School absenteeism among children and adolescents has been associated with a myriad of adverse outcomes. Despite a substantial amount of research on school attendance, our understanding of absenteeism in elementary-aged children with mental health difficulties is limited. The current study used a mixed-method sequential explanatory design to gain…

Therapeutic alliance is associated with treatment outcomes across a diverse range of intervention models and clinical populations. Likewise, the perceived quality of working alliance in adult psychotherapy has been a consistent predictor of engagement, while research with children is limited. This study draws from a sample of 180 children who were…

A review of the literature illustrates the high prevalence rate and negative student outcomes associated with verbal aggression (VA) in school settings. Research in the U.S. reveals the correlates and effects of VA that can inform and facilitate a research agenda for interventionists focused on violence prevention in school settings. Our analysis…

This study examines the use of role-play in order to investigate bullies' intentions, feelings and perceptions through identification and projection. The study was conducted with nine 12-year-old boys that presented high levels of bullying behaviour, according to their teachers and peers, from three state primary schools in Nicosia, Cyprus, with…

Using a sample of 767 children (403 girls, 364 boys), this study aimed to (a) identify groups with distinct trajectories of peer victimization over a 6-year period from primary school through the transition to secondary school, and (b) examine the associated personal (i.e., aggression or internalizing problems) and familial (family status,…

Bullying perpetration at school is a long-term predictor of aggression, delinquency, and violence. Most research concentrates on risk factors for such developments, whereas protective factors have been rarely addressed. Therefore, the present study investigates potentially protective effects of family and child characteristics in a prospective…

Personality traits (aspects of aggression and sexuality) were measured for 70 Anglo-American and 70 Mexican-American children. Discussion concerns differences between the groups and developmental patterns. (DP)

Examined characteristics of 175 victimized fourth through seventh graders. It was expected that children would be more likely to anticipate tangible rewards, more likely to expect victim suffering, and less likely to expect retaliation when using aggression against victimized targets than when attacking nonvictimized targets. (RH)

Evaluated relative importance of relational and individual factors in accounting for aggression in third-grade boys' laboratory play groups. Found that relationship effects accounted for as much variance in total aggression and proactive aggression as actor or target effects. Mutually aggressive dyads displayed double the total aggression as…

Background: Social learning literature is used in order to describe the contextual parameters of peer aggression, and specifically bullying and victimization. Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of maternal characteristics on their child's victimization or bullying experience at school. Sample: The participants were 252…

This study tests the hypothesis that children who viewed videotaped aggression would imitate aggressive behaviors more frequently than would children who were not exposed to aggressive displays. A cognitive factor, reinforcement value, was also hypothesized to be a significant variable in the behavior of the children. Prior to treatment, subjects…

This study examined who among the 526 fourth to sixth graders are nominated as among the coolest kids in their class. There were two questions: (1) Are popular-aggressive (tough) children nominated as cool by a broad spectrum of their peers, or only by a select few? (2) Does variability in children's cool nominations more closely follow their…

This study presents the results of a phenomenological study with sixteen elementary school children identified as bullies or victims. Implications for school counselors and educators are also discussed.