Olga Solomontos-Kountouri - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Olga Solomontos-Kountouri

Journal of Adolescence, Nov 21, 2015

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Apr 25, 2021

Peer group integration is a crucial acculturative goal for immigrant adolescents who, in order to... more Peer group integration is a crucial acculturative goal for immigrant adolescents who, in order to reach this goal, may use bullying and/or aggressive behavior. The present study aims to explore the underlying aggression motives by investigating the importance of three motives (anger, power, and affiliation) for five different forms of aggressive behavior (bullying, cyberbullying, physical, verbal, and relational aggression) in three groups of adolescents (non-immigrants, first-generation and second-generation immigrants) in Cyprus. The sample consists of 507 non-immigrant Greek Cypriots, 149 first-generation and 93 second-generation immigrants (age M = 16.1, SD = 0.39; range 15-19; 52% female). Data was collected via validated self-report scales. In line with our hypotheses, latent means and covariances structure (MACS) models revealed that the affiliation motive was a stronger predictor for all five forms of aggressive behavior among first-generation immigrant adolescents indicating that the need to belong is especially important for their acculturation. The practical importance of these findings for better integrating newcomer immigrants in schools and aggression prevention are discussed.

International journal of developmental science, Jun 13, 2017

The present paper (1) examined variables which could predict traditional bullying, cyberbullying,... more The present paper (1) examined variables which could predict traditional bullying, cyberbullying, traditional victimization and cyber-victimization and (2) looked at persons to examine whether academic, socio-emotional and demographic characteristics differed between traditional, cyber and mixed bullies, victims and bully-victims. A sample of 2,329 gymnasium students (50% girls, Mage = 13.08, SD = .86) from 120 classes, grade 7 to 9, from six Cypriot schools, completed self-report questionnaires. Traditional bullying was predicted by cyberbullying and socio-emotional, academic and demographic variables. Cyberbullying was predicted by traditional bullying and academic variables. Traditional victimization was predicted by cyber-victimization, socio-emotional variables and being male. Cybervictimization was predicted by traditional victimization and academic variables. Compared with uninvolved adolescents, traditional, cyber and mixed bullies had lower levels of academic variables; traditional and mixed victims had higher levels of emotional problems and affective empathy; and mixed bully-victims had lower levels of both academic and socioemotional variables. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.

Doctoral thesis, Institute of Education, University of London., 2006

Adolescent identity attracts much interest in the research community, however the majority of exi... more Adolescent identity attracts much interest in the research community, however the majority of existing studies conceptualise it as a global construct with minor examination of its content. The present research focuses on a snapshot of domainspecific identities: political, religious and occupational, viewed as complex constructs, and examines them in various dimensions. First, the developmental stages of global identity as theorised by Erikson and Marcia are critically contrasted with domainspecific identities. Second, the analysis of the content of adolescents' identities reveals different values, attitudes and beliefs, which were used in a cluster analysis to identify distinct identity types. Thirdly, gender and context differences of developmental stages, content and types of adolescents' identities are considered. The context of Greek Cypriot society, specifically, the ecological systems of the politics of partition, the strong Greek Orthodox faith and the contradictions of tradition and modernisation/Europeanization are used to understand the role of the environment in adolescents' identities. In a cross-sectional survey, 1,038 Greek Cypriot adolescents (449 males and 589 females, mean age 16.8) completed part of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego- Identity Status, which assesses identity developmental stages in both global and domain-specific identities. They were also asked to write three answers to three questions of the type "Who Are You?" in each of the referred identity domains. This valuable textual data was analysed by using both variable and person-centered approaches. The results suggest that the identity of adolescents does not always develop synchronously across its domains, thus, the presentation of only global identity conceals the complexity of identity as a multi-faceted concept. This was especially evident in the analysis of the content of political, religious and occupational identities that revealed interesting and varying elements, as well as meaningful and heterogeneous identity types. The significance of identity content and its use in the understanding of adolescent identity is highlighted. Gender and context are integral parts of the developmental stages and the content of adolescents' identities.

International journal of developmental science, Feb 27, 2019

This study examines how bullies, victims, bully-victims and uninvolved adolescents perceive the a... more This study examines how bullies, victims, bully-victims and uninvolved adolescents perceive the activities of the class project of the ViSC social competence program. The ViSC program is a whole school socio-ecological anti-bullying program that was implemented in 43 classes, grade 7, 8, and 9, in three Cypriot schools. A sample of 778 adolescents (52% girls, Mage = 13.9, SD = 0.86) who participated in the ViSC class project, answered open-format questions concerning most-and least-liked class project activities. Applying normative cutoff scores, four groups of adolescents were identified: 47 (6%) bullies, 64 (8%) victims, 45 (6%) bully-victims, and 609 (80%) uninvolved. There were meaningful differences between these groups regarding their most and least liked program activities. While uninvolved adolescents liked the behavioural improvement and victims liked the knowledge improvement more than the other groups; bullies and bully-victims did not like anything about the program content more often compared to the other groups. The findings are discussed regarding their practical implications for program development to better serve the needs of different bully-victim groups.

Routledge eBooks, Oct 18, 2019

European Journal of Developmental Psychology, Feb 5, 2021

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of the Viennese Social Competence (ViSC) programme on various bullying... more ABSTRACT The effectiveness of the Viennese Social Competence (ViSC) programme on various bullying-related teacher variables was examined at two time points with a quasi-experimental intervention-control group design. In Austria, Cyprus, and Turkey, teachers participated in a series of in-school trainings and implemented an anti-bullying prevention programme in their schools for one year. At pre-test, 767 teachers (515 in the intervention and 252 in the control group) and at post-test 665 teachers (464 in the intervention and 201 in the control group) rated their perceived knowledge and competence, and the likelihood of using different interventions in a hypothetical bullying scenario. For pre-test and post-test data, two 3 (country) x 2 (intervention) MANOVAs were conducted. Findings showed that Cypriot teachers profited the most from the anti-bullying programme, while Austrian and Turkish teachers profited comparatively less. High-quality basic teacher education in addition to in-school trainings within anti-bullying programmes is an essential component to prevent bullying in schools.

Prevention Science

The prevalence of bullying worldwide is high (UNESCO, 2018). Over the past decades, many anti-bul... more The prevalence of bullying worldwide is high (UNESCO, 2018). Over the past decades, many anti-bullying interventions have been developed to remediate this problem. However, we lack insight into for whom these interventions work and what individual intervention components drive the total intervention effects. We conducted a large-scale individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis using data from 39,793 children and adolescents aged five to 20 years (Mage = 12.58, SD = 2.34) who had participated in quasi-experimental or randomized controlled trials of school-based anti-bullying interventions (i.e., 10 studies testing nine interventions). Multilevel logistic regression analyses showed that anti-bullying interventions significantly reduced self-reported victimization (d = − 0.14) and bullying perpetration (d = − 0.07). Anti-bullying interventions more strongly reduced bullying perpetration in younger participants (i.e., under age 12) and victimization for youth who were more heavil...

Political identity content of Greek Cypriot adolescents in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes... more Political identity content of Greek Cypriot adolescents in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes was explored using an inductive method to elicit data. The macro-context of Greek Cypriot society was chosen specifically, because the national issue of a partition makes political identity particularly salient. Adolescents (449 males and 589 females) were asked to write three answers to the question "Who are you in terms of your political beliefs?" The variables elicited from the open-ended question were cluster analyzed by the use of a person-center-approach to identify nine political identity types. These types were closely related to the specific macro1 Corresponding author: Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Neapolis University Pafos, 2 Danais Ave. 8042 Pafos, Cyprus. Tel.: 0035726843602. Fax:0035726931944 E-mail address: o.solomontos-kountouri@nup.ac.cy 2 Jane Hurry is a Reader in Psychology of Education and a Faculty Director of Postgraduate Research in the Institute o...

Hundreds of identity definitions used in the literature have resulted in terminological confusion... more Hundreds of identity definitions used in the literature have resulted in terminological confusion: the jingle-jangle jungle of identity. The philosophical and historical origins of the identity concept are briefly reviewed, and the elaborations of identity theory by James and Erikson (which form the theoretical background for the majority of contemporary identity research) are critically examined. A multilevel person-in-context systems framework that organizes identityrelated phenomena and terminology within a set of hierarchical levels of organization, specification, and integration is proposed as a way to resolve terminological problems and integrate synchronic and diachronic descriptions of identity. Systematic empirical and conceptual distinctions across levels of the person-in-context system can be used to clarify the nature of identity contents, processes, and structures.

International Journal of Developmental Science, 2018

A number of interesting symposia were also pre-60 sented to the workshop. Janne Støen and her 61 ... more A number of interesting symposia were also pre-60 sented to the workshop. Janne Støen and her 61 colleagues presented a symposium entitled "Voices 62 in bullying cases", were they presented data from 63 the Learning Environments project in Norway. Jan 64 S. Pfetsch, Anja Schultze-Krumbholz and their col-65 leagues presented a symposium on social reactions to 66 victims of aggression, combining research concern-67 ing social reactions towards the victims of aggression 68 and the impact on the experiences of victims of 69 aggressive social behavior. 70 Laura Saldarriaga, Gerd Bohner and their col-71 leagues, organized a symposium on the role of 72 attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors in the prediction 73 and prevention of gender-related aggression. Simona 74 Trip, Rosana Stan, Gabriel Roseanu and their col-75 leagues presented on the topic of extremism mind-set, 76 irrational beliefs and personality traits.

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2021

The current study investigated the motives that underlie support for COVID-19 preventive behavior... more The current study investigated the motives that underlie support for COVID-19 preventive behaviorsin a large, cross-cultural sample of 12,758 individuals from 34 countries. We hypothesized that the associations of empathic prosocial concern and fear of disease, with support towards preventive COVID-19 behaviors would be moderated by the individual-level and country-level trust in the government. Results suggest that the association between fear of disease and support for COVID-19 preventive behaviors was strongest when trust in the government was weak (both at individual and country-level). Conversely, the association with empathic prosocial concern was strongest when trust was high, but this moderation was only found at individual-level scores of governmental trust. We discuss how both fear and empathy motivations to support preventive COVID-19 behaviors may be shaped by socio-cultural context, and outline how the present findings may contribute to a better understanding of collect...

The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Bullying

European Journal of Developmental Psychology

Advances in Immigrant Family Research

International Journal of Developmental Science