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The influence of violent behavior and victimization at school on psychological distress: The role of parents and teachers

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This study examined the role of adolescents' interactions with both parents and teachers in the relationship between violent behavior/victimization at school and adolescent psychological distresss (depression and stress). Participants were 983 Spanish adolescents (mean age 13.7 years) from four public schools in the Valencian Community. Statistical analyses were carried out using structural equation modeling. Results showed victimization to be directly and positively related to psychological distress. Moreover, victimization was associated with negative father-adolescent communication, which mediated a part of the influence of victimization on distress. Regarding school-based violent behavior, no direct effect on psychological adjustment was found. Results showed, however, an indirect effect: violent behavior negatively influenced communication with parents and interaction with teachers which, in turn, was related to poor psychological adjustment. This model accounted for 47.7% of the variance in psychological distress. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research on adolescent psychosocial adjustment, and directions for future research are suggested.
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THE INFLUENCE OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND VICTIMIZATION AT SCHOOL ON PSYCHOLOGICA...
Estefanía Estévez; Gonzalo Musitu; Juan Herrero
Adolescence; Spring 2005; 40, 157; Health & Medical Complete
pg. 183
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
... Dentre as várias causas possivelmente apontadas para a agressão entre os adolescentes destaca-se fatores psicológicos (Park et al., 2004) e o ambiente social, especialmente escola, família e amigos (Estevez et al., 2005;Jimenez & Estevez, 2017;Rothbaum & Weisz, 1994). ...
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... Turn out to be intimately correlated at the same time as associated and both give emphasis to collision for the conduct situation to the societal surroundings on. Aggressive behaviors and unfair treatment (Estevez, Musitu, & Herrero, 2005). Boulard and Leclercq (2020) it is advisable note with the purpose of one are supposed to as an alternative speak of depressive disposition in such circumstance. ...
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... ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 communication (Georgiou, 2008;Snyder et al., 2005). The finding that a child's victimization is related to lowered levels of parent-child communication can be interpreted as an indication that problems such as bullying by peers are might be a barrier to parent-child communication (Estevez et al., 2005); that is, bullying by peers may make children reluctant to talk to their parents, (Holt et al. 2008;Hunter et al. 2004), and conversely, parents may not know how to approach their bullying victimized children (Swayer et al., 2011). ...
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... Victimization at school was also shown to be associated with absenteeism and lower academic achievement in LGB students (Birkett et al., 2014). Of course, the associations between victimization at school and emotional distress on the one hand and lower academic achievement on the other are not exclusive to LGBT students, as this problem also affects heterosexual students who face victimization for other reasons (Estévez et al., 2005;Nakamoto & Schwartz, 2010;Rigby, 2000;Toomey & Russell, 2016). ...
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... Victimization at school was also shown to be associated with absenteeism and lower academic achievement in LGB students (Birkett et al., 2014). Of course, the associations between victimization at school and emotional distress on the one hand and lower academic achievement on the other are not exclusive to LGBT students, as this problem also affects heterosexual students who face victimization for other reasons (Estevez et al., 2005;Nakamoto & Schwartz, 2010;Rigby, 2000;Toomey & Russell, 2016). ...
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Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students face victimization in multiple contexts, including the educational context. Here, teachers can serve as an important resource for LGB students. However, teachers who are prejudiced against students from sexual minorities might not be able to fulfill this role. Accordingly, it is important to find out more about teachers' attitudes and their correlates, as such information can provide starting points for sensitization interventions in teacher education programs, which have the potential to improve the situation of LGB students in the school setting. In the present preregistered questionnaire study, we investigated the attitudes of 138 preservice teachers from the University of Luxembourg toward LGB students and tried to identify predictors of teachers’ attitudes. Results suggested that Luxembourgish preservice teachers hold mostly positive attitudes toward LGB students. Using correlation and multiple regression analyses, we identified the frequency of participants’ contact with LGB people in family or friend networks, hypergendering tendencies, sexual orientation, and religiosity as reliable predictors of attitudes toward LGB students. Age, gender, and right-wing conservatism did not reliably predict preservice teachers’ attitudes in the regression models. Our findings thus offer support for intergroup contact theory and have implications for teacher education in Luxembourg.
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