Adolescents' digital career aspirations: Evidence for gendered pathways in a digital future.

INTRODUCTION: Computers and technology are still perceived as a male domain. As a result of this "digital gender gap" boys aspire careers in the information and communication technology (ICT) branches much more than girls. Guided by the situated expectancy-value theory of motivated behavioral choices, the present study aims to shed light on the predictors of digital career aspirations. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires were completed by 1018 Austrian adolescents (52.3% girls; 72% non-immigrants; Mage = 13.55, SDage = 0.88) attending 61 Grade 7 and 8 classes located in 17 vocational secondary schools between April and June 2019. Individual and class-level predictors of digital career aspirations were investigated with multilevel modeling. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear models revealed that boys, younger adolescents, and second-generation immigrant adolescents had higher levels of digital career aspirations compared to girls, older adolescents, and non-immigrants. Hours spend with the laptop per day, digital self-efficacy and media appraisal positively predicted digital career aspirations on the individual level, while a higher number of immigrants in the classes and higher levels of teacher discussions about media were significant positive predictors on the class level. The model explained 17% of the individual level and 52% of the class level variance. Cross-level interactions were nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS: These results have major implications for educational practice. Most importantly, educational interventions should enhance girls' digital self-efficacy believes and media appraisal. Furthermore, teachers should increase their discussion about digital media as they foster adolescents' digital career aspirations and might prevent future gender segregation in the ICT sector.

Teachers Can Make a Difference in Bullying: Effects of Teacher Interventions on Students' Adoption of Bully, Victim, Bully-Victim or Defender Roles across Time.

School bullying is a serious problem worldwide, but little is known about how teacher interventions influence the adoption of bullying-related student roles. This study surveyed 750 early adolescents (50.5% female; average age: 12.9 years, SD = 0.4) from 39 classrooms in two waves, six months apart. Peer ratings of classmates were used to categorize students to five different bullying-related roles (criterion: >1 SD): bully, victim, bully-victim, defender, and non-participant. Student ratings of teachers were used to obtain class-level measures of teacher interventions: non-intervention, disciplinary sanctions, group discussion, and mediation/victim support. Controlling for student- and class-level background variables, two multilevel multinomial logistic regression analyses were computed to predict students' bullying-related roles at wave 2. In the static model, predictors were teacher interventions at wave 1, and in the dynamic model, predictors were teacher intervention changes across time. The static model showed that disciplinary sanctions reduced the likelihood of being a bully or victim, and group discussion raised the likelihood of being a defender. Mediation/victim support raised the likelihood of being a bully. The dynamic model complemented these results by indicating that increases in group discussion across time raised the likelihood of being a defender, whereas increases in non-intervention across time raised the likelihood of being a victim and reduced the likelihood of being a defender. These results show that teacher interventions have distinct effects on students' adoption of bullying-related roles and could help to better target intervention strategies. The findings carry practical implications for the professional training of prospective and current teachers.

Revisiting the intricate interplay between aggression and preadolescents' school functioning: Longitudinal predictions and multilevel latent profiles.

This work refined the complex associations between aggression (aggressive behavior and victimization) and school functioning in terms of school liking, interest, achievement, and social class climate. First, using longitudinal multilevel structural equation modeling, it was shown that aggressive behavior and victimization preceded lower school liking, achievement, and social class climate at the individual student level over 1 year (Sample 1: 665 Austrian preadolescents, 46.62% girls, first wave: Mage = 11.68 years, SD = 0.84). Second, the results from multilevel latent profile analysis revealed relations between aggression and school functioning profiles and allowed identifying distinct latent classes at the classroom level based on the relative frequency of these profiles (Sample 2: 1,639 Austrian preadolescents, 47.59% girls, Mage = 11.70 years, SD = 0.86). Aligned with cumulative risk perspectives, aggressor-victims belonged significantly more often to the least adaptive school functioning profile and the less adaptive latent class at the classroom level than uninvolved youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding for Which Students and Classes a Socio-Ecological Aggression Prevention Program Works Best: Testing Individual Student and Class Level Moderators.

School-based aggression prevention programs may not be equally effective for all students and classes, depending on student and class characteristics. This study investigated moderators of a cluster randomized controlled socio-ecological aggression prevention program's effectiveness (change from pretest to posttest, sample: 2,042 preadolescents, mean age = 11.7 years, SD = 0.09, 47.6% girls) and sustainability (change from posttest to follow-up test, sample: 659 preadolescents, mean age = 12.7 years, SD = 0.08, 47.9% girls). The program worked better in multicultural classes, as greater ethnic diversity strengthened the program's effectiveness and sustainability. Moderating effects of a positive social class climate and higher baseline levels of aggressive behavior and victimization were also found. These results advance socio-ecological theorizing and can help develop more contextualized interventions.

The need to belong as motive for (cyber)bullying and aggressive behavior among immigrant adolescents in Cyprus.

Peer group integration is a crucial acculturative goal for immigrant adolescents who, in order to reach this goal, may use bullying and/or aggressive behavior. The present study aims to explore the underlying aggression motives by investigating the importance of three motives (anger, power, and affiliation) for five different forms of aggressive behavior (bullying, cyberbullying, physical, verbal, and relational aggression) in three groups of adolescents (non-immigrants, first-generation and second-generation immigrants) in Cyprus. The sample consists of 507 non-immigrant Greek Cypriots, 149 first-generation and 93 second-generation immigrants (age M = 16.1, SD = 0.39; range 15-19; 52% female). Data was collected via validated self-report scales. In line with our hypotheses, latent means and covariances structure (MACS) models revealed that the affiliation motive was a stronger predictor for all five forms of aggressive behavior among first-generation immigrant adolescents indicating that the need to belong is especially important for their acculturation. The practical importance of these findings for better integrating newcomer immigrants in schools and aggression prevention are discussed.

Classroom Size and the Prevalence of Bullying and Victimization: Testing Three Explanations for the Negative Association.

Classroom size - i.e., the number of students in the class - is a feature of the classroom environment often found to be negatively related to bullying or victimization. This study examines three possible explanations for this negative association: (a) it is due to measurement effects and therefore only found for peer-reports (Hypothesis 1), (b) bullying perpetrators are more popular and have more friends in smaller classrooms (Hypothesis 2), (c) targets of bullying are more popular and have more friends in larger classrooms (Hypothesis 3). Multilevel regression analyses were conducted on a sample from Austria (1,451 students; Mage = 12.31; 77 classes) and a sample from the Netherlands (1,460 students; Mage = 11.06; 59 classes). Results showed that classroom size was negatively associated with peer-reported bullying and victimization in both samples, and with self-reported bullying and victimization in the Dutch sample only, suggesting partial support for Hypothesis 1. Students high in bullying were found to be more popular in smaller than in larger classrooms in the Austrian sample. The negative link between victimization and popularity was found to be stronger in smaller classrooms than in larger classrooms in the Dutch sample. However, classroom size was not found to moderate links between bullying or victimization and friendship in either sample. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported, but only for popularity and in a single sample. Further research is needed to better understand the higher prevalence of bullying found in smaller classrooms in many studies.

Bullying immigrant versus non-immigrant peers: Moral disengagement and participant roles.

This study examined (1) whether self-justifying bullying (i.e., moral disengagement) differs in hypothetical bullying situations of a newcomer peer depending on his or her immigrant status; and (2) whether the respondent's immigration status, age, gender, real life bullying participant role (as bully, assistant, reinforcer, defender, victim or outsider) and moral disengagement proneness moderate the differences in moral disengagement between non-immigrant vs. immigrant victims. Altogether, 342 ten-year olds (54% immigrants) and 292 twelve-year olds (45% immigrants) answered peer-report measures to assess participation in bullying and peer status, and self-report measures to assess moral disengagement proneness and situational moral disengagement related to vignettes in which the target of bullying was a non-immigrant vs an immigrant new classmate. For both non-immigrant and immigrant participants both types of moral disengagement were higher for non-immigrant than immigrant victims in the vignettes independent of the respondents' own immigration status. However, different participant bullying roles predicted the differences in moral disengagement between non-immigrant versus immigrant hypothetical victims among non-immigrant and immigrant students. Results suggest that, besides being a trait dimension, moral disengagement is also influenced by situational characteristics that need to be taken into account in order to prevent and tackle bullying effectively.

Dynamic Change of Aggressive Behavior and Victimization Among Adolescents: Effectiveness of the ViSC Program.

The present study reports a high-quality evaluation of the ViSC Social Competence Program, which was implemented large scale in Austria. A rigorous test of program effectiveness has been performed to investigate the dynamic change of aggressive behavior and victimization and to ensure a high level of statistical conclusion validity. A cluster randomized control study was applied to examine program effectiveness regarding aggressive behavior and victimization. In sum, 1,377 adolescents (48.5% girls, Mage = 11.7) enrolled in 13 schools participated in the program; 665 adolescents (45.2% girls, Mage = 11.6) enrolled in 5 schools were in the control group. Data were collected with Internet-based questionnaires at pre- and posttest with several validated scales to capture the full range of the two constructs. To ensure construct validity, a series of invariance tests of the second-order factor models were performed. To test program effectiveness, a multiple group bivariate latent change score model was applied. Evidence for a dynamic change of aggressive behavior and victimization was found. As predicted, the pretest levels and the change scores of aggressive behavior and victimization were associated. Moreover, higher levels of pretest values predicted more change. The program was effective in reducing victimization but not aggressive behavior. Gender did not moderate the results. Results are important for national rollout and cross-national dissemination of the program. However, further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the intervention effects.

"They Think that I Should Defend": Effects of Peer and Teacher Injunctive Norms on Defending Victimized Classmates in Early Adolescents.

Norms have been suggested as important characteristics of the social-ecological context for defending victimized peers, but little is known about the contribution of student perceived injunctive norms (regarding the appropriateness of defending) imposed by peers and teachers. To investigate the role of these norms in defending, a sample of 751 early adolescents (51% female; Mage at Time 1:13 years) was assessed at two time points. Defending, as measured by peer- and self-ratings, decreased slightly over a six-month timespan. Three-level models (with time, students, and classrooms as the levels) indicated that both individual- and classroom-level perceived peer injunctive norms (but not teacher injunctive norms) had positive effects on defending over time regardless of the source of the information on defending (peers or self). These findings support programs that encourage defending through peer norms.

Implementing Intervention Research into Public Policy-the "I3-Approach".

Evidence-based intervention programs have become highly important in recent years, especially in educational contexts. However, transferring these programs into practice and into the wider field of public policy often fails. As a consequence, the field of implementation research has emerged, several implementation frameworks have been developed, and implementation studies conducted. However, intervention research and implementation research have not yet been connected systematically and different traditions and research groups are involved. Implementation researchers are mostly given mandates by politicians to take on the implementation of already existing interventions. This might be one of the key reasons why there are still many problems in translating programs into widespread community practice. In this paper, we argue for a systematic integration of intervention and implementation research ("I3-Approach") and recommend a six-step procedure (PASCIT). This requires researchers to design and develop intervention programs using a field-oriented and participative approach. In particular, the perspective of policymakers has to be included as well as an analysis of which factors support or hinder evidence-based policy in contrast to opinion-based policy. How this systematic connection between intervention and implementation research can be realized, is illustrated by means of the development and implementation of the ViSC school program, which intends to reduce aggressive behavior and bullying and to foster social and intercultural competencies.

Effectiveness and sustainability of the ViSC Social Competence Program to prevent cyberbullying and cyber-victimization: Class and individual level moderators.

We investigated whether the general anti-bullying program ViSC sustainably prevents cyberbullying and cyber-victimization. A longitudinal randomized control group design was used to examine (i) program effectiveness immediately after a 1 year implementation phase and (ii) sustainable program effects 6 months later taking several moderators on the class level (class climate and ethnic diversity) and on the individual level (gender, age, internet usage, traditional bullying/victimization) into account. Effectiveness (e.g., the change between waves 2 and 1) was examined in 2,042 students (47.6% girls), aged 11.7 years (SD = 0.88) enrolled in 18 schools and 103 classes. Sustainability (e.g., the change between waves 3 and 2) was examined in a sub-sample of 6 schools and 35 classes comprising 659 students. The self-assessment multiple-item scales showed longitudinal and multiple group invariance. Factor scores were extracted to compute difference scores for effectiveness (Posttest minus Pretest) and sustainability (Follow-up test minus Posttest) for cyberbullying and cyber-victimization. Multilevel Modeling was applied to examine (i) the effectiveness and (ii) the sustainability of the ViSC intervention controlling for several individual and class level variables. Controlling for covariates, it was demonstrated that the ViSC program is effective in preventing cyberbullying and cyber-victimization and that the effects are sustainable after 6 months. The consequences for cyberbullying prevention are discussed.

Bullying prevention in schools by targeting cognitions, emotions, and behavior: Evaluating the effectiveness of the REBE-ViSC program.

The effectiveness of a class-based antibullying prevention program on cognitions, emotions, and behaviors was investigated. The program consists of a cognitive-behavioral (Rational Emotive Behavioral Education; REBE) and a behavioral (Viennese Social Competence; ViSC) component. The REBE program is based on rational emotive behavioral theory and contains 9 student lessons. The ViSC program is based on social learning theory and comprises 10 student lessons. The order of the programs was experimentally manipulated. The REBE-ViSC program was implemented in 5 schools (14 classes), the ViSC-REBE program was implemented in 3 schools (9 classes), and 3 schools (11 classes) served as an untreated control group. Data were collected during 1 school year at pretest, midpoint, and posttest. Emotions (overt and internalizing anger), cognitions (learning and entitlement), and behaviors (bullying perpetration and bullying victimization) were measured with self-assessments. To examine the effectiveness of the REBE-ViSC/ViSC-REBE program, multilevel growth models were applied (time points at Level 1, individuals at Level 2, and classes at Level 3). The analyses revealed that the program effects differed depending on the order of the programs. The REBE-ViSC condition was more effective in changing negative emotions than the ViSC-REBE condition; both experimental conditions were effective in reducing dysfunctional cognitions, whereas no behavioral change was found in the 2 experimental groups when compared with the control group. To improve program effectiveness regarding behavioral changes, a multilevel whole-school approach including a teacher component is recommended.

The impact of onlooking and including bystander behaviour on judgments and emotions regarding peer exclusion.

We investigated judgments and emotions in contexts of social exclusion that varied as a function of bystander behaviour (N = 173, 12- and 16-year-olds). Adolescents responded to film vignettes depicting a target excluded by a group with no bystanders, onlooking bystanders, or bystanders who included the target. Adolescents were asked to judge the behaviour and attribute emotions to the excluding group, the excluded target, and the bystanders. Younger adolescents judged the behaviour of the excluding group as more wrong than older adolescents when there were no bystanders present, indicating that the presence of bystanders was viewed as lessening the negative outcome of exclusion by the younger group. Yet, bystanders play a positive role only when they are includers, not when they are silent observers. This distinction was revealed by the findings that adolescents rated the behaviour of onlooking bystanders as more wrong compared with the behaviour of including bystanders. Moreover, all adolescents justified the inclusive behaviour more frequently with empathy than the onlooking behaviour. Adolescents also anticipated more empathy to including bystanders than to onlooking bystanders, as well as anticipated more guilt to onlooking bystanders than including bystanders. The findings are discussed in light of the role of group norms and group processes regarding bystanders' roles in social exclusion peer encounters.

La necesidad de aceptación por los iguales como motivo subyacente del comportamiento agresivo y el acoso a los demás entre los jóvenes inmigrantes que viven en Austria y Noruega / The need for peer acceptance and affiliation as underlying motive for aggressive behaviour and bullying others among immigrant youth living in Austria and Norway

Este estudio (1) comparó el nivel general de comportamiento agresivo y el acoso a los demás e (2) investigó el poder predictivo de dos motivos subyacentes - la agresión reactiva y las necesidades de aceptación por los iguales y de afiliación - entre jóvenes no inmigrantes e inmigrantes viviendo en dos países europeos. En Austria, se disponía de datos sobre el comportamiento agresivo, en Noruega, por su parte, el acoso a los demás, una subcategoría del comportamiento agresivo, fue analizado. La muestra incluía a 302 noruegos no inmigrantes (48,7% chicas), 161 adolescentes inmigrantes de primera generación que vivían en Noruega (51,6% chicas), 339 austríacos no inmigrantes (51,6% chicas), y 126 inmigrantes de primera generación (48,4% chicas) que vivían en Austria, de edades entre 14 y 16 años. El estatus de inmigrante se asociaba a niveles más altos de acoso a los demás en Noruega. En Austria, no se encontraron diferencias en el comportamiento agresivo. En ambos países, modelos de ecuaciones estructura-les pusieron de manifiesto que la necesidad de aceptación por los iguales y de afiliación - pero no la agresión reactiva - predecía el acoso a los demás y el comportamiento agresivo entre los inmigrantes, pero no entre los no inmigrantes. Se comentan los resultados sobre el proceso de aculturación entre jóvenes inmigrantes viviendo en dos países europeos (AU)

This study (1) compared the overall levels of aggressive behaviour and bullying others and (2) investigated the predictive power of two underlying motives - reactive aggression and the need for peer acceptance and affiliation - between non-immigrant and immigrant youth living in two European countries. In Austria, data on aggressive behaviour was available for analyses, while in Norway bullying others, a subcategory of aggressive behaviour was investigated. The sample comprised 302 non-immigrant Norwegians (48.7% girls), 161 first generation immigrant adolescents living in Norway (51.6% girls), 339 non-immigrant Austrians (51.6% girls), and 126 first generation immigrants (48.4% girls) living in Austria aged 14 to 16 years. Immigrant status was associated with higher levels of bullying others in Norway. In Austria, no differences regarding aggressive behaviour were found. In both countries, multiple group structural equation models revealed that the need for peer acceptance and affiliation - but not reactive aggression - was a predictor of bullying others and aggressive behaviour among immigrants, but not among non-immigrants. Results are discussed regarding the process of acculturation among immigrant youth living in two European countries (AU)

Bullying in schools: what is the problem, and how can educators solve it?

This chapter reviews recent research on bullying from an educator's perspective. It is well known that bullying, a serious issue in schools, can be prevented when educators intervene. But research has shown that it is difficult for educators to detect bullying situations in their school and intervene competently and effectively. This chapter examines how educators can detect bullying, how they can best tackle serious cases of bullying, and how they can best prevent bullying in the long run.

ViSC Social Competence Program.

The ViSC Social Competence Program has been implemented in Austrian schools within the scope of a national strategy plan, Together Against Violence. The program is a primary preventive program designed for grades 5 to 8. The prevention of aggression and bullying is defined as a school development task, and the initial implementation of the program lasts one school year. The program consists of universal and specific actions that are implemented through in-school teacher training and a class project for students. The program was evaluated with a randomized intervention control group design. Data were collected from teachers and students. Results suggest that the program reduces aggression in schools.

Depressive symptoms in native and immigrant adolescents: the role of critical life events and daily hassles.

The present study compared native Austrian, first and second generation immigrant adolescents regarding their level of depressive symptoms, critical live events, and daily hassles. Furthermore, the associations between these constructs were tested in the three groups. The sample comprised 330 native Austrian (52.1% girls), 120 first generation immigrants (49.2% girls and 159 second generation immigrants (54.2% girls) aged 14-19 (M=15.61). Compared with native adolescents, first generation immigrant adolescents reported more depressive symptoms and daily hassles related to parents, the self, leisure, romantic partner, and future, whilst second generation immigrant adolescents reported more daily hassles related to parents, school, and romantic partner. Controlling for gender, multiple group structural equation models revealed that daily hassles fully mediated the path between critical live events and depressive symptoms in all three groups of adolescents. Implications for future research on immigrant adolescents' psychological well-being are discussed.

The goal to be accepted by friends as underlying function of overt aggressive behaviour in immigrant adolescents.

This study investigated (1) to what extent the goal to be accepted by friends is an underlying function of overt aggressive behavior in adolescents, and (2) whether this function is more predictive than reactive aggression for overt aggressive behavior in first and second generation immigrants compared with natives. The sample comprised 339 native Austrians (51.6% girls), 126 first generation immigrants (48.4% girls), and 175 second generation immigrants (54.3% girls) aged 14 to 19 (M = 15.61). Data were collected via self-assessments. Multiple group latent means and covariance structures (MACS) models revealed that the goal to be accepted by friends was a stronger predictor than reactive aggression for overt aggressive behavior in first generation immigrants compared with second generation immigrants and natives. Furthermore, gender moderated these associations. The goal to be accepted by friends was a very strong predictor of overt aggressive behavior in first generation immigrant boys, but not in first generation immigrant girls. Results are discussed regarding the process of acculturation in first generation immigrant youth.

Intrapersonal and interpersonal risk factors for peer victimization in immigrant youth in Finland.

This study (a) compared native Finns and immigrant children with respect to different forms of peer victimization and (b) tested whether intrapersonal (e.g., depression) and interpersonal (e.g., peer rejection) sample was drawn from the first phase of a large intervention evaluation project, KiVa, in Finland, composed of 4,957 native Finns (51% girls), 146 first-generation immigrants (48% girls), and 310 second-generation immigrants (53% girls) 9 to 12 years of age. The concurrent data included self- and peer reports collected via Internet-based questionnaires. Compared with native youth, first- and second-generation immigrants were more often targets of both peer- and self-reported victimization. Both immigrant groups experienced higher levels of physical, racist, and sexual victimization than natives. Furthermore, second-generation immigrants reported higher levels of property damage, threats, and cybervictimization than native Finns. Significant indirect effects were found between immigrant status and victimization. Interpersonal but not intrapersonal risk factors helped to explain these associations.