Bullying has severe public health consequences, due to its high prevalence worldwide and devastating effects on physical and mental health. Therefore, it is relevant to further understand the factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of bullying. This study aimed to examine the differential mediating role of social skills in the relationship between (i) externalizing problems and engagement in aggressive bullying behaviors, and (ii) internalizing problems and the engagement in victimization bullying behaviors. Participants were 669 Portuguese adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years. The Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales and the Scale of Interpersonal Behavior at School were used to assess social skills and the engagement in bullying behaviors, respectively. Boys scored higher on aggressive behaviors and externalizing problems. Girls reported higher scores on internalizing problems, communication, cooperation and empathy. Social skills differently mediated the association between behavior problems and engagement in bullying. While empathy negatively mediated the association between externalizing problems and aggressive bullying behaviors, assertiveness negatively mediated the relationship between internalizing problems and victimization bullying behaviors. The risk factors for engaging in bullying are discussed, and so are the protective ones, which may help to prevent bullying behaviors and reduce their negative impact.

Confinements and social distancing measures during COVID‐19 pandemic were particularly challenging to adolescents, impacting significantly their life and routines. Following a longitudinal design, this study sought to compare adolescents' cognitive well‐being—satisfaction with life, social support, and quality of life—before (T1) and during (T2) the COVID‐19 pandemic. Additionally, it aimed to clarify the predictive value of the three dimensions of the cognitive well‐being to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of adolescents at school at T2. One thousand ninety‐nine Portuguese adolescents participated, showing generally increased scores in satisfaction with life, social support, and quality of life at T2. Even so, girls revealed lower changes in cognitive well‐being components compared with boys, between T1 and T2. In addition, satisfaction with life and quality of life were predictive of satisfaction of basic psychological needs at T2. This work highlights the relevance of cognitive well‐being as a dispositional dimension in determining the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in adolescence, during a worldwide catastrophic event.

Due to large amounts of wastewater generated by textile industry, studies on degradation and subsequent impact of these effluents are needed when they are released into water bodies. Since reactive dyes present higher degradation when treated by physical and chemical processes, a photoelectrolytic process was used. Ecotoxicological analysis of simulated textile effluents was conducted before and after treatment. Winogradsky columns were used, simulating a microecosystem where algae growth was examined. Results indicated that the photoelectrolytic process achieved satisfactory results in color degradation of the studied dye (Remazol red brilliant), but after 30 min of treatment, even though the effluent became colorless, it reduced dramatically microalgae diversity. Although complete color removal (97%) was not observed, the effluent treated for 5 min did not affect microalgae growth in the same way as the effluent treated for 30 min. An optimum treatment time of 5 min was determined.

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The purpose of this work was to evaluate the heterogeneity and diversity of algae according to an aquatic environment polluted by Remazol Red Brilliant dye. Methodology followed Winogradsky columns technique, which describes a microecosystem in a glass container. Two columns were prepared: one control and another with Remazol Red Brilliant dye simulating a contaminated environment. The experiment was under illumination to provide light energy to photosynthetic organisms and alteration in two columns were observed and quantified: algae development and color changes. Results demonstrated that pH remained constant in control column; however the initial pH changed in contaminated column. A higher pH observed at the bottom after 48 days showed microbial activity in dye biodegradation, which was corroborated by minor absorbance value at Remazol Red Brilliant peak (541.5 nm). Moreover, control column presented higher algae growth since the beginning owing to the dye absence and 12 different families were identified in two Winogradsky column. This analysis concluded that, despite the greater diversity found in B, algae biomass production was much smaller compared to column without the dye. Therefore, Remazol Red Brilliant presence would affect the food chain in aquatic environments and consequently causes an ecological imbalance by the textile effluent impact.