UK Secondary Schools Research Articles

From learning without limits to leading without limits: An autobiographical reflective case study of leading academic development within higher education

ABSTRACTThis autobiographical case study reflects upon how a senior academic leader repurposed the Learning without Limits pedagogical framework originally developed within UK primary and secondary school settings to inform the development of a new transformational leadership framework within a higher education setting. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is used to structure an analytically self-reflective account of the leadership behaviours deployed for a distributed model of academic development to be effective, viewed through the lens of Learning without Limits. As a result, a new framework to inform effective approaches to the leadership of change in higher education is suggested: Leading without Limits.

Changing mindsets in the modern foreign languages classroom: an intervention combining intelligence theories and reading strategies

ABSTRACT Recent research has established that it is academically advantageous for students to adopt an incremental view of their intelligence and that this is a key marker of a student’s level of self-efficacy. The self-efficacy of students following Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) courses in UK secondary schools is known to be low. Interventions have been successful in modifying students’ intelligence theories in the short term, but less research has been conducted into the longer-term impact of such interventions. This paper investigates the impact of intervention training focussed on the benefits of adopting both an incremental theory of intelligence and a strategic approach to learning. We report the results of a year-long intervention study with a quasi-experimental design based in a large comprehensive secondary school in England. The participants were five Year 9 German as a foreign language classes (N = 127). The impact of two interventions is assessed through in-depth questionnaires, analysis of student outcomes, and students’ intentions to continue with post-compulsory language study. The findings of this study yield significant implications for teachers’ classroom practice. Targeted intervention is shown to have a lasting impact on students’ theories of intelligence. The combination of interventions appears to have had an effect on the frequency with which students report adaptive attributions for failure. Most strikingly, for students of lower initial attainment, such interventions may have the power to transform attainment and motivation to continue with language study.

Grammar Policy and Pedagogy from Primary to Secondary School

AbstractGrammar is a key focus of current UK national curriculum policy, at both primary and secondary school level. But grammar policy across these levels is incongruous: at primary level, policy is largely prescriptive, framing language as a system of constraints and rules, whereas at secondary level, policy is much more geared towards descriptive, functional linguistics. Using data acquired from a survey with 275 secondary English teachers and interviews with 24 secondary English teachers, I critically explore how the incongruity of primary–secondary level grammar policy is impacting upon grammar pedagogy at secondary level. Using a combination of thematic and metaphor analysis, I show how many teachers report secondary students conceptualising grammar as a list of technical terms, with little idea or experience of how to use this knowledge in applications such as critical reading or creative writing. I also show how some secondary teachers were aiming to integrate grammar into their teaching, looking to build and develop on the grammatical knowledge students have from primary level. The data show that teacher and student conceptualisations of grammar are shaped by curriculum policy, and I call for a more coherent and coordinated vision of grammar across primary and secondary level.

'Best friends forever'? Friendship stability across school transition and associations with mental health and educational attainment.

Friendships have been linked to mental health and school attainment in children. The effects of friendlessness and friendship quality have been well researched, but less is known about the role of friendship stability (i.e., maintaining the same friend over time), an aspect of friendship which is often interrupted by the transition between phases of schooling. Many children report concerns about the secondary school transition which introduces a number of new social and academic challenges for children. To explore rates of friendship stability and whether maintaining a stable best friend across the primary to secondary school transition provided benefits to children's adjustment during this period. Data were from 593 children (M age=11years 2months). This study used longitudinal data from children transitioning into 10 UK secondary schools and explored the association between self-reported friendship stability and three outcomes: academic attainment, emotional problems and conduct problems. Analyses controlled for friendship quality and pre-transition psychological adjustment or attainment as appropriate. Rates of friendship stability were relatively low during this period. Children who kept the same best friend had higher academic attainment and lower levels of conduct problems. Exploratory analyses indicated that secondary school policies that group children based on friendships may support friendship stability. Helping maintain children's best friendships during the transition to secondary school may contribute to higher academic performance and better mental health.

Design as a social practice: the experience of new-build schools

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the influences of design on the perceptions and actions of students and teachers at four UK secondary schools. Typical post occupancy evaluations focus on environmental issues such as acoustics, lighting and temperature, using predominantly quantitative methods that often fail to explore how different environmental and social factors interact dynamically with users through time. There is also a lack of attention to the ways in which the processes of occupation may shape the experience of such spaces. This paper reports on one area of a wider study that involved case study profiling to document a range of key issues experienced by teachers and students at each of these schools, thus extending previous evidence on the ways in which habitation alters or rejects original design. These findings contribute to the development of a more holistic understanding of the ways in which design may contribute to processes of pedagogic transformation.

Structure and consistency of self-reported social contact networks in British secondary schools.

Self-reported social mixing patterns are commonly used in mathematical models of infectious diseases. It is particularly important to quantify patterns for school-age children given their disproportionate role in transmission, but it remains unclear how the structure of such social interactions changes over time. By integrating data collection into a public engagement programme, we examined self-reported contact networks in year 7 groups in four UK secondary schools. We collected data from 460 unique participants across four rounds of data collection conducted between January and June 2015, with 7,315 identifiable contacts reported in total. Although individual-level contacts varied over the study period, we were able to obtain out-of-sample accuracies of more than 90% and F-scores of 0.49–0.84 when predicting the presence or absence of social contacts between specific individuals across rounds of data collection. Network properties such as clustering and number of communities were broadly consistent within schools between survey rounds, but varied significantly between schools. Networks were assortative according to gender, and to a lesser extent school class, with the estimated clustering coefficient larger among males in all surveyed co-educational schools. Our results demonstrate that it is feasible to collect longitudinal self-reported social contact data from school children and that key properties of these data are consistent between rounds of data collection.

Energy drinks, caffeine, junk food, breakfast, depression and academic attainment of secondary school students.

Energy drinks are widely consumed, and concerns have been raised about possible negative outcomes. The aim of the present research was to examine associations between consumption of energy drinks, caffeine and junk food, and academic attainment in a sample of UK secondary school students. A total of 3071 students agreed to participate in the study; 2677 completed the survey on one occasion (52.4% female, 47.6% male; approximately 20% of the sample from each school year) and 1660 (49.6% female, 50.4% male) completed the survey a second time, approximately six months later. The academic attainment measure was based on Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 grades for Maths and English. In the cross-sectional analyses, logistic regressions showed that consumption of energy drinks was associated with a greater likelihood of being in the low academic achievement group. This was not found for other sources of caffeine. The effect of energy drinks was still significant when demographic, academic and health/lifestyle variables were covaried. However, inclusion of an unhealthy diet variable (junk food) removed the significant effect of energy drinks. Similar observations were made in the longitudinal study, with the poorer attainment of those who consumed energy drinks reflecting breakfast omission and depression. The present findings indicate that consumption of energy drinks is associated with an increased likelihood of poor academic attainment that reflects energy drink consumption being part of an unhealthy diet or being associated with skipping breakfast rather than a more specific effect, such as being a source of caffeine. Although the current study extends previous research by utilising a longitudinal design, intervention studies are now required to better answer questions relating to causality and direction of effect.

Mindfulness Training in UK Secondary Schools: a Multiple Case Study Approach to Identification of Cornerstones of Implementation

This paper examined the facilitators and barriers to implementation of mindfulness training (MT) across seven secondary/high schools using a qualitative case study design. Schools varied in level of implementation. Within schools, head teachers, members of school senior leadership teams, and staff members involved in the implementation of MT were interviewed individually. In addition, focus groups were conducted with other members of school staff to capture a broad range of views and perspectives. Across the case studies, several key themes emerged, which suggested four cornerstones to successful implementation of MT in schools. These were: people, specifically the need for committed individuals to champion the approach within their schools, with the support of members of the senior leadership teams; resources, both time and financial resources required for training and delivery of MT; journey, reflecting the fact that implementation takes time, and may be a non-linear process with stops and starts; and finally perceptions, highlighting the importance of members of the school community sharing an understanding what MT is and why it is being introduced in each school context. Similarities and differences between the current findings and those of research on implementation of other forms of school mental health promotion programs, and implementation of MT in healthcare settings, are discussed.

Young people’s views on sexting education and support needs: findings and recommendations from a UK-based study

ABSTRACTYoung people’s sexting is an area of increasing concern amongst parents, educationalists and policy makers, yet little research has been conducted with young people themselves to explore their perspectives on the support they need to navigate relationships in the new digital media landscape. To address this absence, an inter-disciplinary team of researchers undertook a participatory study with students, aged 13 to 15, in a UK secondary school. This paper outlines key study findings, including young people’s views on sexting, their recommendations for improved education around sexting in schools, their preferred sources of support, and their perspectives on the way adults should respond to young people’s sexting. Findings indicate that sexting education needs to be developed within the context of wider relationship issues, such as gender, power dynamics and trust between peers, and improved communication between students and teachers or other responsible adults. Findings may be used to consider ways of designing and communicating messages around sexting to young people within and beyond educational settings.

The Feasibility of a Novel School Peer-Led Mentoring Model to Improve the Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Time of Adolescent Girls: The Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT) Project.

Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with numerous physical and psychological health benefits. Adolescents, specifically girls, are at risk of physical inactivity. To date, there is limited research on PA interventions involving peers, which could encourage more adolescent girls to engage in PA. The investigation aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a novel school three-tier peer-led mentoring model designed to improve PA levels and reduce sedentary time (ST) of adolescent girls. Two-hundred and forty-nine Year 9 adolescent girls (13–15 years old) from three UK secondary schools were invited to participate in a peer-led mentoring intervention (Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT) project). The peer-led mentoring model was delivered in all three schools. Two of the schools received an additional after-school PA component. PA and ST were assessed through wrist-worn accelerometry. Girls who received an exercise class after-school component significantly increased their whole day moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (3.2 min, p = 0.009, d = 0.33). Girls who received no after-school component significantly decreased their MVPA (3.5 min, p = 0.016, d = 0.36) and increased their ST (17.2 min, p = 0.006, d = 0.43). The G-PACT intervention demonstrated feasibility of recruitment and data collection procedures for adolescent girls. The peer-led mentoring model shows promise for impacting girls’ MVPA levels when combined with an after-school club PA opportunity.

Reviving pedagogical translation

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine to what extent translation may be an effective pedagogical tool for use by UK GCSE language students. It is offered as a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the use of pedagogical translation. In March 2015, 41 students preparing for their GCSE Spanish exams were presented with a variety of translation-based activities, including a discussion about professional translation, a mistranslations exercise and a group translation task. The research design combined both translation as a means (explicative and process-oriented) and translation as an end (communicative and product-oriented), and was based upon a realistic, student-centred, socio-constructivist pedagogical foundation. Qualitative data, and a small amount of quantitative data, were collected via a post-session questionnaire and semi-structured group interview, through which students were asked about their experience of the translation sessions in order to answer the following questions: (1) According to students, does translation have a place in UK secondary school foreign language education? (2) If it does, what do students feel are its main benefits? (3) What form should translation activities take, according to students?Students felt that translation could add to their language classes in a variety of ways, including building their confidence, making their language learning more engaging, giving their learning a more ‘real-world’, practical focus and increasing their general language competency. They also felt that it was best delivered in the form of task-based group work. Students’ responses to the translation sessions were overwhelmingly positive, providing compelling support for further use of both explicative and communicative translation tasks in UK secondary school language education.

Teachers' Perspectives on the Impact of Cleft Lip and/or Palate During the School Years.

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) poses many challenges for those affected throughout the school years, with recent studies pointing to a trend in poor educational outcomes. Previous research has highlighted the important role that teachers play in supporting young people with chronic health conditions yet studies in the field of CL/P suggest that teachers may lack knowledge of the condition, and underestimate pupils' academic ability. Qualitative investigation of the impact of CL/P from the teacher's perspective may provide additional insight as well as potential suggestions for improving the school experience for affected pupils. Twenty UK preschool, primary, and secondary school teachers with experience of teaching pupils with CL/P completed an open-ended survey, eliciting qualitative data. Qualitative content analysis was performed. Data were presented under 5 key headings: Knowledge of CL/P and its effects, perceived impact of CL/P on education, teachers' training needs, delivery of training, and impact of CL/P on teachers. Teachers were able to identify a number of potential social, emotional, and treatment-related challenges within the school setting, yet did not believe that CL/P would have a long-term impact on pupils' educational achievement. Participating teachers reported that cleft-specific training and access to relevant resources would be highly beneficial. Acting as a platform for future research, this exploratory study provides insight into the challenges faced by teachers and offers suggestions for how to improve teachers' understanding of CL/P, and their confidence in dealing with cleft-related issues.

Scientific aptitude better explains poor responses to teaching of evolution than psychological conflicts.

It is considered a myth that non-acceptance of scientific consensus on emotive topics is owing to difficulties processing scientific information and is, instead, owing to belief-associated psychological conflicts, the strongest non-acceptors being highly educated. It has been unclear whether these results from adults explain variation in response to school-level teaching. We studied a cohort of UK secondary school students (aged 14-16) and assessed their acceptance and understanding of evolution. In addition, to address their aptitude for science we assessed their understanding of genetics and their teacher-derived assessment of science aptitude. As both models predict, students with low initial evolution acceptance scores showed lower increases in the understanding of evolution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this effect is better explained by lack of aptitude: before teaching, students with low acceptance had lower understanding of both evolution and of genetics; the low-acceptance students sat disproportionately in the foundation (rather than higher) science classes; low-acceptance students showed lower increments in the understanding of genetics; and student gain in the understanding of evolution correlated positively with gain in the understanding of genetics. We find no evidence either for a role for psychological conflict in determining response to teaching or that strong rejectors are more commonly of a higher ability. From qualitative data we hypothesize that religious students can avoid psychological conflict by adopting a compatibilist attitude. We conclude that there are students recalcitrant to the teaching of science (as currently taught) and that these students are more likely to not accept the scientific consensus. Optimizing methods to teach recalcitrant students is an important avenue for research.

‘Not so Much Learning to Speak Latin, but Speaking to Learn it’. Action Research on the Use of Conversational, Spoken Latin in the UK Secondary School Classroom.

I undertook research into the use of conversational, spoken Latin in the UK classroom, due to my intention to answer three specific research questions. Firstly, I wanted to find out how easy it is for the contemporary Classics teacher to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. Secondly, I wished to discover what techniques the Classics teacher can adopt to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin, within the framework of active, oral communication in Latin. Thirdly, I wanted to consider how positive is the attitude of students engaging with communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. I was introduced to this area of research on my PGCE course of study at Cambridge University. Furthermore, I was especially inspired by the scholarship of Coffee (2012), King (2011), Lloyd (2016), Patrick (2015), Rasmussen (2015) and Tunberg (2011) who have written so positively about the unique ability of communicative approaches to unlock the joy of experiencing and employing the Latin language for individuals of all ages.

Development of a typology of mentoring programmes for young people in secondary schools in the UK: a qualitative study

BackgroundDespite insufficient evidence of effectiveness, mentoring programmes are commonplace in various contexts in the UK. Mentoring has potential to influence health and educational outcomes, so it is of public health interest to obtain a better understanding of the types of programmes currently available to aid evaluation and service commissioning. The aim of this study was to develop a typology of currently active mentoring programmes that provide formal mentoring for young people in UK secondary schools. MethodsEight websites were searched to retrieve details of mentoring organisations. Organisations were purposively selected using maximum variation sampling, and programme providers were invited to take part in semi-structured telephone interviews. The typology was consulted in a three-step process—interviews with purposefully selected experts in mentoring, providers' written feedback, and follow-up interviews with experts. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analysed with thematic and framework analysis. All participants provided written consent, and ethics approval was granted by the University of Bristol. Findings23 of 29 invited providers and all five invited experts took part in the study. Providers described 28 diverse formal mentoring programmes, and participants differed in the way they conceptualised mentoring. The final typology differentiated mentoring programmes by three overarching categories: type of mentor (older student, adult volunteer, school staff, paid adult), programme setting (school, community, online), and programmes' overall aim. On the basis of their overall aim, programmes were allocated to two broad groupings of personal and developmental and academic and employability mentoring programmes. 12 mentoring models were identified on the basis of different combinations of subcategories. InterpretationAlthough mentoring programmes are heterogeneous, it is possible to identify key characteristics and to categorise existing programmes into one of 12 mentoring models. Use of semi-structured telephone interviews allowed for a thorough investigation of differences between mentoring programmes that was grounded in participants' accounts of their programmes. Further study is needed to test the typology's generalisability in the UK. Such a typology can help us to understand what is being delivered, for whom, and how, which is a necessary precursor to any public health evaluation. FundingThe work was undertaken with the support of the Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Joint funding (MR/KO232331/1) from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the Welsh Government, and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged.

Young carers in the NHS.

Carers are vital to the health economy, saving the NHS over £132 billion per year.1 This makes it fundamental to support them in both their carer and patient roles. A significant proportion of these carers are aged <18 years. There are 166 363 known young carers in England alone, which is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.2 Young carers are children and young people 18 years of age who provide regular or ongoing care and emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled, or misuses substances.2 A BBC survey of UK secondary schools found one in 12 students had moderate or high levels of care responsibilities.3 Wong reports as many as two in every 11 students may have a caring role.4 These numbers are only set to rise with ageing first-time parents and extending life expectancy. It is important that primary care teams are aware of the problems that carers face and are organised to identify, involve, and support them in their roles.5 The Children’s Society report Hidden from View documents the significant and long-lasting impacts that being a carer can have on a young person’s health, wellbeing, and education.2 Young carers have significantly lower educational attainment and around one in 20 misses school because of caring responsibilities. Data suggest that 87% of young carers are aged 10–17 years, with one in eight being <10 years old. They are equally likely to be male or female and most commonly care for a sibling or parent. One survey reported …

Adapting the ASSIST model of informal peer-led intervention delivery to the Talk to FRANK drug prevention programme in UK secondary schools (ASSIST + FRANK): intervention development, refinement and a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial

BackgroundIllicit drug use increases the risk of poor physical and mental health. There are few effective drug prevention interventions.ObjectiveTo assess the acceptability of implementing and trialling two school-based peer-led drug prevention interventions.DesignStage 1 – adapt ASSIST, an effective peer-led smoking prevention intervention to deliver information from the UK national drug education website [see www.talktofrank.com (accessed 29 August 2017)]. Stage 2 – deliver the two interventions, ASSIST + FRANK (+FRANK) and FRANK friends, examine implementation and refine content. Stage 3 – four-arm pilot cluster randomised control trial (cRCT) of +FRANK, FRANK friends, ASSIST and usual practice, including a process evaluation and an economic assessment.SettingFourteen secondary schools (two in stage 2) in South Wales, UK.ParticipantsUK Year 8 students aged 12–13 years at baseline.Interventions+FRANK is a UK informal peer-led smoking prevention intervention provided in Year 8 followed by a drug prevention adjunct provided in Year 9. FRANK friends is a standalone informal peer-led drug prevention intervention provided in Year 9. These interventions are designed to prevent illicit drug use through training influential students to disseminate information on the risks associated with drugs and minimising harms using content from www.talktofrank.com. Training is provided off site and follow-up visits are made in school.OutcomesStage 1 – +FRANK and FRANK friends intervention manuals and resources. Stage 2 – information on the acceptability and fidelity of delivery of the interventions for refining manuals and resources. Stage 3 – (a) acceptability of the interventions according to prespecified criteria; (b) qualitative data from students, staff, parents and intervention teams on implementation and receipt of the interventions; (c) comparison of the interventions; and (d) recruitment and retention rates, completeness of primary, secondary and intermediate outcome measures and estimation of costs.Results+FRANK and FRANK friends were developed with stakeholders [young people, teachers (school management team and other roles), parents, ASSIST trainers, drug agency staff and a public health commissioner] over an 18-month period. In the stage 2 delivery of +FRANK, 12 out of the 14 peer supporters attended the in-person follow-ups but only one completed the electronic follow-ups. In the pilot cRCT, 12 schools were recruited, randomised and retained. The student response rate at the 18-month follow-up was 93% (1460/1567 students). Over 80% of peer supporters invited were trained and reported conversations on drug use and contact with trainers. +FRANK was perceived less positively than FRANK friends. The prevalence of lifetime illicit drug use was 4.1% at baseline and 11.6% at follow-up, with low numbers of missing data for all outcomes. The estimated cost per school was £1942 for +FRANK and £3041 for FRANK friends. All progression criteria were met.ConclusionsBoth interventions were acceptable to students, teachers and parents, but FRANK friends was preferred to +FRANK. A limitation of the study was that qualitative data were collected on a self-selecting sample. Future work recommendations include progression to a Phase III effectiveness trial of FRANK friends.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN14415936.FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full inPublic Health Research; Vol. 5, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. The work was undertaken with the support of the Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer). Joint funding (MR/KO232331/1) from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the Welsh Government and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK CRC, is gratefully acknowledged.

Learning to program with Game Maker

Game Maker is widely used in UK secondary schools, yet under-researched in that context. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative case study that explores how authoring computer games using Game Maker can support the learning of basic programming concepts in a mainstream UK secondary setting.  The research draws on the learning theory of constructionism, which asserts the importance of pupils using computers as ‘building material’ to create digital artefacts (Papert, 1980; Harel and Papert, 1991), and considers the extent to which a constructionist approach is suitable for introducing basic programming concepts within a contemporary, game authoring context.  The research was conducted in a high achieving comprehensive school in South East England. Twenty-two pupils (12 boys; 10 girls; 13-14 years old) completed a unit of work in computer game authoring over an eight-week (16 x 50 minute lessons) period. In planning and developing their games, they worked in self-selected pairs, apart from two pupils (one boy and one girl) who worked alone, by choice. Nine of the ten pairs were the same gender. Data were collected in planning documents, journals and the games pupils made, in recordings of their working conversations, and in pair, group and artefact-based interviews. Findings indicate that as well as learning some basic programming concepts, pupils enjoyed the constructionist-designed activity, demonstrated positive attitudes to their work, and felt a sense of achievement in creating a complex artefact that had personal and cultural significance for them. However, the findings also suggest that the constructionist approach adopted in the research did not effectively support the learning of programming concepts for all pupils. This research arises out of a perceived need to develop accessible, extended units of work to implement aspects of the Computing curriculum in England. It suggests that using Game Maker may offer a viable entry, and identifies the programming concepts and practices which pupils encountered, the difficulties they experienced, and the errors they made when authoring computer games. It also offers recommendations to increase the readiness with which students engage with key programming concepts and practices when using this visual programming software. In so doing it makes a practical contribution to the field of qualitative research in secondary computing education.Â

Does psychological functioning mediate the relationship between bullying involvement and weight loss preoccupation in adolescents? A two-stage cross-sectional study

BackgroundAdolescent bullying is associated with a range of adversities for those who are bullied i.e., victims and bully-victims (e.g., those who bully others and get victimised), including reduced psychological functioning and eating disorder symptoms. Bullies are generally well-adjusted psychologically, but previous research suggests that bullies may also engage in problematic diet behaviours. This study investigates a) whether adolescents involved in bullying (bullies, victims, bully-victims) are at increased risk of weight loss preoccupation, b) whether psychological functioning mediates this relationship and c) whether sex is a key moderator.MethodA two-stage design was used. In stage 1, adolescents (n = 2782) from five UK secondary schools were screened for bullying involvement using self and peer reports. In stage 2, a sample of bullies, victims, bully-victims and uninvolved adolescents (n = 767) completed a battery of assessments. The measures included the eating behaviours component of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment, which was reduced to one factor (weight loss preoccupation) and used as the outcome variable. Measures of self-esteem, body-esteem and emotional problems were reduced to a latent (mediator) variable of psychological functioning. Multi-group analysis examined the effects of sex and all models were adjusted for covariates (BMI, pubertal stage, age, parental education and ethnicity).ResultsBullies, victims and bully-victims were at increased risk of weight loss preoccupation compared to adolescents uninvolved in bullying. The mechanism by which bullying involvement related to increased weight loss preoccupation varied by bullying role: in bullies the effect was direct, in victims the effect was indirect (via reduced psychological functioning) and in bully-victims the effect was both direct and indirect. Sex significantly moderated the relationship in bullies: weight loss preoccupation was only statistically significant in bullies who were boys.ConclusionBullying involvement during adolescence is associated with weight loss preoccupation. Bullies are likely driven by a desire to increase attractiveness and social status; whereas weight loss preoccupation in bullied adolescents may have maladaptive influences on diet and exercise behaviours due to its association with reduced psychological functioning. Future research should consider peer victimisation as a potential modifiable risk factor for reduced psychological functioning and weight loss preoccupation, which if targeted, may help to prevent maladaptive diet and exercise behaviours.

Cyberbullying: a storm in a teacup?

Cyberbullying has been portrayed as a rising ‘epidemic’ amongst children and adolescents. But does it create many new victims beyond those already bullied with traditional means (physical, relational)? Our aim was to determine whether cyberbullying creates uniquely new victims, and whether it has similar impact upon psychological and behavioral outcomes for adolescents, beyond those experienced by traditional victims. This study assessed 2745 pupils, aged 11–16, from UK secondary schools. Pupils completed an electronic survey that measured bullying involvement, self-esteem and behavioral problems. Twenty-nine percent reported being bullied but only 1% of adolescents were pure cyber-victims (i.e., not also bullied traditionally). Compared to direct or relational victims, cyber-victimization had similar negative effects on behavior (z = −0.41) and self-esteem (z = −0.22) compared to those not involved in bullying. However, those bullied by multiple means (poly-victims) had the most difficulties with behavior (z = −0.94) and lowest self-esteem (z = −0.78). Cyberbullying creates few new victims, but is mainly a new tool to harm victims already bullied by traditional means. Cyberbullying extends the reach of bullying beyond the school gate. Intervention strategies against cyberbullying may need to include approaches against traditional bullying and its root causes to be successful.