In this study, we identified the specific discipline decision situations (i.e., vulnerable decision points [VDPs]) that contribute most to racial discipline disparities from a sample of 2020 schools across the United States. We also examined how much VDPs contributed to overall discipline disparities and the extent which there was similarity among…

Teaching assistants (TAs) in the United Kingdom typically work with students with additional and special needs, including the most challenging and vulnerable pupils, in low paid, precarious roles. However, no research has examined how organisational factors such as job demand, control, and support can influence TAs' wellbeing, despite recent…

Challenging behavior at school remains a concern for teachers and administrators. Thus classroom management practices to prevent challenging behavior are sorely needed. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) has been found to be useful to positively change student behavior. However, previous reviews of the GBG have not quantified effects, have not focused…

The aim of the present study was to conduct an analysis of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2003 database and to determine how negative school factors, such as aggression, are associated to the mathematical and science achievement of students. The analyses were conducted separately for national and international data.…

The past decade's research on the use and effects of older (television, music, movies, magazines) and newer media (the Internet, cell phones, social networking) on adolescents' health and well-being is reviewed. A portrait of patterns of use of the media is provided and then the predictors and effects of those patterns on adolescents' mental…

This study investigated a rural sample of boys' and girls' (N = 205) perceptions of what behaviors constitute bullying and examined whether being a victim of aggression was predictive of perpetrating physical and relational aggression. Results indicated that predictors of perpetrating relational aggression included victimization of relational…

This study investigated the role of mutual dislike dyads (MDDs) in the development of aggressive behavior across the middle childhood years. Of particular interest was whether involvement in MDDs predicted later aggression, and whether the magnitude of the association between MDDs and later aggression varied based on characteristics of target…

Adolescent delinquency and academic underachievement are both linked with child and adolescent behavior problems. However, little is known about behavioral pathways leading to these adverse outcomes. Children's aggression, opposition, status violations, and property violations scores were collected at ages 5, 10, and 18. Delinquency and academic…

Transactional theories of development suggest that displaying high levels of antisocial behavior early in life and persistently over time causes disruption in multiple life domains, which in turn places individuals at risk for negative life outcomes. We used longitudinal data from 1,137 primarily African American urban youth (49.1% female) to…

This study examined the heterotypic continuity of aggression hypothesis (physical to indirect) using independent teacher reports of aggression drawn from a nationally representative sample of 749 Canadian girls and boys. Confirmatory factor analysis using an accelerated longitudinal design confirmed a two-factor model of physical and indirect…

Prior research has shown that parental social cognitions are associated with child outcomes such as aggression. The goal of this study was to examine mothers' cognitions about relational aggression, and to explore linkages between mothers' attributions and normative beliefs about aggression and children's competence with peers. Participants…

There are several avenues of inquiry that seek to understand and ameliorate the problem of bullying in schools, including the strategy of fostering respect. To date, however, there is little empirical literature testing the presumed relationship between respect and bullying. This study examined this relationship with surveys (N = 3,147) and…

This study examined the role of low social preference in relation to subsequent depressive symptoms, with particular attention to prior depressive symptoms, prior and concurrent aggression, mutual friendships, and peer victimization. Italian children (N = 288) were followed from grade 6 through grade 8, and American children (N = 585) were…

School attachment is a robust predictor of adjustment in children and youth. Previous research has demonstrated effects of school context on student attachment, but individual-level contributions have not been explored. Our study examined the role of affiliative orientation in school attachment and aggressive behavior in children and youth from…