Using retrospective reports to develop profiles of harmful versus playful teasing experiences.

INTRODUCTION: The current investigation's central goal was to elucidate the complex features of peer teasing episodes that individuals use to interpret teasing as harmful versus playful. METHOD: In 2022-2023, we used semistructured interviews to gather retrospective reports of K-12 peer teasing experiences from a sample of 27 students from a university in southern Ontario, Canada (18-25 years old, 63% female, 78% White). RESULTS: Content analysis revealed the multifaceted nature of teasing, with participants defining teasing as harmful, playful, or including elements of both harm and pleasure. Harmful teasing experiences often included content that was sensitive to the target, occurred between both friends and nonfriends, and often included a power differential with the teasing perpetrator having more power than the target. Targets recalled negative emotional responses, with behavioral responses to mitigate the situation and reduce further teasing. In contrast, playful teasing often occurred between friends or close friends, was often motivated by positive interpersonal motives (e.g., for encouragement), and had positive impacts on the relationship between perpetrator and target. However, despite benign intent, some playful teasing was marked by negative emotional responses and feelings of harm. CONCLUSIONS: Results have implications for uncovering the nuanced and complex nature of teasing, and provide a preliminary profile of harmful versus playful teasing interactions.

A comparative effectiveness study of the breaking the cycle and Maxxine Wright intervention programs for substance-involved mothers and their children: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Children of substance-involved mothers are at especially high risk for exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor mental health and development. Early interventions that support mothers, children, and the mother-child relationship have the greatest potential to reduce exposure to early adversity and the mental health problems associated with these exposures. Currently, there is a lack of evidence from the real-world setting demonstrating effectiveness and return on investment for intervention programs that focus on the mother-child relationship in children of substance-involved mothers. METHODS: One hundred substance-involved pregnant and/or parenting women with children between the ages of 0-6 years old will be recruited through the Breaking the Cycle and Maxxine Wright intervention programs, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, respectively. Children's socioemotional development and exposure to risk and protective factors, mothers' mental health and history of ACEs, and mother-child relationship quality will be assessed in both intervention programs. Assessments will occur at three time points: pre-intervention, 12-, and 24-months after engagement in the intervention program. DISCUSSION: There is a pressing need to identify interventions that promote the mental health of infants and young children exposed to early adversity. Bringing together an inter-disciplinary research team and community partners, this study aligns with national strategies to establish strong evidence for infant mental health interventions that reduce child exposure to ACEs and support the mother-child relationship. This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05768815) on March 14, 2023.

Bullying and the Abuse of Power.

Dan Olweus pioneered research on school bullying and identified the importance of, and risk factors associated with, bullying and victimization. In this paper, we conduct a narrative review of the critical notion of power within bullying. Specifically, we discuss Olweus's definition of bullying and the role of a power imbalance in distinguishing bullying behavior from other forms of aggression. Next, we discuss the changing nature of research on aggression (and the adaptiveness of aggression) throughout the years, the important role of power in these changes, and how the concept of power in relationships has helped elucidate the developmental origins of bullying. We discuss bullying interventions and the potential opportunities for interventions to reduce bullying by making conditions for bullying less favorable and beneficial. Finally, we discuss bullying and the abuse of power that extends beyond the school context and emerges within families, workplaces, and governments. By recognizing and defining school bullying as an abuse of power and a violation of human rights, Olweus has laid the foundation and created the impetus for researching and addressing bullying. This review highlights the importance of examining abuses of power not only in school relationships, but across human relationships and society in general.

Building elementary students' social and emotional skills: A randomized control trial to evaluate a teacher-led intervention.

The Faith and Wellness: A Daily Mental Health Resource is a school-based, teacher-led social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention resource for elementary students. It is designed to address the challenges faced by existing SEL interventions, including lack of time, training, and resources. Using a randomized control trial design, this study evaluates short-term outcomes associated with the use of this resource. Participants were elementary teachers (NT1 = 201, NT2 = 129) and students (NT1 = 242, NT2 = 183; ages 4-14; 47.5% girls) from 19 Catholic school boards in [PROVINCE]. Using multi-level models, significant small to medium effect sizes indicated that intervention group teachers: taught SEL more frequently; had higher confidence in teaching SEL; and had more positive perceptions of the classroom climate, students' SEL, and students' school engagement at Time 2 than comparison group teachers. Results for students were less robust, though there was indication of dosage effects. Results highlight the role of teachers and frequent delivery in effective SEL implementation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12310-022-09538-x.

Power in Aggressor-Victim Relationships: Exploring Social, Physical, Gender- and Ethnicity-Based Power.

Theory highlights power in aggressor-victim relationships, yet empirical work assessing dyadic power is largely absent. Variability in power balance versus imbalance within aggressor-victim dyads (based on social, physical, gender- and ethnicity-based power) was explored. Participants (N = 952; grade 6-8; 50% girls, 44% Hispanic/Latina/o) nominated aggressors and victims (4662 aggressor-victim dyads; 642 strong dyads [based on reputational strength]; 169 sustained dyads [based on longevity]). Dyadic social power (social network centrality and prestige) was calculated from friendship nominations. Self-report was used for dyadic physical (body mass index), gender- and ethnicity-based power. Across power indicators, there were more power-balanced than imbalanced dyads (particularly for strong and sustained dyads). The findings challenge theoretical notions that aggressors are more powerful than their victims and have implications for aggressor-victim relationships.

Evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions: Differentiating competitive, impression management, sadistic and reactive motives.

This study investigated early adolescents' (ages 9-14; M = 11.91) self-reported, evolutionarily relevant motives for using aggression, including competitive, impression management, sadistic, and reactive functions, and examined differential relations with a range of psychosocial characteristics. As expected, competitive functions were associated with aggression and victimization in which the perpetrator had equal or less power than the victim, in line with the view that these are aversive and appetitive motives related to competition with rivals. Impression management and sadistic functions were associated with bullying and coercive resource control strategies (the latter for boys only), consistent with expectations that these are appetitive motives, with the former being more goal-directed and the latter somewhat more impulsive. Finally, as hypothesized, reactive functions were associated with emotional symptoms, hostility, victimization by bullying, and aggression by perpetrators with equal or less power than the victim, consistent with theory and research conceptualizing reactive aggression as an impulsive, emotion-driven response to provocation. The benefits of studying a wide range of evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions are discussed.

Using social network position to understand early adolescents' power and dominance within a school context.

In social groups, such as school-based peer networks, youth often vie for power and dominance over others. Different strategies may be used to gain power (i.e., coercive and/or cooperative strategies), and with varying levels of success. Using a social networks approach, we examined whether and how social network centrality and social network prestige were associated with social strategies, social power, and peer reputation. Participants were fifth- to eighth-grade elementary school students (N = 466, 51% girls, 63% White) in southern Ontario, Canada. Peer nominations were used to assess social network centrality and prestige (via friendship nominations), social power strategies (coercive and cooperative strategies), social power, and peer reputation (popularity and likeability). Results indicated that coercive and cooperative strategies were used by youth high in both centrality and prestige, but that only high prestige related to power, popularity, and likeability. Results have implications for the usefulness of a social networks approach to understanding the structure of youths' social relationships and power in school settings, as well as practical implications for teachers and other school staff. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Cumulative Risk, Protection, and Early Intervention: Neurodevelopment in Sibling Groups Exposed Prenatally to Substances.

Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle is an early intervention program for substance-exposed children with neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities. Within three substance-exposed sibling groups (N = 8; 0-6 years), we 1) described longitudinal neurodevelopmental trajectories, 2) explored the balance of cross-domain cumulative risk and protection on neurodevelopment, and 3) generated hypotheses on how cumulative risk, protection, and early intervention impact neurodevelopment. Neurodevelopment is potentially shaped by the balance of risk and protection. Postnatal risk (birth/postnatal, child, parent-child interaction) and relational protection (family, parent-child interaction) appear to have the most salient impact on neurodevelopment. Early intervention is thought to be important as soon as possible and before age 3 years.

Enjoying Each Other's Company: Gaining Other-Gender Friendships Promotes Positive Gender Attitudes Among Ethnically Diverse Children.

Gender segregation is ubiquitous and may lead to increased bias against other-gender peers. In this study, we examined whether individual differences in friendships with other-gender children reduce gender bias, and whether these patterns vary by gender or ethnicity. Using a 1-year longitudinal design (N = 408 second graders [Mage = 7.56 years] and fourth graders [Mage = 9.48 years]), we found that, across groups, gaining more other-gender friendships over the year led to (a) increased positive cognitive-based attitudes toward the other gender and (b) increased positive and decreased negative affect when with the other gender. We also tested the reverse pattern and found support for a bidirectional link. Girls and Latinx children often showed more gender bias than did boys and European American children. Implications for promoting positive relationships between girls and boys are discussed.

A dyadic perspective on aggressive behavior between friends.

Youth are sometimes victimized by their friends, but we know little about the nature of these relationships. Taking a dyadic approach, we studied relationships characterized by both friendship and aggression. Participants (952 middle schoolers; 50% female; 44% Latinx) nominated friends and aggressive perpetrators and victims. Using two analytic samples of friend dyads (N = 6971) and aggressive dyads (N = 4662), results indicated that aggression by a friend was somewhat common. Compared with friend dyads without aggression, aggressive friend dyads were stronger (i.e., reciprocal) and longer lasting, though victimized youth were less satisfied with the friendship. Aggressive dyads who were friends more often had reciprocal aggression than aggressive dyads who were not friends. Results provide insight into the dynamics of aggression in close peer relationships.

A national implementation of a community-based intervention for mothers experiencing violence in relationships.

Interpersonal violence is a significant concern for families; thus interventions to support vulnerable mothers and children experiencing violence are essential. The purpose of this study was to present preliminary evaluation results from the national dissemination of an interpersonal violence intervention for mothers delivered in community-based programs across Canada. In 18 communities, 184 mothers participated in the intervention. Mothers reported on measures related to the self, relationships, parenting, and knowledge of community services, both before and after the intervention. Mothers comprised a high-risk, vulnerable population. Results indicated feasibility and acceptability, based on a high proportion of intervention completers and high levels of satisfaction. Women reported improvements in self-esteem, self-efficacy, relationship capacity, parenting stress, knowledge of community services, and understanding of relevant concepts compared to before the intervention (with small to medium effects). Additional analyses supported some of these findings as particularly robust. We discuss the importance of community-based projects in reaching diverse families, sustaining engagement with high levels of satisfaction, and supporting mothers in making changes relating to themselves, their relationships, and their parenting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Trauma-informed and relational approaches to service provision: building community-based project capacity to respond to interpersonal violence through a national initiative.

BACKGROUND: Community services that engage and service marginalized families can act as an important entry point for mothers and children experiencing interpersonal violence. The purpose of this study was to use an initiative that included training, implementation, and evaluation of an interpersonal violence intervention to understand changes in the capacity of service providers in community-based organizations to use trauma-informed and relational approaches to support mothers and children experiencing violence in relationships. METHODS: Participants (N = 27) were service providers from 14 community-based organizations across Canada, who had been trained to implement an interpersonal violence intervention with mothers in their communities. Using a phenomenological approach, participants engaged in an open-ended interview in which they were encouraged to reflect on their experiences in the intervention initiative, with prompts relating to the ways in which their work and their organization may have changed as a result of their participation. RESULTS: Findings indicated that participants were able to identify changes in four key areas related to trauma-informed practice: awareness (e.g., attitudes toward interpersonal violence), competency (e.g., application of trauma-informed knowledge), collaboration (e.g., working with other organizations to provide services to children and families), and safety (e.g., organizational policies to ensure safe, welcoming spaces). Further, participants identified these areas of change at the level of themselves as facilitators of the interpersonal violence intervention, their organizations, and their communities. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that, through training, implementation, and evaluation of an interpersonal violence intervention, service providers in community-based projects were able to extend trauma-informed and relational principles not only to the intervention itself, but also to their own work, as well as that of their organizations and communities. With some additional support, leveraging the existing capacities within community-based projects may be an effective means to support mothers and children experiencing interpersonal violence and other challenges.

Cumulative risk and protection measures data.

These data include clinically and theoretically grounded, cross-domain cumulative risk and protection measures. These measures were established for use with three sibling groups at Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle (BTC), a child maltreatment prevention and early intervention program for substance using mothers and their children. These measures were established using archival data obtained from clients' charts. The cumulative risk factor measure encompasses: 1) items from a cumulative risk measure utilized in prior BTC research, 2) clinical measures assessing maternal mental health, addiction, and parenting capacity, 3) a measure utilized in studies on adverse childhood experiences, and 4) the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (Axis IV: Psychosocial Stressors) [1-3]. The cumulative protection factor measure encompasses: 1) existing early intervention components of services at BTC, 2) clinical measures assessing maternal mental health, addiction, and parenting capacity, and 3) known protective factors outlined in the literature. Both measures were theoretically grounded using the Developmental Model of Transgenerational Transmission of Psychopathology [4], which enabled salient domains of risk and protection to be delineated for children exposed prenatally to substances and accessing child maltreatment prevention and early intervention services. For a description of the process of establishing these measures, the total and cross-domain cumulative risk and protection percentages for the sample, as well as a qualitative interpretation of the balance between domains of risk and protection, see [5]. These measures can contribute to improved future understanding around cumulative risk and cumulative protection in vulnerable populations, salient domains of risk and protection, and the unique interaction that occurs between risk and protective processes in the context of child maltreatment prevention and early intervention.

Establishing clinically and theoretically grounded cross-domain cumulative risk and protection scores in sibling groups exposed prenatally to substances.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal substance exposure is associated with neurodevelopmental deficits. Deficits are exacerbated by cumulative risks yet attenuated by cumulative protective factors. Cross-domain relative to intra-domain risk exposure presents more neurodevelopmental challenges. Cumulative risk and protection scores must be clinically and theoretically grounded, with cross-domain considerations. OBJECTIVES: 1) Create clinically and theoretically grounded, cross-domain cumulative risk and protection scores; 2) Describe the benefits of our methodological approach. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: This study included three sibling groups (N = 8) at Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle, a child maltreatment prevention and early intervention program for substance using mothers and their children. METHOD: We outlined the process of establishing clinically and theoretically grounded, cross-domain cumulative risk and protection scores. Total and cross-domain cumulative risk and protection percentages, and the balance between domains of risk and protection, were explored. RESULTS: Clinically and theoretically grounded, cross-domain cumulative risk and protection scores were established. Total percentages were reported. Cross-domain profiles of cumulative risk and protection, and the number of significant domains of risk relative to protection, were reported. The cross-domain profiles facilitated consideration of intra- and inter-domain risk and protection within and between sibling groups. CONCLUSIONS: Emerging patterns indicate the importance of establishing cumulative risk and protection scores that are: 1) clinically and theoretically grounded, 2) cross-domain, and 3) encompass cumulative protection and risk. In understanding profiles of risk and protection, we can inform evidence-based early interventions that address: 1) high-risk children, 2) the full range of risks, 3) vulnerable domains, and 4) protective factors.

Developing and testing a readiness tool for interpersonal violence prevention partnerships with community-based projects.

Community-based projects that serve vulnerable families have the opportunity to identify and respond to interpersonal violence (IPV). We developed a readiness assessment tool to support selection of projects to participate in an initiative that involved implementing a community-based IPV intervention for mothers. The overarching aim of the current study was to describe the development of this tool and examine the reliability of coding, validity, and utility of the tool. After developing and refining the tool, 41 community-based projects completed the tool. Responses were coded and scored; scores were used to select projects for the initiative. Preliminary validation for the tool included (a) expert opinion, (b) uptake/implementation of the intervention, and (c) feedback and responses from service providers in terms of the usefulness and importance of the tool. This tool can be used by both researchers and service providers to assess community project readiness and capacity to provide trauma-informed services for vulnerable families.

Prestigious Youth are Leaders but Central Youth are Powerful: What Social Network Position Tells us About Peer Relationships.

Measures of social network position provide unique social and relational information yet have not been used extensively by researchers who study peer relationships. This study explored two measures-social network prestige and social network centrality-to improve conceptualization of their similarities, differences, and meaning within a peer relationships context. Prestige and centrality were computed from friendship nominations (N = 396 6th graders; 48% girls; 49% White) and participants nominated peers on several social indicators (e.g., aggressive, popular). Two example classroom networks were examined to visually depict social network position. Associations between measures of social network position and social indicators were examined using correlations and latent profile analysis. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles based on the social indicators, which differentially related to prestige and centrality. Overall, prestigious youth were generally well-liked, prosocial, and leaders, whereas central youth were powerful and aggressive. The results strengthen the conceptualization of these network-based measures, allowing them to be more readily used by peer relationships researchers to understand youth's interaction patterns and behaviors.

Using a Developmental-Relational Approach to Understand the Impact of Interpersonal Violence in Women Who Struggle with Substance Use.

Substance use among women is a major public health concern. This review article takes a developmental-relational approach to examine processes through which early relational trauma and violence in relationships may lead to substance use. We examine how early exposure to violence in relationships can impact neurological development, specifically through interference with physiological mechanisms (e.g., the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), brain structure and functioning (e.g., the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex), and neuropsychological development (e.g., executive functioning and emotion regulation) across the lifespan. Further, we discuss the impact of exposure to violence on the development of relational capacity, including attachment, internal working models, and subsequent interpersonal relationships across the lifespan, and how these developmental pathways can lead to continued problematic substance use in women.

Addressing the Impact of Interpersonal Violence in Women Who Struggle with Substance Use Through Developmental-Relational Strategies in a Community Program.

From a developmental-relational framework, substance use in women can be understood as relating to early experiences of violence in relationships and across development. This article uses a developmental-relational approach to outline specific strategies that can be used by service providers and to guide interventions for women with substance use issues. By reviewing research and clinical work with women attending a community-based prevention and early intervention program, we describe how specific components of programming can target the developmental and intergenerational pathway between experiences of violence in relationships and substance use. We include the voices of women who attended the program to support the strategies discussed. Specifically, these strategies address the impact of interpersonal violence on substance use by promoting the process of repair and reintegration for women whose neurological development, sense of self, and capacity to form relationships have been significantly impacted by experiences of violence in relationships.

Reasons for substance use continuation and discontinuation during pregnancy: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Substance use during pregnancy is a major public health concern, stemming from potential physical and psychosocial harms to both the mother and child. PURPOSE: To understand women's experiences using substances during pregnancy and the reasons that women continue and/or discontinue using substances. METHODS: Focus groups were conducted with women who attended an early intervention program for pregnant or parenting women with substance use issues. RESULTS: Women identified that external and internal stressors, feelings of guilt and low-self efficacy, and a lack of understanding of the scientific and medical consequences of substance use contributed to their continued substance use. Conversely, women highlighted the importance of high self-efficacy and the quality of relationships when trying to make positive changes to their substance use during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations are proposed for easier access to and more comprehensive services. Healthcare professionals and service providers should offer non-judgmental care by building high-quality relationships with pregnant women with substance use issues, to increase these women's self-efficacy and empower them to discontinue substance use.

Dyadic Peer Interactions: the Impact of Aggression on Impression Formation with New Peers.

Little is known about youth's initial interactions with previously unfamiliar peers and how aggression can affect behavior in these interactions. We observed previously unfamiliar youth engaging in a dyadic activity to determine how tendencies toward aggression related to behavior within the activity (i.e., collaboration) and how collaboration affected initial impression formation. From a dyadic perspective, we assessed how similarities versus differences in tendencies toward aggression affected the nature of the interaction. Participants were 108 5th grade dyads (M = 11.13 years; 50% female; 67% White), observed in a laboratory session. Teachers rated individuals' aggression; ratings were used to calculate dyadic-level aggression (the discrepancy between partners). Observers rated dyads' collaboration during the interaction and participants reported perceptions about their partner after the interaction. Results indicated that collaboration mediated the link between discrepancy in aggression and peers' perceptions of one another. Specifically, dyads more discrepant in their aggression collaborated less and had less positive perceptions of one another. Results highlight the importance of considering a dyadic perspective and indicate a potential intervention point to improve youth's peer relationships.