Adolescents' involvement in cyber bullying and perceptions of school: the importance of perceived peer acceptance for female adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women's perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying

Antisocial behaviour and teacher–student relationship quality: The role of emotion‐related abilities and callous–unemotional traits

Background: Childhood antisocial behaviour has been associated with poorer teacher-student relationship (TSR) quality. It is also well-established that youth with antisocial behaviour have a range of emotion-related deficits, yet the impact of these students’ emotion-related abilities on the TSR is not understood. Furthermore, the addition of the Limited Prosocial Emotions specifier in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) indicates that understanding the role of callous-unemotional (CU) traits for youth with antisocial behaviour problems is of particular importance. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between antisocial behaviour difficulties and the TSR by examining the influence of emotion-related abilities and CU traits. Sample: Twelve teachers from 10 primary schools provided anonymised information on 108 children aged 6-11 years. Results: Antisocial behaviour was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness) as well as higher emotion lability/negativity and lower emotion understanding/empathy. Emotion lability/negativity was associated with higher teacher-student conflict (but not closeness), and emotion understanding/empathy was associated with lower teacher-student conflict and higher closeness. CU traits was associated with higher teacher-student conflict and lower teacher-student closeness (controlling for antisocial behaviour more broadly). We found no evidence of a moderating effect of CU traits or emotion-related abilities on the association between antisocial behaviour and TSR quality. Conclusions: Interventions for behaviour difficulties should consider teacher-student relationships in the classroom. Strategies which aim to improve teacher-student closeness as well as reduce teacher-student conflict may be of particular value to students with high CU traits

Leaf Shapes and Venation Patterns

We present an analysis of leaf shapes and venation patterns based on a new assumption of the way how water flows in plants, together with the assumption that leaf shapes and leaf venation patterns have evolved in time such as to provide easier and easier access to its internal currents (Constructal Law). Then, by minimizing the global resistance to flow we anticipate the number of veins in relation to leaf shape (slenderness and vein insertion angle) and prevalent environmental conditions (represented by the potential for leaf water intake from the atmosphere). We also anticipate that leaves in dry climates will be slender and shorter, and with more veins as compared with those of plants adapted to wet environments. We finish by showing some cases in which the theory describes the characteristic of real leaves closely

Discrimination and psychological adjustment amongst Australian children from Middle-Eastern and Asian backgrounds

The present study explored prevalence of experiences of discrimination amongst Australian children from Middle-Eastern and Asian (ME-A) backgrounds and examined the relationship of such experiences to their psychosocial adjustment. Child and parentreport questionnaires were completed for 47 families from ME-A backgrounds regarding experiences of discrimination and adjustment for children aged 7-15 years. Perceived discrimination (PD) was assessed using the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS); and psychosocial adjustment was assessed via the Social Behaviour Questionnaire (SBQ). Over eighty-five percent of participating children reported discrimination, with 37.5% reporting five or more events. PD was linearly related to withdrawn social behaviours, greater emotional problems, and indirect aggression. This exploratory study provides strong initial evidence that experiences of discrimination are associated with impaired psychosocial functioning amongst Australian children of ME-A ethnic groups. Discussion focuses on the importance of, and lessons for, research with ME-A communities. Both moral and public health concerns point to the need for anti-racist action and support for affected children