The Child Adolescent Bullying Scale (CABS): Psychometric evaluation of a new measure

The traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder and bullying victimization in an epidemiological population

Autistic children (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD) show an increased risk of bullying victimization and often face challenges in communication and peer relationships. However, it is unclear to what extent the amount and quality of ASD traits are associated with bullying victimization. This study examined the association of bullying victimization and ASD traits in an epidemiological population of 8-year-old children (n = 4408) using parent and teacher completed Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaires (ASSQs), both separately and combined. The ASSQ items relating to loneliness and social isolation, lack of co-operating skills, clumsiness and lack of common sense were associated with victimization in the study population. The higher the ASSQ scores, the more the children were victimized: the ASSQ scores increased in parallel with victimization from 0 (0% victimized) to 45 (64% victimized). The victimization rate was 46% in ASD sample, 2% in the total population sample and 2% in the non-ASD population sample. The results enable more targeted means for recognizing potential victimization.

Utilization of the Fordham Risk Screening Tool for violence risk assessment in an emergency department

BACKGROUND

Violence is a critical problem in the emergency department (ED) and patients experiencing mental health crises are at greater violence risk; however, tools appropriate for assessing violence risk in the ED are limited. Our goal was to evaluate the utility of the Fordham Risk Screening Tool (FRST) in reliability assessing violence risk in adult ED patients with acute mental health crises through evaluation of test characteristics compared to a reference standard.

METHODS

We evaluated performance of the FRST when used with a convenience sample of ED patients undergoing acute psychiatric evaluation. Participants underwent assessment with the FRST and an established reference standard, the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20, Version 3 (HCR-20 V3). Diagnostic performance was assessed through evaluation of test characteristics and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Psychometric assessments examined the measurement properties of the FRST.

RESULTS

A total of 105 participants were enrolled. In comparison to the reference standard, the AUROC for the predictive ability of the FRST was 0.88 (standard error 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81-0.96). Sensitivity was 84% (95% CI 69%-94%) while specificity was 93% (95% CI 83%-98%). The positive predictive value was 87% (95% CI 73%-94%) and negative predictive value was 91% (95% CI 83%-86%). Psychometric analyses provided reliability and validity evidence for the FRST when used in the ED setting.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support the potential utility of the FRST when used to assess violence risk in adult ED patients experiencing a mental health crisis. Future research with more diverse populations and ED settings is warranted.

Perils and Pitfalls of Social Media Use: Cyber Bullying in Teens/Young Adults

Social media and technology use has increased over the past several years. Inappropriate use or overuse of social media and internet can lead to increase in mental health disorders. Primary care physicians should screen adolescents and young adults for social media and technology use and cyberbullying using a screening tool developed for healthcare settings. Parents should be educated on keeping open lines of communications with their teens to help navigate appropriate technology behaviors and put proper boundaries in place. Counseling interventional programs and educational programs can be utilized to help prevent cyberbullying and treat those who have been affected.

How Teachers Deal with Cases of Bullying at School: What Victims Say

Student victims of peer bullying (n = 223) in 25 coeducational Australian schools answered a questionnaire to provide accounts of how their school responded to their requests for help. In addition, respondents indicated how severely they were emotionally impacted by the bullying and whether the bullying was perpetrated by an individual or by a group. The reported outcomes from the intervention indicated that in 67% of cases the bullying stopped or was reduced. In cases where the emotional impact was reported as relatively severe, the school interventions were less successful. In addition, reportedly being bullied relatively often by groups, as distinct from individuals, was independently predictive of a less positive outcome. Among girls, but not boys, younger students reported more satisfactory outcomes. Implications are suggested for more effective interventions in cases of bullying.

Childhood Bullying: Screening and Intervening Practices of Pediatric Primary Care Providers

INTRODUCTION

Many adverse outcomes related to childhood bullying are treated in primary care, although little is known about how often providers are screening for, and intervening in, bullying.

METHODS

A descriptive survey on the practices, attitudes, self-confidence, and knowledge of health care providers was sent to pediatric primary care providers in the state of Ohio.

RESULTS

One hundred and two health care providers responded to the survey. More than half of the providers reported screening their patients for bullying. Interventions frequently used were providing counseling to the patient, referring patients to mental health, and documenting bullying in the chart. Providers with stronger attitudes and self-efficacy scores were more likely to screen for bullying, whereas knowledge was not related to screening for bullying.

DISCUSSION

Despite national calls to screen for bullying, many providers do not routinely carry out screening. When bullying is suspected, many interventions are used in lieu of a paucity of evidence-based interventions.

Bullying among Teens: Are Ethnicity and Race Risk Factors for Victimization? A Bibliometric Research

Bullying is a problematic situation that negatively affects thousands of children and adolescents in today’s world. The multicultural society resulting from globalization has caused different reactions throughout society. In the school context, some authors indicate that ethnicity and race are risk factors for being victims of bullying. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to analyze the scientific production on racial or ethnic bullying with the greatest impact at present, considering nine variables: Publication date, authors, organizations, countries, journals, type of document, area of research, language, and reference with more impact (cites). We conducted a bibliometric study through systematic review, documentary quantification, and data visualization techniques. We analyzed 831 documents, with a notable increase in recent years (2011–2019), highlighting the production from Dewey Cornell (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA). On the other hand, the results showed that ethnic identity constitutes a differential factor in harassment appearing, accompanied by very poor socio-economic and cultural levels favoring depressive tendencies and drug consumption in the ethnic harassed. In short, bullying has a negative impact both physically and psychologically on the victims. For this reason, we must continue to work from the school context to eradicate the situation that is affecting more and more people.