Peer Bullying Research Articles

Peer Bullying Experiences and Management Strategies of Preschool Teachers

The objective of this study was to explore preschool teachers’ experiences with bullying behaviors in the classroom, their strategies for managing such behaviors, and to provide recommendations for addressing peer bullying in the classroom. Key findings from the research include: A high percentage (90.3%) of teachers reported encountering peer bullying in their classrooms. The most frequently observed types of bullying were verbal (65.6%), followed by physical (16.9%), and psychological (17.4%) bullying. Female students tended to engage more in psychological peer bullying, whereas male students were more inclined toward physical bullying.The incidence of physical and verbal bullying increased as children grew older.One of the primary approaches employed by teachers in dealing with bullying was changing classroom management practices and promoting empathy among students.Implementing a values education program within classroom activities was suggested as a way to enhance the effectiveness of anti-bullying efforts. These findings highlight the importance of addressing peer bullying in early childhood education and fostering positive classroom environments that promote empathy and values education. The study also emphasizes the need for teacher training and support to effectively manage and prevent bullying behaviors among young children.

Exploring gender differences in risk factors for self-harm in adolescents using data from the Millennium Cohort Study

BackgroundSelf-harm is common in young people and girls have consistently higher rates of self-harm than boys. Differences in exposure and reactions to risk and protective factors, adverse events and problematic interpersonal relationships, and levels of wellbeing could contribute to the gender difference. This study aims to explore gender differences in risk factors associated with self-harm, to provide the foundation for developing more gender-sensitive approaches to self-harm management. MethodsData were analysed from 11,196 young people recruited to the Millennium Cohort Study, surveyed around age 14. We examined gender differences in the prevalence of key psychological and social risk factors for self-harm, including family and peer relationships, emotional wellbeing, and bullying and victimisation. We utilised modified Poisson regression to estimate gender-specific risks. ResultsAt age 14 self-harm prevalence was 15.4 % with a ratio of 2.6 females to 1 male. Differential exposure to recorded psychosocial risk factors explained a third of the gender difference in risk of self-harm. Intense social media use and not confiding in family members were associated with a greater likelihood of self-harm in girls than boys. Bullying others and same-sex attraction were more strongly associated with self-harm in boys than girls. LimitationsSelf-harm data were obtained by self-report therefore subject to misclassification. The cross-sectional design does not enable us to establish causation. ConclusionsUnhappiness and dissatisfaction are common in adolescence. Our findings suggest the need for further research into young people's experiences to explore why rates differ and inform the development of gender-specific approaches to self-harm management.

Investigating the Relationship Between Bullying Coping Strategies and Cognitive Distortions in Adolescent

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between adolescents’ use of cognitive distortions and their coping strategies for dealing with bullying. This research aims to contribute to the scientific understanding and resolution of bullying behaviors, which are frequently observed in schools and raise concerns among young people. Within the study, the relationships between cognitive distortions and the strategies used by adolescents to cope with peer bullying were examined descriptively. Convenient sampling method was used in the selection of the study group. The study group consists of 483 students studying in high schools in Erzurum city center. Bullying Coping Strategies Scale, Cognitive Distortions about Relationships Scale, and Personal Information Protocol were used as data collection tools. As a result of the study, significant results were found between the bullying coping strategies used by adolescents and their cognitive distortions. In addition, it was determined that cognitive distortions predicted coping strategies with bullying at a significant level.

The associations of parental attitudes and peer bullying with alexithymia in adolescents: A structural equality model

AimThe aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between parental attitude and peer bullying and alexithymia in adolescents. MethodsThis cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with adolescents aged 13–18 years within high schools in eastern Turkey. Cluster sampling method was applied, and the study was completed within four high schools determined by random selection method. Sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire form, Peer Bullying Scale Adolescent Form, and Twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were used to collect the data. ResultsAmong the adolescents, 52% were female, 60% had a medium income level, 25.3% were in the 11th grade, 83% were living with their parents, 7.4% had chronic illnesses, 9.2% had psychiatric illnesses, 25.3% had suicidal thoughts, 10.1% engaged in suicidal behavior, and 25.3% used TV, smartphones, or tablets for 3–4 h a day. Rejecting and indifferent parental attitudes were found to be a possible risk factor for alexithymia, bullying and victimization. ConclusionsThis study highlights the connections between parental attitudes, peer bullying, and alexithymia in adolescents. By targeting positive parental attitudes and addressing peer interactions, nurses can effectively contribute to reducing the risk of alexithymia. Practice implicationsThrough collaboration with parents, nurses can establish supportive environments that nurture emotional understanding. Remaining attentive to risk factors, such as chronic illnesses and mental health issues in adolescents, empowers nurses to offer timely support or referrals. Partnerships with educators further enhance emotional awareness and encourage positive peer relationships.

The relationship between peer bullying and PTSS in refugee schoolchildren.

This study explored the relationship between Peer bullying (PB) and Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology (PTSS) in a sample of refugee Syrian schoolchildren in Jordanian schools. The study sample was composed of 116 Syrian refugees (female = 62, 53.4% male = 54, 46.6%) ages 9-18 years with a mean age of 14.5 years (SD 1.18) who had been in Jordan for at least 3 years and were studying in five public schools (three for females and two for males) located in Irbid and Mafraq governorates in the northern area of Jordan between the June 14, 2018 and the March 20, 2019. The results indicated that 116 children out of 180 (64.4%) suffer from high levels of PB (physical M = 1.47, verbal M = 1.41, and relational M = 1.35). The most prevailing type of bullying was the physical type, followed by the verbal and the relational types. Moreover, the three types of PB were positively and significantly correlated with PTSS (physical, r = .20, p < .05, verbal, r = .26, p < .01, relational, r = .22, p < .05), and (total PB, r = .43, p < .05). PB accounted for 14% of the variability in PTSS. Finally, the results did not indicate any significant differences in PB by gender, age, length of exposure to PB, living conditions, or disability. This study may provide a deeper understanding of the need to develop more thorough, institutionalized as well individualized, interventions to reduce PB against schoolchildren from a refugee background in schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Undergraduate Students During the Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulation

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. Subsequent lockdowns and fatalities have significantly impacted individuals’ lives, social relationships, and economic conditions. While pandemics affecting populations can lead to health issues, they also give rise to psychological disturbances such as anxiety, worry, panic, loneliness, depression, fear, and traumatic symptoms. Research has demonstrated that these symptoms are commonly observed across various segments of society. Self-regulation refers to individuals’ efforts to modify their thoughts, emotions, desires, and actions in line with their desired goals. It emphasizes that individuals are active agents and decision-makers rather than passive observers in the face of events. Studies have found that self-regulation is associated with success, well-being, social competence, academic performance, peer bullying, depression, anxiety, obesity, and various psychopathological conditions. COVID-19 research has also identified relationships between emotional regulation and depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. Covid-19 has also been associated with educational problems such as decline in student achievement, learning losses, problems with continuing education and drop-outs. In this study, the relationships between COVID-19 fear and depression, anxiety, and stress are examined, focusing on the mediating role of self-regulation in university students. Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses were conducted using collected data. The results indicate that COVID-19 fear significantly predicts depression, anxiety, and stress during the pandemic. Self-regulation partially mediates this relationship, diminishing the impact of COVID-19 fear and reducing levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Suicidal Ideation in Victims Bullying: The Role of Non-disclosure in the Family and School Contexts

The main objective of this study was to analyze the influence of adolescents’ family and school contexts in the suicidal ideation of victims of peer bullying, considering the influence of the victim’s non-disclosure of the victimization versus the victimized adolescent’s communicating the situation. The results show that parental styles of rejection and indifference are positively related to victims’ suicidal ideation and non-disclosure of bullying. Conversely, a positive school climate shows a negative relationship with victims’ suicidal ideation and the disclosure of the bullying situation. The findings also indicate that non-disclosure mediates the relationship between the mother’s parental style and suicidal ideation, whereas the school climate moderates the relationship between negative parenting styles and non-disclosure in adolescent bullying victim

The interaction between peer bullying and school connectedness on youth health and wellbeing

Multiple factors in a school setting may have an influence on youth health and wellbeing. Risk factors, like peer bullying, are expected to have negative consequences, whereas protective factors, such as school connectedness, are assumed to bolster positive outcomes. However, youth may experience both bullying and connectedness simultaneously. Given the importance of the school environment for youth health and wellbeing, we examined the independent effects of school connectedness and peer bullying on multidimensional profiles of youth health and wellbeing. We then explored the interaction between these two school-related risk and protective factors. Data were from 2,963 youth from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort focus on multiple aspects of youth health and wellbeing and school-related factors. Using multinomial logistic regression analyses, we found that school connectedness was positively associated with youth health and wellbeing, whereas peer bullying was negatively associated with youth health and wellbeing. The interaction between connectedness and bullying showed that school connectedness was no longer associated with health and wellbeing at higher levels of bullying. Findings revealed important information about the interplay of two school-related risk and protective factors, and have practical implications in the development and implementation of school-based youth wellness programming. Programs must simultaneously aim to reduce bullying and improve school connectedness, as focusing only on one factor may be ineffective.

EXAMINATION OF PEER PRESSURE IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BASED ON TEACHERS' OPINIONS

This study examines peer bullying behaviors among high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 based on teachers' opinions. The sample group consisted of a total of 30 teachers, 22 of whom were female and 8 of whom were male. All these teachers worked in high schools and equivalent schools in Istanbul. A total of 23 of the participants hold undergraduate degrees, and 7 of them hold postgraduate degrees. The participants were selected from different branches. The data were collected using the face-to-face interview technique. Teachers were asked 11 types of questions about peer pressure, and their responses were noted. The data were collected from volunteer teachers who were still on duty. The 'Peer Bullying Questionnaire in Schools', developed by the researchers and determined according to expert opinions and consisting of two parts, was used as a data collection tool. The first part of the peer bullying questionnaire includes the demographic characteristics of the participants, and the second part includes 11 types of questions for teachers about peer pressure. Consequently, this research is a study that reflects the peer bullying cases that students have been exposed to, how students react to such bullying, what kind of attitude teachers have towards such behaviors, how they act as teachers, why bullying behaviors develop, and how they suggest solutions to such behaviors. The results of the present study showed that peer bullying is a highly prevalent problem in high schools, and the students mostly suffered from verbal and social bullying. Familial factors were reported as the major cause of peer bullying. Teachers stated that the first source they used to cope with bullying was the school's psychological counseling and guidance services. The results of the present study were discussed based on the available literature, the study's limitations were indicated, and suggestions for future practical and theoretical studies were presented.

Peer Bullying in the Example of Valentin Rasputin’s story “French Lessons”

20. yüzyıl Rus edebiyatının en önemli yazarlarından biri olan Valentin Rasputin, içerisinde otobiyografik unsurları barındırdığı bilinen “Fransızca Dersleri” adlı öyküsünde zor koşullarda yaşamak zorunda olan bir çocuğun dramına yer vermektedir. Hikâyenin kahramanının en önemli özelliği eğitim için ailesinden ayrı kalmayı, açlık ve yalnızlıkla mücadele edebilmeyi küçücük yaşına rağmen göze alabilmesidir. Fakat bu zorlu koşulların yanı sıra onun mücadele etmesi gereken bir problemi daha vardır: Akran zorbalığı. Bu zor süreçte ona en büyük desteği öğretmeninin verdiği görülmektedir.&#x0D; Çağımızın en önemli problemlerinden biri olan akran zorbalığının geçmişte de var olduğu ve gelecekte de var olacağı bir gerçektir. Valentin Rasputin’in de “Fransızca Dersleri” adlı öyküsünde bu konuya değindiği görülmektedir.&#x0D; Çalışma, hikâyede ortaya çıkan akran zorbalığına ilişkin görünümleri tespit etmek amacıyla yapılmaktadır. İlk olarak, çalışmaya konu olan eser herhangi bir kayıt tutulmadan daha sonra ise akran zorbalığı odağında okunarak betimsel analizi yapılmaktadır. Elde edilen veriler eserde zorbalık şekillerine, kurbana, zorba tiplere ve zorbalık problemlerini çözme biçimlerine ilişkin yer alan görünümler başlıkları altında ayrıştırılarak analizleri yapılmaya çalışılmaktadır.

Peer bullying victimization in adolescence is associated with substance use: cross-sectional findings from French high school students

The relationships between peer bullying victimization in adolescence and substance use have been poorly studied. Thus, we examined the associations between peer bullying victimization and tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use in 496 French high school students. Peer bullying victimization was measured with a 17-item standardized assessment and analyzed as quartiles. Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use were assessed with the Hooked on Nicotine Checklist (HONC), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) and the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST), respectively. Total scores at the HONC (0 to 10), AUDIT-C (0 to 12), and CAST (0 to 24) were used as dependent variables in generalized linear models, adjusting for sex, age, prepared graduation, last school marks and friends outside high school. Compared to the first quartile (i.e., the least bullied students), those from the second, third and fourth quartiles had significant increase of the AUDIT-C (B = 0.78 [95%CI 0.17–1.40] with p = 0.013; B = 0.86 [95%CI 0.26;1.46] with p = 0.005 and B = 1.00 [95%CI 0.38;1.62] with p = 0.002, respectively), with dose-dependent relationships (B = 0.33 ([95%CI 0.13; 0.52] with p = 0.001). Those from the fourth quartile had a significant increase of the CAST (B = 2.13[95%CI 1.25;3.01], p < 0.001). When examining the role of peer bullying victimization on the number of substances used, there were significant increased odds for students from the third and fourth quartiles, with dose-dependent relationships (OR = 1.24 [95% CI 1.07;1.44], p = 0.005). These findings encourage paying a particular attention to substance use in students who report being bullied. Consequently, information and prevention using standardized screening tools should be proposed. Conversely, substance use could be an indicator of peer bullying victimization and should thus be explored.

Prevalence and associated factors of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese secondary school students

BackgroundDepressive and anxiety symptoms affect about one-fourth of Chinese secondary school students. However, the prevalence and correlates of mental distress among secondary school students from Western China remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and associations of depressive and anxiety symptoms with demographic, family, school, life, and behavior factors in a large, representative sample of secondary school students in Zigong, a city in Western China.MethodsSecondary school students were recruited using cluster sampling. The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Nine-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form were used. Descriptive statistic was used to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of participants. The clustering effect was adjusted by the “survey” package of R to calculate weighted prevalence. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to explore associated factors of depression and anxiety, respectively.ResultsA total of 63,205 participants were involved, in which the weighted prevalence of depression in all subjects was 23.0% (95% CI: 19.6- 27.0%), and the weighted prevalence of anxiety was 13.9% (95% CI: 11.2- 17.0%). Logistic regression results showed girls, being single-child, non-nuclear family, peer bullying, sleep disturbance, and internet gaming disorder symptoms were positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms.ConclusionDepressive and anxiety symptoms were prevalent among secondary school students in Western China. Our results can guide policy strategies for the assessment, prevention, and intervention of psychological status among Chinese secondary school students.

Factors Affecting the Individual Interest of Secondary School Students in Natural Science Lessons

Individual interest in learning natural sciences is a complex process influenced by multiple internal and external factors. The research reflects the need to determine the factors that affect individual interest in learning natural sciences in secondary school students. Two duly validated questionnaires were used, one of 18 factors that records the students' perceptual assessments and the other that measures individual interest. The questionnaires were applied to 741 students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades of secondary education. By means of a backward stepwise binary logistic regression, a significant model was found that explains 55.4% of the individual interest in learning natural sciences. Family problems is the factor with the highest importance (55 %), followed by study techniques (47.9 %), didactic material (47.3 %), selective attention (42 %), teaching methods and techniques (41 %), family assessment (41 %), scientific language (32.9 %), academic self-concept (31.8 %), peer bullying (26.5 %), study habits (26.4 %) and Chat in social networks (25.4 %). It is concluded that the model is composed of a broad set (11) of internal and external factors, provides a valid conceptual framework as empirical support to explain individual interest in learning the natural sciences.

The physical education experiences of pupils with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: An ableism-critical perspective

There is an ever-growing body of research relating to disabled pupils’ experiences of physical education (PE). However, our research is novel because it draws on an ableism-critical perspective to amplify the voices and centre the PE experiences of pupils with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We used an online survey to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 100 participants with a diagnosis to explore their perceptions of: (a) the influence of JIA on participation in PE; (b) relationships with same-aged peers and their influence on experiences in PE; (c) relationships with teachers and their influence on experiences in PE; and (d) the appropriateness of the PE curriculum. Microsoft Excel was utilised to analyse quantitative data and produce descriptive statistics that were used to map views and experiences of PE, while qualitative data generated from open questions were analysed thematically. We discuss data in relation to the following themes: (a) pain, fatigue, and fear of injury restricted participation in PE; (b) awareness and (mis)understanding of JIA; (c) the negative judgements of others and peer bullying in PE; and (d) the (in)appropriateness of the PE curriculum. We end this article by emphasising the importance of disrupting ableist ideologies, discourses, and knowledge, particularly as these all relate to (mis)understandings of JIA and negative perceptions about the ability of such pupils in PE, because they are contributing to the marginalisation and ostracisation of pupils with JIA.

Eğitim Kurumlarında İstenmeyen Davranışlar Sergileyen Öğrencilerin Tutum ve Davranış Sonuçları ve Çözüm Önerileri

Bullying by peers is a type of abuse that can have many negative physical or psychological effects in the short or long term. The first studies on bullying were conducted by Norwegian psychologist Dan Olweus in the 1970s. Olweus first used the term mobbing, derived from the word mob, to describe bullying, but over time, believing that it did not fully meet its meaning, he began to use the term bullying, and this term was translated into Turkish as peer bullying. Olweus defined peer bullying as being subjected to repetitive negative behavior by one or more people. Peer bullying may be seen by parents as a natural conflict between children, joking Dec Dec, play between children, and the traumas that it may cause may not be considered and not intervened. Children who are bullied may experience anxiety and fear, feel insecure and abandoned, feel lonely and unhappy, experience social isolation, introversion problems, shyness, neurosis and impaired concentration. Bullies can be seen with problems of breaking the rules of behavior and attention deficit. In terms of school life; absenteeism, the desire to drop out of school, a decrease in academic performance may be observed in those affected. Children who are psychologically bullied have low self-esteem, low self-esteem, social phobia, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, eating disorders, stuttering, attention deficit and movement disorders, tic disorder. Being a victim is also a comorbidity in terms of anxiety disorder and depression. Many programs have been developed to prevent peer bullying. The most well-known of these programs is the “Olweus Bullying Prevention Program” developed by Olweus. Extensive research on this program, developed by Olweus in Bergen, has shown that it reduces the problems of the bully/victim by 50% and the social climate at school becomes more positive. Key Words: Educational Institutions, Students, Undesirable Attitudes and Behaviors, Solution Suggestions

The Effect of Teacher Discrimination Behavior on Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, as the most severe psychological and behavioral problems among adolescents, bring not only significant damage to individual social functioning but also cause enormous economic and social pressure, which will ultimately be detrimental to social development and social stability. This paper aimed to explore the potential relationship between teacher discrimination behavior, peer bullying victimization, anxiety disorders, and adolescent suicidal ideation based on the Vulnerability-Stress Model. From September to November 2022, our research team surveyed 21,017 junior high school students from 12 secondary schools in ten cities in China. Mplus 8.3 software was used to analyze the pathways of teacher discrimination behavior on adolescent suicidal ideation. The results showed that teacher preference had a significant negative effect on suicidal ideation, and teacher prejudice significantly positively affected suicidal ideation. Mediation test results indicated that there were significant independent mediating effects of peer bullying victimization and anxiety disorders between teacher discrimination behavior and adolescents' suicidal ideation, as well as significant chain mediating effects. Secondary school teachers should improve their self-quality and pay more attention to adolescents' suicidal ideation. Teachers are expected to put love into their education, respect and trust each student, and attend to their emotional needs unbiasedly. Educators should develop targeted prevention and intervention measures according to the actual situation of school bullying and also strengthen adolescents' life-value education to improve the psychological quality of adolescents and create a healthy campus atmosphere.

The Effect of Group Psychological Counseling Based on Solution-Focused Psychological Counseling Approach on the Level of Peer Bullying Experienced by Primary School Students Who have Experienced Peer Bullying

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of solution-focused psychological counseling based group counseling on primary school students. Data was collected from 95 students. As a result of the analyses, a randomly selected experimental group of nine people and a control group were formed. In the study, the Child Form of the Bullying Determine Scale was used as a data collection tool. The data was analyzed using the independent and paired sample t-test. The analyses were conducted using SPSS 26 at a significance level of .05. As a result of the analyzes made, it was found that the group counseling sessions based on solution-focused counseling applied to students who were exposed to peer bullying made a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group. In the control group, in which no counseling session was held, no change occurred. The findings obtained in the research were discussed in the context of the relevant literature.

The aim of the study is to examine the coping methods of secondary school students who are exposed to peer bullying. The pattern of the research is phenomenology. For the research, necessary permissions were obtained from the Ethics Committee of Kayseri University and from the parents of the students participating in the study by using the parent consent form. The

Çalışmanın amacı, akran zorbalığına maruz kalan ortaokul öğrencilerinin baş etme yöntemlerini incelemektir. Araştırmanın deseni fenomenolojidir. Araştırma için Kayseri Üniversitesi Etik Kurulundan ve çalışmaya katılan öğrencilerin velilerinden veli onay formu kullanılarak gerekli izinler alınmıştır. Çalışma grubu akran zorbalığına maruz kalmış ortaokul kademesinde öğrenim gören 11 öğrenciden oluşmaktadır. Katılımcıların belirlenmesinde amaçlı örnekleme yöntemlerinden ölçüt örnekleme kullanılmıştır. Veri toplamak amacıyla Akran Zorbalığını Belirleme ölçeği ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Veriler betimsel analiz ve içerik analizi birlikte kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler; öğrencilerin dalga geçme, alay etme, dışlama, eşyalarını zorla alma, küsme davranışlarıyla akran zorbalığına maruz kaldıklarını göstermektedir. Bu duruma karşı mağdur öğrencilerin, akran desteği, aile desteği, öğretmen desteği, alternatif arkadaşlıklar kurmak, çeşitli sportif ve sanatsal etkinlikler yaparak mağduriyetlerini giderdikleri kendilerini daha iyi hissettikleri sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Öğrencilere akran arabuluculuğu eğitimleri, ailelere çocuklarıyla kaliteli zaman geçirmeye yönelik eğitimlerin verilmesinin gereklilikleri ortaya çıkmaktadır.

Reasons for High School Dropout: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Based on Students' Common Experiences

The purpose of this study is to describe the shared experiences of high school students who have left school. The study is based on the qualitative research pattern of "Descriptive Phenomenology". The sample of the study consists of 10 students who left school at the secondary level. "Criteria sampling" which is among purposeful sampling methods was used when determining the sample. The data obtained from semi-structured interviews with students who had left the school were subjected to content analysis, which is a qualitative data analysis method. MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program was used when this analysis was carried out. As a result of the analysis, it is seen that students leave school due to reasons such as low academic achievement, class repetition, absenteeism, poor economic situation, work, reluctance, apathy, negative behaviors, bad peer group, bad social environment, disciplinary referrals, peer bullying, different career orientations and negative role models. In the study, these reasons were classified as low academic motivation, risky behaviors and social disadvantage.

School-based Sexuality Education Curricula: Are Parents Supportive?

This paper discusses the findings of a study on the attitudes of Belarusian parents with school-aged children towards school-based sexuality education programs. The study aimed to measure parental support for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and its individual components, identify the topics and age ranges approved by parents, and determine which course characteristics are important to them. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to evaluate the factors that influence parental support for introducing sexuality education in schools. The study found that a fairly high share of 60.6% of parents were supportive of the introduction of CSE, despite low satisfaction and awareness of the current information presented in schools. Parents approved a median age of 13.3 years as the minimum age for CSE curriculum. However, topics such as safe use of cell phones, computers, the Internet, and social media; psychological pressure and violence; peer bullying; confronting peers; sources of help; relationships, love, friendship, parenting, and family were considered permissible for earlier age ranges. The study found that parental support to school-based sexuality education is influenced by several factors. These include parents’ normative ideas about the balance of responsibility between family and school in educating children and adolescents about sexuality, the level of awareness of and satisfaction with available information on sexual development and health in the school curriculum, whether parents have a college degree, parents’ personal experiences in having intimate conversations with their children, and any difficulties they may encounter in such communication. The paper offers recommendations for a CSE course architecture that is relevant to the context of Belarus and meets parental expectations, as well as on perspectives for advancing sexuality education in Belarus.