Garthe, R. C., Kim, S., Welsh, M., Wegmann, K., & Klingenberg, J. (2023). Cyber-victimization and mental health concerns among middle school students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 52(4), 840-851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01737-2

Article 2:

Anthony, R., Young, H., Hewitt, G., Sloan, L., Moore, G., Murphy, S., & Cook, S. (2023). Young people's online communication and its association with mental well‐being: Results from the 2019 student health and well‐being survey. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 28(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12610

Article 3:

Wu, J., Zhang, X., & Xiao, Q. (2024). The longitudinal relationship between cyberbullying victimization and loneliness among Chinese middle school students: The mediating effect of perceived social support and the moderating effect of sense of hope. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), 312-323. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040312

Naturally, as the world became more virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about cyberbullying and declining mental health for middle schoolers increased. In this paper, the authors surveyed 272 young people in the US in Fall 2019 and Spring 2021 to determine the relationship between cyberbullying and mental health(specifically anxiety, depression, and social stress). Students were racially and ethnically diverse. Employing the repeated measures research design, researchers found that during the pandemic, cyberbullying increased while mental health concerns increased significantly. The study found that prior experiences with cyberbullying increased the likelihood of students experiencing mental health concerns during that time. This underscores the need to include mechanisms for recovery and prevention in the intervention strategies that schools employ to address cyberbullying. This research uses descriptive research with quantitative application.

Article 2:

Student communication with their friends affects their psyche and mental well-being. In the present research, 38,736 UK students were asked about the influence of these communications on well-being, separately for different types of friends (virtual and in-person) and modes of communication (virtual and in-person). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that frequent online communication with friends made in person improves well-being. They also noted that students who report frequent communication with friends made online tend to show lower indications of mental well-being, particularly for girls. This study thus points out that targeted interventions against cyberbullying have to take into consideration not only the modes of communication but also guidelines on how to make friends online. The research method used in this study is quantitative research.

Article 3:

This study carried out with a sample size of 583 Chinese middle school students measured across two points in time in 2023, examines whether cyberbullying victimization predicts loneliness. The results, using moderated mediation models, showed that being cyberbullied heightened loneliness over time. The perceived social support served as a mediator to reduce loneliness. A high sense of hope seemed to moderate this effect in that despite being cyberbullied, the students were less lonely. It underlines hope and other protective factors that can mitigate the negative effects of cyberbullying and inform future interventions. The research method used in this study is quantitative research with a longitudinal design.

Domitrovich, C. E., Harris, A. R., Syvertsen, A. K., Morgan, N., Jacobson, L., Cleveland, M., Moore, J. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2022). Promoting social and emotional learning in middle school: Intervention effects of Facing History and Ourselves. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01596-3 

Article 2:

Green, A. L., Ferrante, S., Boaz, T. L., Kutash, K., & Wheeldon, R. B. (2021). Social and Emotional Learning during Early Adolescence: Effectiveness of Classroom-based SEL Program for Middle School Students. Psychology in the Schools, 58(6), 1056-1069. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22487

Article 3:

Jones, T. M., Fleming, C., Beaver, J., & Anderson, E. (2023). Seattle Public Schools’ Student Survey of School Climate and Social and Emotional Learning: Psychomatric Analyses in the Context of a Research-Practice Partnership. Child & Youth Care Forum, 52(6), 1371-1395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-023-09731-2

Social and Emotional competence is a key factor for promoting positive self-adjustment and reducing the growth of risk factors among school-aged children. In this study, the authors conducted an RCT, a type of quantitative research method often used in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs, and how they impact student outcomes (social, emotional, and academic). This research had a sample size of 694 students. The authors found that these SEL interventions are associated with improved emotional regulation, behavior, and academic performance. However, they note that supportive school environments and well-trained staff are crucial for proper implementation. Thus, SEL programs are successfully implemented when a school can assign adequate resources and integrate the program into its daily practices.

Article 2:

SPARK is a Mentoring Curriculum for middle school-aged students that aims to teach SEL practices in the classroom. The authors of this study evaluated its efficacy through a randomized controlled trial that included 357 students from two middle schools. The randomly assigned treatment group received 12 weeks of the SPARK curriculum led by para-professionals not affiliated with the school. According to the authors, the program significantly improved knowledge of SEL, communication, resilience, emotional regulation, and decision-making. However, the gains were modest, partly because the lessons were delivered by facilitators who did not have a prior relationship with the students. This study indicates the pivotal role that educators, school counselors, and administrators play in the implementation of SEL programs. The research method used in this study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT), which is a type of quantitative experimental design.

Article 3:

The Seattle Public Schools developed a school climate and SEL survey to capture the effectiveness of the implementation of SEL Programs in schools. In this study, Jones Fleming and Beaver use a sample size of more than 29,000 students to determine the validity and reliability of the survey by race, gender, and grade level. They found that overall, the assessment was valid, but its reliability was affected by the fact that students of different grade levels and racial identities interpreted the questions differently. SEL implementation surveys must be designed to capture racial and developmental differences to accurately reflect the impact of SEL programs. The research method used in this study is a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which is a type of quantitative experimental design.

García-Santillán, A., Navarro-Ibarra, L., & Tejada-Peña, E. (2022). Characterization of Anxiety Towards Mathematics in Middle School Students: Empirical Evidence. TEM Journal, 11(1), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM111-32

Article 2:

Yorgun, V., & Mert, S. (2024). Mathematical Anxiety in the Turkish Context: Mathematical Experiences of High School Students. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 14(2), 4–26. https://doi.org/10.5642/jhummath.hpco7924

Article 3:

Wahyuni, R., Juniati, D., & Wijayanti, P. (2024). How do Math Anxiety and Self-Confidence Affect Mathematical Problem Solving? TEM Journal, 13(1), 550–560. https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM131-58

In this study, the authors aim to discover the level of anxiety experienced by the students as they perform mathematical tasks. A total of 202 students were surveyed in this descriptive research. The authors found that nearly 80% of students experienced anxiety. Three factors were identified to be related to math courses, math scores, and math tasks. The research revealed that genders experienced different levels of anxiety as it related to math. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to implement strategies to tackle this issue.

Article 2:

The present research aimed to investigate the developing math anxiety of high-achieving students in math during high school years among Turkish students, particularly those at the lower level of math achievement, and to examine the emotional and cognitive reactions that nurture this anxiety. Although there were studies conducted on the prevalence of math anxiety and the relationships with gender, attitudes, and self-efficacy, this research has been done to fill in the gap by using qualitative methods. The participants consisted of high school students with low mathematics performance, and the results are discussed in the light of the literature. The aim is to help inform the development of psychological interventions that can aid students in overcoming math anxiety and standing in the way of learning and enjoying mathematics.

Article 3:

The purpose of the current study was to investigate students' math anxiety and self-confidence about their performance in geometry problem-solving skills. In this mixed-methods study with a sequential explanatory design, 106 students participated. In the quantitative phase, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to measure how much of a predictor math anxiety and self-confidence were to students' problem-solving performance. The qualitative phase provided rich insights through in-depth interviews. The results indicated a significant relationship between math anxiety, self-confidence, and performance in geometry problem-solving, with both factors accounting for 22.6% of the performance variance. Furthermore, a difference in performance was identified between students with low math anxiety and high self-confidence and those with high math anxiety and low self-confidence.