This study aims to validate the Bullying and Cyberbullying Behaviors Questionnaire, to examine the prevalence of bullying and victimization behaviors in Portuguese middle school students, and to analyse the differences in victimization and bullying between genders and across school grades. The questionnaire is composed of 36 items, allowing for the measurement of the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying, and was completed by 1039 sixth to eighth graders ( M age = 12.02; SD = 1.36) from six public middle schools in the district of Lisbon. The questionnaire presented acceptable psychometrics properties, except for the victims of cyberbullying scale where there is an item that needs to be rewritten. Bullying prevalence (10.1% victims and 6.1% aggressors) is among the lowest internationally. Victimization prevalence was homogeneous between genders, but boys reported aggressive behaviors more frequently. The percentage of victims decreased across school grades. The present questionnaire is adequate for use in the assessment of bullying and cyberbullying with middle school students. Bullying prevention programs should take into account the need to raise teacher awareness of bullying and cyberbullying.

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This study analyzed the effectiveness of an elementary school Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program during middle school transition in Portugal, and the influence of gender, classroom size and student's perception of two school climate dimensions (student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships) upon its effectiveness. One-thousand-sixty-three students (M age = 9.14; SD = 0.64; 51.2% were boys) participated: 702 in the intervention group and 361 in the control group, assessed at pretest, posttest, and follow-up 10 months later (after middle school transition). Multilevel analyses identified that the program was effective in enhancing social awareness, self-control, and self-esteem, even after middle school transition. Results also showed that there no differential gains by gender, and that intervention group students who had more positive perceptions of student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships displayed more positive trajectories in self-esteem. Students from smaller fourth-grade classrooms displayed lower social awareness than students from larger fourth-grade classrooms, but a more positive trajectory in that competence than students from medium and larger fourth-grade classrooms. This study highlights the importance of analyzing the differential effectiveness of SEL programs. Impact and ImplicationsAlthough generally Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs have been proven to be effective, still little is known regarding under which conditions they have better outcomes. This manuscript analyzed how two dimensions of school climate, student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships, influenced the effectiveness of a SEL program.

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