Youth with learning difficulties (LDs) seem to be at increased risk for bullying involvement as victims, perpetrators, or both compared to their peers without such difficulties, and their adjustment is compromised in many aspects. Involvement in school bullying during childhood and adolescence is also linked to a wide range of adverse outcomes concurrently and later in life. Although both LDs and bullying involvement are recognized as risk factors that can impede educational attainment and exacerbate social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, no previous studies have examined whether bullying involvement aggravates the concurrent and long-term adjustment problems of students with LDs.

This study focuses on how bullying involvement affects the short- and long-term emotional and behavioral adjustment of students with and without LDs. First, in a sample of over 20,000 Finnish youth drawn from RCT of the KiVa antibullying program in 2007-2009, we will examine whether self-reported LDs are associated with bullying and victimization. Second, we will assess how LDs are associated with concurrent adjustment in school age (depressive symptoms, anxiety, self-esteem, academic self-concept, and relation to classmates), as well as how bullying, victimization, and their interaction moderate these associations. Third, by utilizing a follow-up survey of the same individuals in young adulthood (n=4,659), we will investigate how LDs reported in school-age are associated with adjustment (aggression, cyber-aggression, alcohol use, depression, anxiety, well-being, and workplace victimization) in young adulthood, and how bullying, victimization, and their interaction moderate these associations. In all analyses, gender, age, and the intervention status of the school will be controlled for. Further, all analyses will be conducted separately for self- and peer-reported bullying and victimization.

Results regarding concurrent and longitudinal adjustment of youth with LDs, as well as the moderating role of bullying involvement will be presented. Moreover, differences between self- and peer-reported bullying involvement will be discussed.

In decision-making related to mental health work in schools, it is crucial to take into account young people's own experiences of receiving support into account. However, to date, young people's experiences have been studied and considered in decision-making only to a very limited extent. This study aims to address this research gap, by asking: Through what types of narratives do young adults with depressive symptoms during their secondary education describe the support they received during their school path? The research data consists of interviews with nineteen young adults aged 22–23, focusing on their school experiences. The interview data were analyzed narratively, one story at a time, resulting in five narrative types: (1) Those overshadowed by their academic performance, (2) Those who found their career path, (3) Survivors who developed compensatory strategies, (4) Those disappointed with support and left alone, and (5) Drifters. A recurring theme in all narrative types was the perceived inadequacy of the support received by schools. Despite this, the young adults' sense of agency, current life situation, and the meanings attributed to support from various sources varied across the narrative types. The research findings are discussed in relation to James Marcia's (1966) identity theory as well as Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory. The results highlight the need for developing more individually tailored support measures which would be based on young people's own experiences and effective interprofessional collaboration at schools. This might prevent the prolongation and escalation of problems from basic education to secondary education and into working life.

While many studies on children focus on the moral evaluation of perpetrators, relatively little is known about their assessment of victims of immoral acts. Understanding how children perceive and respond to victims is crucial for gaining insight into their broader social evaluations and children’s perception of victims of immoral behavior. While prior research indicates that children often empathize with victims (Kanagoki et al., 2013; Uzefovsky et al., 2020), they paradoxically show reluctance to choose them as collaborators or playmates (Olson, et al., 2006). This project investigates how children evaluate victims in terms of morality and competence and how it shapes their social preferences. We hypothesized that (i) children perceive victims as more moral but less competent than non-victims and (ii) they avoid affiliating with victims.

We conducted four experiments with 445 children aged 4–6. During the procedure, children watched a puppet show involving three characters: a victim, a perpetrator and a neutral bystander. Then, children were asked about each puppet’s morality, competence, and liking each character. They were also asked to indicate their preference for a playmate. In Study 3, we additionally asked about the blame ascribed to the victim, while in Study 4, we introduced a manipulation of the victim’s competence.

Across all four experiments, we found that children consistently perceived victims of immoral behavior as more moral but less competent than other characters. They also showed a clear preference for neutral bystanders over victims when choosing a playmate. In Study 3, we found a strong positive correlation between victim-blaming and the perceived victim’s competence. Results of Study 4 further showed that children were more likely to assign higher blame to victims who demonstrated greater competence.

These findings highlight children’s nuanced evaluations of victims and suggest that perceived competence and blame attribution significantly shape their social decisions.

Despite the lack of robust evidence supporting smartphone bans, several European countries have recently implemented smartphone bans in secondary schools, driven by concerns over the potential negative impacts of increased smartphone usage on adolescents' cognitive and socioemotional development. The Netherlands has implemented a smartphone ban in secondary schools starting in 2024, however, without clear policy guidelines on how to effectively enforce these bans. This has led to variations among schools, with some restricting the ban to the classroom only (i.e., partial ban), while others extend the prohibition to the entire school grounds (i.e., full ban). Due to the absence of studies comparing the effectiveness of different types of smartphone bans, school boards lack the necessary evidence to make informed decisions about which type of ban to implement. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the extent to which the type of smartphone ban (i.e., partial or full) in secondary schools influences a) problematic social media use, b) wellbeing, c) social connectedness at school, and d) bullying. We expect more positive outcomes in schools with a full smartphone ban than in those with a partial ban. We use recently collected data from the EPoSS project (Early Predictors of School Success) among approximately 1,400 pupils from 27 secondary schools in the Netherlands. Preliminary results of regression analyses controlling for sex, grade and track indicate no significant effect of the type of smartphone ban on problematic smartphone use, general life satisfaction, wellbeing, sense of school belonging, and bullying. Contrary to our expectations, students from schools with a full smartphone ban report significantly more loneliness, difficulties with concentration, and lower levels of teacher and classmate connectedness. Overall, these findings support partial smartphone bans restricted to the classroom only. The implications of these findings for future research and policy development will be discussed.

Introduction: Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) emphasizes the importance of autonomy-supportive parental behaviours in fostering students' intrinsic motivation, academic engagement, and overall achievement (Tunkkari et al., 2021; Valdés-Cuervo et al., 2022). Autonomy-supportive parents encourage adolescents to take ownership of their learning by providing guidance without imposing control, fostering a sense of competence and self-regulation. However, the mechanisms through which parental homework support specifically influences homework-related outcomes need to be further explored.
Method: A sample of 226 families, composed of adolescents aged 10-14 (M=12.11, SD=.88) and their parents, was involved in the study. Participants completed the following scales: the Parent Homework Support scale, the Homework Survey and the Homework Distraction Scale.
Results: Common Fate Model (CFM) was used. The model showed a good model fit (χ² (59) = 73.815, p > .01, Y-B𝜒2 (59) = 67.443, p > .01, R-CFI = .99, SRMR =.04, R-RMSEA (90% CI) = .03 (.00, .05). Results showed that Parent Homework Support positively related with Time Spent on Homework (β = .37, p < .01) and Homework Time Management (β = .34, p < .01), negatively with Homework Distraction (β = -.30, p < .001). Amount homework completed was positively related both with Time Spent on Homework (β = .32, p < .01) and Homework Time Management (β = .36, p < .01). Two indirect effect were observed between Parent Homework Support and Amount homework completed via Homework Time Management (β = .12, p < .05) and via Time Spent on Homework (β = .12, p < .05).
Conclusion: These findings highlight the role of autonomy-supportive parental strategies in promoting adolescents’ school engagement and academic success. By enhancing time management, reducing distractions, and fostering intrinsic motivation, supportive behaviours can help students develop self-regulation skills that are crucial for long-term learning.

Keywords: Parental autonomy-support, homework, distraction, adolescents