the characteristics, reported by the teaching staff, for describing bullies, victims and observers of bullying have been categorized under three different content domains (affective-relational discomfort, socio-cultural context, and character/natural disposition).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study estimated the prevalence and the characteristics of bullying phenomenon in a sample of secondary schools of Palermo, evaluating the reduction of bullying episodes among students, after a preventive interventions conducted among teaching staff. Data obtained confirmed the effectiveness of this approach and suggested an extension of the project at Regional Level.

The impact of extrafamilial victimization and poly-victimization on the psychological well-being of English young people

Childhood victimization impacts on the well-being of children and young people, particularly those experiencing an extreme amount of different types of victimization (i.e., poly-victims). However, limited attention has been given to the impact of different categories of extrafamilial victimization (experienced outside of the family), particularly in the UK. The intricacies of the significant detrimental impact poly-victimization has on victims are also poorly understood. In this study, 730 young people, aged 13 to 16 years (mean 13.8 years), from one county in the UK, were surveyed about their lifetime and past year experiences of extrafamilial victimization, the locations in which these occurred, and current trauma symptoms. The results showed that interpersonal forms of extrafamilial victimization (e.g., sexual victimization) were significant predictors of trauma, whilst more indirect forms of extrafamilial victimization (e.g., witnessing the victimization of others) were not. When extrafamilial poly-victimization and number of extrafamilial victim locations were accounted for within regression models, however, this impact was reduced. Poly-victimization within the past year was the strongest predictor of trauma symptoms. Number of victim locations did not significantly predict trauma symptoms above and beyond the impact of poly-victimization, although it was a contributory predictor. These findings suggest that a holistic exploration of a young person's extrafamilial victim experiences is needed in any clinical assessment or research into its psychological impact. Specifically, attention should be given to the experiencing of extreme levels of victimization (e.g., poly-victimization). Further longitudinal research is needed to understand why poly-victimization has the greatest impact on psychological well-being.

Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction in Elementary School Children: Results of a Cross-Sectional Teacher Survey

PURPOSE

Lower urinary tract dysfunction in school-aged children is common and yet data are lacking on current teacher practice regarding bathroom use and daytime incontinence during classroom hours. We determined the prevalence of elementary school teachers who promote lower urinary tract health and identified predictors for and against such behavioral promotion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed an electronic cross-sectional survey among self-identified teachers using targeted social media advertisement during a 1-week period in July 2014. The empirical survey tool consisted of 27 questions and collected data on 5 principal domains, including 1) teacher demographics, 2) rules and regulations on water intake and bathroom use during classroom hours, 3) characteristics of school bathrooms in terms of safety, supervision and suitability for use, 4) experience with and management of students with daytime incontinence and 5) training on the topic of lower urinary tract health. Predictors for promoting lower urinary tract health were identified by multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of the 4,166 teachers who completed the survey 88% indicated that they encourage students to hold urine. Despite strict bathroom protocols 81% of teachers allowed children unlimited access to water. Of the teachers 82% reported never having undergone any professional development on bathroom regulations for children. Overall only 24% of surveyed teachers met criteria for promoting lower urinary tract health. The odds of promoting lower urinary tract health decreased with ascending grade level (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.76-0.84). Conversely it increased if teaching experience was greater than 5 years (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.39-1.98) or professional development on the subject had been received (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.18-1.70).

CONCLUSIONS

Of elementary school teachers 76% are not promoting lower urinary tract health in school-aged children. Professional development training on the topics of lower urinary tract dysfunction and/or lower urinary tract health may be beneficial, particularly for educators who teach higher grades and those with less teaching experience.