Background: Very few studies have properly identified how peer victimization is associated with lower achievement in middle or high school. In this context, this study examined how peer victimization at the beginning of middle school is linked with subsequent student achievement. Specifically, it assessed if the behavioral, affective, and…

Anxiety disorders have been on the rise among adolescents over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have contributed to this increase, putting further pressure on often already overburdened health systems. Universal prevention programs may offer a potential solution, but few have been evaluated in the context of a pandemic. The…

The purpose of this study was to explore how teacherpractitioners in a Canadian middle school perceive students' experiences of well-being in student-led service learning projects (SLPs). Through semistructured interviews, we explored five school practitioners' accounts of how SLPs contributed to student relating and functioning in a well-being…

Students have several misconceptions about thermodynamics. However, an understanding of basic concepts in this branch of physics remains fundamental to explain thermal phenomena. The purpose of this activity was to extend students' conceptual understanding of heat, temperature, energy, and thermal insulators and conductors. Two groups of students…

Background: Several studies conducted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown its harmful effects on young people's mental health. In Québec and Canada, few studies have focussed on adolescents, and even fewer of these studies have examined this subject using a methodology that involved comparisons of data obtained before and…

This mixed methods study examined how middle school students (ages 11-13) in middle-class neighborhoods in Western Canada characterized a caring teacher. Specifically, qualitative content analysis was conducted on 199 sixth and seventh grade students' written responses to the question "What are three things that teachers do to show they…

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…

Peer victimization is a common concern in adolescence that includes both relational (e.g., exclusion, rumor spreading) and overt (e.g., hitting, threatening) forms (Crick & Bigbee, 1998). Relational and overt peer victimization have shown to be differentially associated with depressive symptoms, with relational peer victimization showing a…

Bullying has deleterious effects on the health of youth, families, schools, and communities. These effects are especially pronounced for youth with special education needs specific to emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Much of what is understood concerning the effects of bullying has been limited to face-to-face contexts. Despite the…

Background: When exposed to evaluative situations, up to 40% of students develop test anxiety, reflected, namely, by extensive worry, intrusive thoughts, and physiological arousal. Though the negative influence of test anxiety on later school performance is well documented, the role of students' initial achievement in the development of later test…

This study seeks to identify the configurations of classroom teaching practices, defined based on the classroom goal structures (mastery-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) and social climate (academic support, emotional support, mutual respect, and task-related interactions) to which a sample of 1,453 seventh graders…

This study examined the relationships of sociocultural body ideal internalization, difficulties in emotion regulation, and their interaction with body image concerns in a group of 423 Canadian adolescent boys. Participants were 12 to 17 years old and completed multiple self-reported questionnaires. Regression analyses and latent moderation…

In social groups, such as school-based peer networks, youth often vie for power and dominance over others. Different strategies may be used to gain power (i.e., coercive and/or cooperative strategies), and with varying levels of success. Using a social networks approach, we examined whether and how social network centrality and social network…

This study investigates the association between classroom practices and individual social status outcomes in junior high. A nested design using 678 grade 7 and 8 students in 38 classrooms showed that classroom practices are associated with peer social status. Classrooms rated high on "instruction" were associated with a decreased…

Bullying by peers remains a serious problem facing adolescents. A key social support for adolescents is their parents. The unique contributions of specific dimensions comprising authoritative parenting, and adolescents' involvement in bullying situations was investigated. Self-report data were collected from 125 grade 7 students and 100 grade 8…