Psychosocial Adjustment Factors Associated with Child-Parent Violence: The Role of Family Communication and a Transgressive Attitude in Adolescence.

According to official sources, the amounts of children-to-parent violence (CPV) in most advanced countries have been on an increasing trend for more than a decade, which generates great social concern. This phenomenon has also aroused enormous interest among researchers, who have identified risk and protective factors related to adolescent CPV in numerous studies. The aim of the present study was to analyse the relationship between offensive family communication and CPV in adolescence, and the moderating role that two psychosocial adjustment factors may be playing: a positive attitude towards the transgression of rules and psychological distress. A total of 7787 adolescents between 11 and 16 years of age (M = 13.37, SD = 1.34) from secondary schools in the state of Nuevo León (Mexico) participated in the study (51.5% boys, 48.5% girls). Structural equation modelling was performed using structural equation modelling software (EQS). The results showed that offensive family communication has a direct and significant relationship with CPV. It was also observed that there is an indirect relationship between both variables, through the relationships of psychological distress and a positive attitude towards the transgression of rules. The multigroup analysis performed showed gender differences in some of these relationships. Finally, the results and their implications in the field of family intervention are discussed.

Emotional Loneliness, Suicidal Ideation, and Alexithymia in Adolescents Who Commit Child-to-Parent Violence.

The objective of this research was to explore the relationship between involvement in child-to-parent violence (CPV) and the development of emotional loneliness, suicidal ideation, and alexithymia based on sex; 1,928 adolescents of both sexes participated (50.5% males and 49.5% females), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14. 67, SD = 1.77), enrolled in four educational centers in Spain. A multivariate analysis of variance (3 × 2 MANOVA) was applied using sex and CPV levels as independent variables. Univariate analyses were carried out to explore the significant relationships detected. Results showed that the adolescents with higher CPV scored higher in emotional loneliness, suicidal ideation, and alexithymia. Girls showed a greater prevalence of CPV at the medium and high levels. An interaction of sex and CPV with alexithymia was detected. Girls with high and moderate values of CPV presented a higher level of alexithymia. These results provide novel information in the field of CPV. Previous research has placed the main focus of analysis on the adolescents' behavior problems and not so much on their perceptions of personal adjustment and their emotional experiences. The information presented in this study contributes to achieve a more precise definition of the profile of adolescent who assault their parents for better prevention of CPV.

Impact of Bullying-Victimization and Gender over Psychological Distress, Suicidal Ideation, and Family Functioning of Mexican Adolescents.

Bullying victimization is strongly associated with increased psychological distress and suicide in adolescents and poor family functioning. Knowledge of gender differences influencing these factors will improve the prevention of mental problems and suicide in victimized adolescents. A total of 1685 Mexican secondary students, 12-17 years old (m = 13.65), of whom 54% were girls, responded to a standardized scale questionnaire to analyze such differences. Based on the statistical analysis, girls reported significantly lower family functioning and higher psychological distress and suicidal ideation than boys. The cluster analysis classified adolescents into high (5.78%), moderate (24.07%), and no-victimization (69.76%) groups. Boys predominated in the high (3.1%) and moderate-victimization (12.4%) clusters, and girls in the no-victimization group (39.51%). Multivariate statistical analyses found significant differences between the three groups, with the highest means of psychological distress and suicidal ideation and lowest family functioning in the high-victimization group. Only for suicidal ideation, there was an interaction between gender and the degree of victimization, with girls showing a higher increase of suicidal ideation than boys in the same cluster. Conclusions: Early detection and intervention in bullying-victimized adolescents, aiming to decrease psychological distress and suicidal ideation and strengthen family functioning, should consider contextual gender differences for effective prevention of mental health problems and suicide in adolescents.

Is it my fault? The role of the feeling of guilt in adolescent peer victimization.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between feelings of guilt, peer victimization in school, and loneliness based on adolescents' gender. Methods: A total of 671 Spanish students (50.7% boys), aged 10-16 years old (M = 13.04, SD = 1.80) from six public primary and secondary schools participated in the study. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (3 × 2) was calculated. Results: Adolescents with high levels of guilt presented greater physical, verbal, and relational victimization, as well as higher levels of loneliness. In addition, boys high in guilt had the highest scores in overt physical victimization, while girls high in guilt had the highest levels of loneliness. Discussion: Results obtained suggest that adolescents with greater feelings of guilt feel responsible for being victims of peer aggression and for feeling lonely. These findings suggest the need to address the feeling of guilt, taking into account the gender perception.

Academic Competence, Teacher-Student Relationship, and Violence and Victimisation in Adolescents: The Classroom Climate as a Mediator.

School violence is a serious social and public health problem prevalent worldwide. Although the relevance of teacher and classroom factors is well established in the literature, few studies have focused on the role of teacher perceptions in school violence and victimisation and the potential mediational role of classroom climate in this relationship. A total of 2399 adolescents (50% girls), aged between 11 and 18 years (M = 14.65, SD = 1.78) and enrolled in five Spanish Secondary Compulsory Education schools completed measures of classroom climate, school violence towards peers and perception of peer victimisation, and their teachers informed about their academic competence and the teacher-student relationship. Correlational analyses revealed that whereas academic competence perceived by the teacher was negatively related to overt violence and victimisation, its relationship with pure relational violence was positive. Structural equation modelling analyses showed that variables of classroom climate (involvement, affiliation, and teacher support) perceived by the students functioned as partial mediators between teacher perceptions of academic competence and of teacher-student relationship and violence and victimisation. In the mediational model, teacher perception of academic competence acted as a direct protective factor against violence and victimisation, and teacher perception of teacher-student relationship acted as a direct risk for violence, as well as an indirect protective factor through classroom climate for victimisation. The interpretation of these results points to the importance of the teacher's subjective perceptions in the prevention of violence and victimisation problems and their practical implications for the classroom climate perceived by students.

Relationship between School Integration, Psychosocial Adjustment and Cyber-Aggression among Adolescents.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between sociometric types in the classroom-rejected, preferred, neglected, controversial and average-and psychological discomfort, life satisfaction and cyber-aggression, based on the adolescent's gender. 2398 adolescents of both sexes participated in the study (49.8% girls), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 16.03, SD = 1.91). Multivariate analyses of variance were performed. The results showed significant relationships between sociometric types, life satisfaction and cyber-aggression. Rejected adolescents also showed less satisfaction with life and greater cyber-aggression. Furthermore, the boys, regardless of their sociometric type in the classroom, displayed less psychological distress and less involvement in cyber-aggression. Controversial adolescents also showed greater involvement in cyber-aggression. Finally, programs should be promoted for the prevention of social difficulties in the school, based on the promotion of social integration, not only in the classroom, but also on the Internet.

Bullying Victimization among Mexican Adolescents: Psychosocial Differences from an Ecological Approach.

This transversal study over a random representative sample of 1687 Mexican students attending public and private secondary schools (54% girls, 12-17 years old, M = 13.65. DT = 1.14) aimed to analyze psychosocial differences between victims and non-victims of bullying from the bioecological model. It included individual variables (ontosystem), familiar, community, and scholar factors (microsystem), and gender (macrosystem) to perform a multivariate discriminant analysis and a logistic regression analysis. The discriminant analysis found that psychological distress, offensive communication with mother and father, and a positive attitude toward social norms transgression characterized the high victimization cluster. For the non-victims, the discriminant variables were community implication, positive attitude toward institutional authority, and open communication with the mother. These variables allowed for correctly predicting membership in 76% of the cases. Logistic regression analysis found that psychological distress, offensive communication with the father, and being a boy increased the probability of high victimization, while a positive attitude toward authority, open communication with the mother, and being a girl decrease this probability. These results highlight the importance of open and offensive communication between adolescents and their parents on psychological distress, attitude toward authority, community implication, and bullying victimization.

Parental Socialization, School Adjustment and Cyber-Aggression among Adolescents.

The objective of the present study is to analyse the relationships between parental socialization styles-indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative and negligent, school adjustment (social integration, academic competence and family involvement) and cyber-aggression (direct and indirect) in adolescents. Participating in this study were 1304 Spanish students of both sexes (53.1% girls), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 13.87, SD = 1.33). Multivariate analyses of variance were performed. The results showed significant relationships between parental socialization styles, school adjustment and cyber-aggression. It was observed that adolescents from indulgent and authoritative families showed greater academic competence and greater family involvement. Additionally, the children from authoritarian families displayed greater involvement in direct and indirect cyber-aggression behaviours. The results obtained and their implications are discussed in the final section.

Relationships between Parental Socialization Styles, Empathy and Connectedness with Nature: Their Implications in Environmentalism.

Parents exert a strong influence on several adjustment outcomes. However, little is known about their influence on adolescents' connectedness with the environment. This study examined the relationships between parenting styles, empathy and connectedness with the environment. The two-dimensional socialization model was used with four resulting styles: Indulgent, authoritative, neglectful and authoritarian. The sample comprised 797 adolescents (52.7% girls) from six public secondary schools who were aged between 12 and 16 years (M = 13.94, SD = 1.28). The results showed significant relationships between parental socialization styles, empathy and connectedness with nature. It was also observed that adolescents from indulgent and authoritative families showed higher levels of empathy and connectedness with the environment than adolescents raised by authoritarian and neglectful parents, with males from such families consistently presenting the lowest levels of empathy and connectedness, which was not the case among women. Additionally, women, regardless of the parental style in which they had been educated, showed greater cognitive and emotional empathy with the natural environment, while adolescents raised in indulgent and authoritative families displayed higher levels of empathy and connectedness than those with authoritarian and neglectful parents. These results suggest that indulgent and authoritative styles are stronger enablers of empathy and connectedness with nature.

Family Communication Problems, Psychosocial Adjustment and Cyberbullying.

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between family communication problems and cyberbullying, through psychosocial adjustment-psychological distress, attitude towards institutional authority, and problematic use of social networking sites-in adolescents. Random sampling by conglomerates was performed. A total of 8115 adolescents participated in the study (51.5% boys, 49.5% girls), and were aged between 11 and 16 years old (M = 13.34, SD = 1.04) and enrolled in the State of Nuevo León (Mexico). A structural equations model was developed using the Structural Equation Modeling Software (EQS). The results showed that problematic family communication is directly associated with cyberbullying, and also indirectly through the relationships of psychological distress and attitude towards transgression of social norms with the problematic use of social networking sites. The multi-group analyses also revealed gender differences in these relationships. Finally, the obtained results were discussed and their practical implications were shown.

Child-To-Parent Violence: Which Parenting Style Is More Protective? A Study with Spanish Adolescents.

The link between parenting style and violent behavior during adolescence has become a relevant topic of research over the last few years. In order to deepen the understanding of this relationship, the aim of the present study was to examine what type of parenting style (authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful) is more protective against child-to-parent violence (CPV). A total of 2112 adolescents of both sexes participated in this study (50.2% men and 49.8% women), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14. 72, SD = 1.55). A multivariate factorial design (MANOVA, 4 × 2 × 3) was applied using parenting style, sex, and age group (12-14, 15-16, and 17-18 years) as independent variables and dimensions of CPV (physical and verbal aggression against the mother and father) as dependent variables. As shown in the results, the lowest scores on all the dimensions of CPV examined corresponded to the adolescents from indulgent families. Further, two interaction effects were observed between parenting style and age in verbal aggression against the mother and verbal aggression against the father. Regarding these effects, the adolescents from indulgent families obtained the lowest scores in two of the three age groups analyzed (12-14 years and 15-16 years). In the 17-18 years group, adolescents from authoritative families obtained similar but lower values than those coming from families with an indulgent style of parenting. These findings suggest that indulgent style is the most protective parenting style against CPV and also highlight the importance of affective warmth, emotional nurturance, and support giving in preventing CPV.

Factores predictores de la violencia relacional en la adolescencia / Predictive factors of relational violence in adolescence

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue examinar la violencia relacional entre iguales desde una perspectiva psicosocial, analizando variables familiares (funcionamiento y comunicación familiar), sociales (reputación social - percibida e ideal - y actitud hacia la autoridad institucional) e individuales (malestar psicológico e ideación suicida) en adolescentes escolarizados. La muestra fue de 8115 adolescentes, con edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 16 años, del estado de Nuevo León, México. Se realizó un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple, paso a paso, cuyos resultados mostraron que la dimensión más importante en la predicción de la conducta violenta relacional es la autopercepción no conformista, seguido del malestar psicológico. Finalmente, se discuten estos resultados y sus implicaciones.

The aim of this research was to study relational violence between peers from a psychosocial perspective, by analyzing family variables (family functioning and communication), social variables (social reputation ­both perceived and ideal­ and attitude towards institutional authority), and individual variables (psychological distress and suicide ideation) in adolescent students. The sample consisted of 8,115 adolescents aged 11 to 16 years from the State of Nuevo León, Mexico. We performed a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis, the results of which showed that the most important factor in the prediction of violent relational behavior at school is the nonconformist self-perception, followed by psychological distress. Finally, these results and their implications are discussed.

Las relaciones intrafamiliares de apoyo como mecanismo explicativo de la conducta violenta en adolescentes escolarizados / Supportive Intrafamily Relationships as explanatory Mechanism of Violent Behavior in Scholarized Adolescents

Resumen El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la participación de los adolescentes en conductas violentas, a partir de un modelo estructural, en una muestra aleatoria y estratificada de 1 498 estudiantes de 5.º y 6.º de primaria y de los tres niveles de secundaria de escuelas públicas de Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México. Se utilizaron cuestionarios de autoinforme con respuestas Likert, midiendo violencia escolar, funcionamiento familiar y actitud hacia la autoridad. Las conductas violentas correlacionaron negativamente con el buen funcionamiento familiar (valores altos de unión/apoyo). El funcionamiento familiar correlacionó negativamente con la conducta violenta de forma indirecta, a través de la actitud hacia la autoridad institucional y la transgresión de normas. Finalmente se discuten los resultados.

Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze the students´ participation in violent behavior in a sample of 1498 adolescents attending 5th and 6th grades (elementary school) and the three levels of middle school in public schools of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México, using a structural model. We utilized self-report questionnaires with Likert-type answers, measuring school violence, family function and attitude toward institutional authority. Results revealed that violent behavior in school were negatively related with a good family function (high scores of family union and support). Good family function related indirectly and negatively with violent behavior through attitude towards institutional authority and rules transgression. Finally, we discuss the findings.