Gender and sexual minority students experience higher levels of victimization in schools, making teacher intervention important. We examined how school climate, educator experiences (prior training, personal experience with harassment), and educator attitudes (homophobia, transgender knowledge) were associated with intention to intervene in cissexist and heterosexist victimization using two samples: pre-service teachers (n = 416) and in-service teachers (n = 931). For in-service teachers, higher transgender knowledge, lower homophobia, and personal harassment experience were associated with greater intervention intentions. Prior training was associated with greater transgender knowledge and greater intervention intentions. For the pre-service teachers, lower homophobia was associated with greater intervention intentions. In both samples, more school climate barriers were associated with greater transgender knowledge and lower homophobia. Results highlight the importance of ensuring teachers receive initial and continued education on diverse gender and sexual identities.

Holding power and having competitive advantages over peers is highly valued in adolescence and associated with adaptive advantages such as greater dating or sexual opportunities, resource control and social influence, and less victimization by peers. Recently, researchers have broadened the range of social power studied in adolescence to include implicit and cooperative aspects such as prestige and coalitional support from friends and allies, which afford mutual benefits without exploiting and harming others. To shed light on the possibility of promoting cooperative alternatives to coercive and competitive power dynamics, we used an evolutionary framework (e.g., resource control theory, reciprocal altruism, indirect reciprocity, information goods theory) to examine the power-enhancing processes or strategies that are associated with different aspects of holding power. Adolescent participants ages 14 to 18 (N = 458; Mage = 15.9, 48

The current study aimed to understand the perceptions of kindergarten and primary (Grades 1 and 2) educators in Ontario, Canada, regarding their students’ developmental and academic skills and their own mental health during the 2021 to 2022 school year. Participants comprised 402 Ontario educators who completed an online survey. Educators perceived their students to be struggling in many areas. Results revealed that educators perceived their young students to be struggling in areas of their development, including overall and academic skills (both literacy and mathematics). Compared to their kindergarten educator counterparts, primary teachers were more likely to report that their current students were behind, both academically and developmentally. A third reported moderate levels of anxiety, while two-thirds reported moderate levels of depression. Anxiety was also found to be associated with educators’ perception of their students’ physical and socioemotional skills. Our findings suggest increased support is needed for young children’s developmental and academic progress who experienced many disruptions to their learning, as well as increased mental health support for educators.

Previous research identifies evolutionarily-relevant motives for the use of aggression in adolescence, including: competitive, impression management, reactive, and sadistic functions. We extend prior work by adopting a dyadic perspective and examining features of the perpetrator-target relationship and the characteristics of the target themselves. We used a sample of 278 Canadian adolescents (13-18 years old; 57 % boys; 54 % White) who engaged in aggression and a dyadic sample with their specific aggressive targets. We measured dyadic aggression (the types of aggression present in the dyad), dyadic relationship characteristics (reciprocity of aggression, friendship), target social characteristics (popularity, likability, social network position), and dyadic gender composition. Competitive aggression was related to direct aggression perpetrated by someone with lower or equal power (i.e., not bullying), reciprocal aggression, and male perpetrators. Impression management aggression was related to bullying, non-friend dyads, and targets with lower likability (though more overall friendships). Reactive aggression was related to direct aggression by someone with lower/equal power, and sadistic aggression was related to dyad friendship.

INTRODUCTION:Classroom incivility is low-level antisocial behavior that disrupts the overall learning environment. It is an important behavior to be studied in adolescence, given its associations with other antisocial behavior (e.g., bullying), negative impact on the learning environment, and predicting later aggressive behavior. The current study examined the developmental growth of classroom incivility in adolescence. METHODS:We examined the growth of self-reported classroom incivility in a sample of Canadian grade 8-12 students (NT1 = 559; 54% boys; Mage = 14.9 years) with data from an on-going longitudinal study collected between Fall 2022 and Spring 2024. RESULTS:Using growth curve modeling across ten timepoints of data collected over four waves of data collection, our findings suggested that the quadratic model fit our data best (compared to both a no-growth and a linear model). That is, our findings showed that classroom incivility increases in early adolescence, tapering off in the later grades (i.e., grade 11 and 12). CONCLUSION:Our results not only add important information about the developmental growth of adolescent classroom incivility to the current literature, but also provide insight that can be used by schools, suggesting that early adolescence might be a key developmental period for promoting civil behavior.

Previous findings indicate the utility of the HEXACO model in understanding the personality traits associated with bullying perpetration. However, these studies are all cross-sectional, limiting the understanding of how bullying and HEXACO personality develop alongside one another across adolescence. Therefore, we examined between- and within-person longitudinal associations between bullying and the HEXACO traits in a sample of 392 youth (Mage = 11.88 at Wave 1; SD = 1.42; 49.5% boys) across 3 years of development using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. As expected, we found a between-person association between higher bullying and lower Honesty-Humility, as well as within-person, within-time associations between bullying and lower Honesty-Humility. Unexpectedly, we did not find within-person cross-lagged paths. Our findings suggest that individuals higher on exploitative traits (i.e., lower Honesty-Humility) are more likely to be higher on bullying perpetration. In addition, individuals whose exploitative traits increase are likely to concurrently increase on bullying perpetration. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding developmental processes at the between- and within-person levels. Our results suggest that anti-bullying interventions might benefit from taking note of individuals who possess exploitative personality traits.

There are two fundamental forms of social power: cooperative (where individuals mutually benefit) and coercive (where the more powerful gains at the expense of the other). Each is composed of two separate aspects: power holding (e.g., being popular) and power-enhancing(e.g., using force). Research has generally studied these two forms of social power in a single measure and without consideration of their combined effect nor examined their combined influence or associations with peer reactions. We therefore used a measure that captured both aspects and forms of adolescent social power as well as to determine their associations with positive and aggressive peer responses. Based on a sample of 559 adolescents, our confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that adolescents viewed each form of social power as being distinct from each other and composed of both power-holding and power-enhancing aspects. We then ran structural equation models that showed cooperative social power was associated with numerous positive peer responses (e.g., friendship, respect) while coercive social power was associated with fewer positive peer responses (e.g., attractiveness, support in a conflict) as well as more aggressive peer responses (e.g., bullying and victimization). Our longitudinal data (collected 6 months later) showed even clearer separation of these associations of these two forms of social power. Overall, our results suggest that researchers should use measures that capture both aspects of social power and that each form of social power has a distinct pattern of associations with peer responses.

Peer defending is effective at reducing bullying interactions and protecting victimised youth, but it is a relatively uncommon bystander response. We investigated correlates of defending to identify ways of promoting these behaviours in schools. Popular students tend to defend at higher rates than others, potentially because of their increased chances of success in these interactions. Defending itself may signal the social dominance of defenders to others. However, aspects of the normative environment in which defending occurs may influence how the behaviour is perceived, which in turn may affect whether students defend at all. Specifically, environments characterised by prosocial norms may promote peer defending, while coercive environments may instead dissuade it. To test this question, we examined the influence of prosocial and coercive norms and gender on the relationship between popularity and defending in early adolescence. A total of 652 students (Mage = 11.94) were recruited from 6 Canadian schools, and data were analysed with multi-level modelling. Results indicated that popularity was positively associated with peer defending. Furthermore, the association between popularity and peer defending decreased for girls as prosocial control norms increased, and the association between popularity and peer defending increased with coercive control norms for both boys and girls. These findings indicate that norms about social power influence the association between popularity and defending for boys and girls in different ways, and that these norms could be configured in schools to promote defending behaviour.

We used a new English version of the HEXACO-Simplified Personality Inventory (HEXACO-SPI) to examine (1) its dimensional structure and (2) the developmental stability and mean-level changes in its personality traits among adolescents. Our results showed that the HEXACO-SPI factor scales were consistent with the a priori hypothesized six-factor structure of HEXACO personality and that the HEXACO-SPI domain scales demonstrated sufficiently high levels of internal reliability, differentiation, and invariance across time. Stability was shown for all domain scales, but especially when considering 1-year estimates (versus 3 or 4-year estimates). Mean-level decreases were observed in Honesty-Humility, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, with stability in Emotionality and Openness to Experience. Our findings inform research on HEXACO personality in adolescence, including stability and change.

This study evaluated the bidirectional associations between peer defending and social status (perceived popularity and likability) as well as gender and grade differences in these associations. Cross-lagged panel models were used to assess these longitudinal relationships in a sample comprised of elementary school students (Grades 5-8, N = 301, Mage = 12.38, collected in May and November 2019) and high school students (Grades 9-12, N = 296, Mage = 15.69, collected in November 2022 and May 2023) collected from five schools in southern Ontario, Canada. Findings revealed that overall, popularity and likability predicted future peer defending, and students who defended others became more liked over time. Additionally, our exploratory analyses indicated that boys in elementary school who defended became more popular overtime. These findings extend previous investigations into the bidirectional associations between social status and peer defending, while considering the impacts of gender and cohort. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of their novelty and considerations for bullying prevention programs.

Adolescence may be a particularly salient developmental period for personality. We use the HEXACO-SPI (simplified) measure of personality in a sample of both younger and older adolescents. We found that older adolescents reported significantly lower mean levels of all HEXACO traits other than Openness to Experience, with particularly noteworthy declines in Honesty-Humility and Agreeableness. Reliability and differentiation both trended towards being higher in the older sample, but most were not statistically significant. Our results suggest that the English version of the HEXACO-SPI is a suitable measure for use with adolescents and that it may capture important developmental changes in mean levels of HEXACO traits. Our data broadly resemble Big Five data, suggesting a common developmental process may underlie both models.

Race-related data are not routinely collected as part of the Canadian kindergarten teacher reported Early Development Instrument (EDI) data collection even though they could be used to inform provision of supports for students and educators. Therefore, the goal of our exploratory study was to gather an understanding of teacher perceptions regarding the assessment of items on the EDI in the context of children’s race, gender, and family status and teacher positionality. We conducted a series of four focus groups with educators (kindergarten teachers and designated early childhood educators) from a school board in Ontario, Canada. The major themes identified were: (1) intersections of social identity; (2) systemic biases and preconceived expectations; (3) educator reflections on feelings, attitudes, and circumstances; (4) teacher-child-family relationships; and (5) teacher training, education, and administrative resources. Our findings suggest that educators’ assessment may be influenced and informed by their perception of their own and their students’ identity. Potential of a bias might be reduced by adequate training and education.

This study investigated characteristics associated with two kinds of peer victimization—bullying victimization and adversarial victimization—distinguished by different balances of power between the perpetrator and victim. Specifically, we examined whether bullying victimization (victim has less power than perpetrator) would be experienced to a greater extent by vulnerable adolescents with psychosocial difficulties (fewer close friendships, emotional symptoms) and less peer esteem (physical attractiveness, perceived popularity, dating popularity, and prestige). In contrast, we investigated whether adversarial victimization, in which the victim has equal or greater power than perpetrator, would be experienced by adolescents perceived as rivals because they are held in high esteem by peers. A total of 599 adolescents aged 9 to 14 years ( M = 11.93; SD = 1.40) completed a self-report measure of emotional symptoms and peer nomination measures of victimization, close friendship, physical attractiveness, dating popularity, perceived popularity, and prestige. Bullying victimization was negatively associated with close friendships, physical attractiveness, perceived popularity, and prestige, whereas adversarial victimization was positively associated with all four indicators of peer esteem. The results demonstrate the importance of measuring the power balance between the perpetrator and victim when studying peer victimization. Findings are discussed from an evolutionary perspective suggesting that victims of bullying are selected by perpetrators to achieve adaptive benefits while minimizing retaliatory, reputational, and social costs, whereas victims of adversarial aggression are targeted as rivals in competition for status and mates.

IntroductionWith the proliferation of smartphones, social media access and use is ubiquitous. As such, many adolescent friendships now comprise both in-person and online contexts. Our paper explores the relationship between these contexts in two parts: the first is an exploratory comparison of in-person and online friendship networks with peers at school using descriptive social network analysis; the second, an investigation of how the use of different social media platforms relates to the importance placed on social media for connectedness and friendship closeness.MethodsParticipants were 547 adolescents (M = 15.25 years, 52% male, 55% white) from six schools in Southern Ontario, Canada. Participants completed a peer nomination survey on their relationships with peers at school and a self-report survey on social media use.ResultsWhile in-person and online networks are largely overlapping, there are important differences between the two. Results from the path analyses suggest that length of cell phone usage, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube were positively associated with the importance placed on technology for social connection and that this importance was also positively associated with feelings of friendship closeness. Daily cell phone usage, Instagram, and Snapchat use were positively indirectly associated with friendship closeness through the importance of technology for social connection.DiscussionOur findings also suggest slight gender differences, with daily time spent on a smartphone only significantly positively associated with the importance of technology for social connection for girls. Implications for future study are discussed.

The goal of the current work was to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic school shutdowns may have impacted classroom incivility in children and adolescents. Study 1 compared prepandemic (Fall 2019) to postpandemic school shutdown (Fall 2022) rates of classroom incivility in a sample of 308 adolescents (49.7% boys; 61.0% White) between the ages of 9 and 14 (M = 12.06; SD = 1.38). Classroom incivility was significantly higher postpandemic shutdowns, while bullying, emotional problems, and friendships remained stable. In Study 2, we surveyed 101 primary educators (95% females; 88.1% White). Findings suggested that young students lacked social skills and knowledge of classroom expectations, contributing to increased classroom incivility. Our results highlight the need to monitor ongoing levels of classroom incivility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Classroom incivility is an important construct to be addressed in relation to adolescent development. Therefore, the current study investigated similarities and differences between perceptions of adolescent students and teachers. Participants consisted of 40 intermediate and high school teachers and 52 students in grades 7-12. Both students and teachers rated how serious and how often uncivil behavior occurred in the classroom. Participants also responded to open-ended questions, allowing for a deeper exploration of their perceptions. Our results revealed that adolescent students consider uncivil behaviors that may be disrespectful towards the teacher as more uncivil than do teachers themselves. Teachers rated adolescents engaging in uncivil behavior towards each other as most serious, as well as discussing the negative implications of incivility to the learning environment. Taken together, the findings of this study are an important addition to the existing literature on adolescent incivility, while being directly applicable to the classroom setting.

INTRODUCTION Adolescent bullying is a complicated behavior that is difficult to prevent. Understanding factors that predict bullying during adolescence can help us minimize such behavior. Classroom incivility is a low-level antisocial behavior that has been discussed in the literature as being a potential predictor of bullying in adolescence. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine the longitudinal link between classroom incivility and bullying. METHODS Data for the current study was collected using quantitative surveys at two-time points, three years apart (November 2019 and November 2022) in southern Ontario, Canada. Our sample comprised 349 adolescents (51.3% boys, 46.4% girls, 0.6% other, and 1.7% preferred not to say) between the ages of 9 and 14 years old (M = 11.92 years; SD = 1.42). We utilized cross-lagged analyses to examine the stability of classroom incivility in adolescence, and the longitudinal association between classroom incivility and bullying. RESULTS Classroom incivility at Time 1 predicted bullying behavior at Time 2, while bullying at Time 1 did not predict classroom incivility at Time 2. Our results not only support the stability of levels of classroom incivility across time, but also provide empirical support for classroom incivility as a precursor to bullying behavior. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that classroom incivility can not only negatively impact the learning environment but may also be implicated in contributing to the circumstances that promote bullying behavior in adolescence, highlighting the importance of limiting uncivil behavior before it escalates into more severe forms of behavior.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, the lives of families all over the world were disrupted. Many adults found themselves working from home while their children were unable to go to school. To better understand the potential impact of these educational disruptions, it is important to establish what learning looked like during the first school shutdown in the spring of 2020, particularly for the youngest learners who may feel the longest lasting impacts from this pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of the current descriptive study was to gather information on how kindergarten teaching and learning occurred during this time, what the biggest barriers were, and what concerns educators had regarding returning in person to the classroom setting. The sample for the current study was 2,569 kindergarten educators (97.6% female; 74.2% teachers, 25.8% early childhood educators) in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed a questionnaire consisting of both quantitative scales and qualitative open-ended questions. Educators reported that parents most often contacted them regarding technological issues or how to effectively support their child. The largest barrier to learning was the ability of both parents and educators to balance work, home life, and online learning/teaching. With regards to returning to school, educators were most concerned about the lack of ability of kindergarten aged children to do tasks independently and to follow safety protocols. Our findings highlight unique challenges associated with teaching kindergarten during the pandemic, contributing to our understanding of the learning that occurred in Ontario during the first COVID-19 shutdown.