Transitions between subclasses of bullying and victimization when entering middle school.

We examined the effects of depressive symptoms, antisocial attitudes, and perspective-taking empathy on patterns of bullying and victimization during the transition from late elementary (4th grade to 5th grade) to middle school (6th grade) among 1,077 students who participated in the Youth Matters (YM) bullying prevention trial. Latent transition analysis was used to establish classes of bullying, victimization, bully-victimization, and uninvolvement. The intervention had a positive impact on children as they moved from elementary to middle school. More students in the YM group transitioned from the involved statuses to the uninvolved status than students in the control group during the move to middle school. Elementary school bullies with higher levels of depressive symptoms were less likely than other students to move to an uninvolved status in the first year of middle school. Students who held greater antisocial attitudes were more likely to be a member of the bully-victim status than the uninvolved status during the move to middle school. Perspective-taking empathy, however, was not a significant predictor of status change during the transition to middle school. Implications for school-based prevention programs during the move to middle school are noted.

Patterns of aggressive behavior and peer victimization from childhood to early adolescence: a latent class analysis.

The developmental period characterized by the transition from childhood and elementary school to early adolescence and middle school has been associated with increases in aggressive behavior and peer victimization. Few longitudinal studies, however, have examined the stability of aggression and victimization during this critical transition. This study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to examine patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization during the transition to middle school among urban, public school students (N = 458; Girls = 53%; Latino/a = 53%; M age at t1 = 10.2 years). Independent LCA models were conducted using self-reported data assessing subjects' involvement in aggressive conduct and victimization during the spring semesters of grades four, five, and six. Elementary school students in the fourth grade initially belonged to one of four groups identified as aggressor, victim, aggressor-victim, and uninvolved latent classes. Contrary to prior research, membership in these classes changed significantly by the time students completed their first year of middle school with most youth participating in episodes of aggression and victimization during the transition. Six common paths that describe patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization from the last two years of elementary school to the first year of middle school were found. Findings are discussed in the context of social dominance theory and prior research that has found greater stability in aggression and victimization among early adolescents.

Inhalant use and suicidality among incarcerated youth.

Studies consistently indicate that inhalant use is associated with increased mental health problems in adolescents, but few investigations have focused on the potential relationship of inhalant use to suicidality (ideation or attempt). This study examined how different levels of volatile solvent use relate to suicidal ideation and attempted suicide among 723 incarcerated youth (mean age=15.5, S.D.=1.2; 87% male) in Missouri, and whether any associations between solvent use and suicidality differ by gender. In bivariate analyses, severity of inhalant use was positively associated with histories of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt for both boys and girls. In multivariate analyses, inhalant use disorders remained significantly associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt histories even after adjusting for general level of psychiatric symptoms, prior trauma, other substance use, gender, and additional potential confounders. Inhalant use without abuse or dependence also significantly related to suicidal ideation in multivariate analyses, but an interaction between gender and inhalant use signified this relationship was stronger for girls. Inhalant use disorders in incarcerated youth, as well as inhalant use without abuse or dependence (particularly in girls), may signal elevated suicide risk. Suicide risk assessments should, therefore, include questions about inhalation of volatile solvents such as paint, gasoline, and household cleaners.

Revisioning social work clinical education: recent developments in relation to evidence-based practice.

An evidence-based practice (EBP) movement is underway in social work that promises to change the very nature and methods of clinical education and practice. Growing demands for accountability, increasingly sophisticated clients, heightened threats of malpractice liability, and a host of additional factors arising within and external to the profession have contributed to the growth of EBP. This review examines indices of the growing influence of EBP, reasons for the emergence of EBP, misgivings about and potentially positive features of EBP, and examines one school of social work's efforts to implement an evidence-based clinical practice curriculum. It is important that clinicians be aware of current developments in relation to evidence-based clinical education and practice as these will likely significantly shape the face of social work direct practice in the coming years.

Effects of a skills-based prevention program on bullying and bully victimization among elementary school children.

We report results from a group-randomized trial of a prevention program aimed at preventing bullying and other aggressive behaviors. Fourth grade classrooms at 28 public elementary schools were assigned to receive selected modules of the Youth Matters prevention curriculum or to a no-treatment control condition. Cross-classified multilevel models were fitted to four waves of data collected over 2 years to test the effect of the intervention on self-reported bullying and bully victimization. No systematic change in bullying other students was observed. In a continuous outcome growth model, bully victim scale scores declined over the course of the study and the rate of decline in victimization was significantly higher in experimental schools relative to control schools. But the results from binary outcome growth models indicate no significant treatment effects on bully status or bully victim status over time. Implications of findings for the implementation of anti-bullying strategies in urban public school settings are discussed.