Ana María Velásquez

Bio: Ana María Velásquez is an academic researcher from University of Los Andes. The author has contributed to research in topics: Aggression & Peer group. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 28 publications receiving 366 citations. Previous affiliations of Ana María Velásquez include Concordia University.

Colombia : building peace in a time of war

Abstract: Introduction - Virginia M. Bouvier Part I: National Initiatives for Peace Origins, Evolution, and Lessons of the Colombian Peace Movement - Adam Isacson and Jorge Rojas Rodriguez Colombia's Peace Processes (1982-2002) - Carlo Nasi The FARC at the Negotiating Table - Mike Chernick The ELN's Halting Moves toward Peace - Leon Valencia From Greed to Grievance - Winifred Tate Truth, Justice, and Reparations in Colombia - Arturo Carrillo Part II: Institutional and Sectoral Peace Initiatives Peace Education in Colombia - Enrique Chaux and Ana M. Velasquez The Colombian Church and Peacebuilding - Mons. Hector Fabio Henao Gaviria Business and Peace in Colombia - Angelika Rettberg Part III: Gender and Ethnic Contributions to Peacebuilding Women and Peacebuilding in Colombia - Catalina Rojas The Power of the Baston - Leslie Wirpsa with David Rothschild and Catalina Garzon Part IV: Local and Regional Peace Initiatives Local Peace Communities - Christopher Mitchell and Sara Ramirez Civil Resistance to War in the Middle Magdalena Valley - Javier Moncayo Negotiating Alternatives to Violence in the Oriente Antioqueno - Mary J. Roldan The View from Montes de Maria - Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas with Barbara Gerlach Negotiating Peace and Visibility in Putumayo - Maria Clemencia Ramirez Part V: The Search for Peace and the International Community The International Community Meets the Local Community - Raul Rosende, Borja Paladini Adell, Juan Chaves, and Gabriel Turriago U.S. Policy and Peace in Colombia - James C. Jones Weathering the Storm - Neil Jeffery The European Union and the Transformation of the Colombian Conflict - Sabine Kurtenbach Norwegian-Supported Peacebuilding - Jennifer Schirmer Part VI: Conclusions Toward an Integrated Framework for Building Peace - Virginia M. Bouvier

Effects of the cyberbullying prevention program media heroes (Medienhelden) on traditional bullying

Abstract: There is considerable debate over whether cyberbullying is just another form of bullying, or whether it is a problem distinct enough to require specific intervention. One way to explore this issue is to analyze whether programs designed to prevent traditional bullying help prevent cyberbullying, and whether programs designed to prevent cyberbullying prevent traditional bullying. The main goal of the current study was to analyze the spillover effects of the cyberbullying prevention program Media Heroes (Medienhelden) on traditional bullying. Media Heroes promotes empathy, knowledge of risks and consequences, and strategies that allow bystanders to defend victims from cyberbullying. Mixed ANOVAs were conducted comparing pretest and post-test (6 months after intervention) measures of 722 students (ages 11-17) assigned to a long (15 sessions) intervention, a short (1 day) intervention, and a control group. In addition to confirming the previously reported effects on cyberbullying, Media Heroes was found to reduce traditional bullying. Effects were larger for the long-version of the program than for the short 1-day version. No effects were found on victimization by either cyberbullying or traditional bullying. Strategies to complement traditional and cyberbullying prevention efforts are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 42:157-165, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Victimization and Gender Identity in Single-Sex and Mixed-Sex Schools: Examining Contextual Variations in Pressure to Conform to Gender Norms

Abstract: Contextual variations in the association between gender role conformity and victimization were studied in fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls (N = 469) from same- and mixed-sex schools located in lower middle class neighborhoods in two cities (Bogota and Barranquilla) in Colombia. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure peer victimization (i.e., when a child is the target of negative actions from her/his peers) and gender identity. We hypothesized a negative relationship between typicality and peer victimization in that more gender typical children would be less victimized. We also expected to find a stronger association between gender typicality and victimization in contexts with higher levels of pressure to conform to gender norms. Results indicated that the girls in the single-sex schools endorsed significantly higher levels of gender typicality and felt pressure to conform to gender norms than the girls in the mixed-sex schools. The girls in the mixed-sex schools reported significantly higher levels of peer victimization. Girls in the same-sex schools reported lower levels of peer victimization in classrooms with high levels of perceived pressure to conform to gender norms. Multilevel modeling revealed that gender typicality was negatively associated with peer victimization among the girls in the same-sex schools and was uncorrelated with victimization in the mixed-sex school. These findings add to the database indicating that peers relationships are affected by gender and that the effects of gender are moderated by group composition.

Adjusting for Group Size Effects in Peer Nomination Data

Abstract: Adjusting nomination-based sociometric and peer assessment scores for biases due to variations in group size has been a long-standing concern for peer relations researchers. The techniques that have been typically used to make these adjustments (e.g., proportion and standardized scores) are known to have fundamental problems that limit their utility. This study introduces a regression-based procedure that adjusts nomination-based scores for variations in group size and compares it with the standardization and proportion procedures. Analyses were conducted on sociometric and peer assessment scores of 1594 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from 63 classrooms. The advantages of the regression-based procedure over standardization and proportion transformations are outlined. Implications for the accuracy and validity of nomination-based measures and the research findings based on them are discussed.

Cyber bullying: An old problem in a new guise?

Abstract: Although technology provides numerous benefits to young people, it also has a ’ dark side ’, as it can be used for harm, not only by some adults but also by the young people themselves. Email, texting, chat rooms, mobile phones, mobile phone cameras and web sites can and are being used by young people to bully peers. It is now a global problem with many incidents reported in the United States, Canada, Japan, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. This growing problem has as yet not received the attention it deserves and remains virtually absent from the research literature. This article explores definitional issues, the incidence and potential consequences of cyber bullying, as well as discussing possible prevention and intervention strategies.

Children in Peer Groups

Abstract: The features, processes, and effects of children's experiences with their peers exist on multiple levels of social complexity and intersect with many other developmental domains. Peers are implicated in several theoretical accounts of multiple development domains, including the models proposed by Piaget, Sullivan, the social learning theorists, Vygotsky, ethologists, and the symbolic interactionists. The extensive data base on peer relations points to the diverse set of positive and negative experiences that children and adolescents can have with their peers and to the breadth of the processes that account for peer effects on multiple forms of outcome including behavior (e.g., aggression), affect (e.g., depression, anxiety), school performance, self-perceptions, moral perspectives, and physical and mental health. The chapter reviews the effects of several experiences including acceptance and rejection, exclusion, friendship, victimization, popularity, and experiences within groups. Specific attention is devoted to variation in processes and effects as a function of culture and gender. Keywords: acceptance; achievement; attraction; cohesion; exclusion; friendship; groups; interactions; multilevel model; norms; peers popularity; rejection; relationships; social complexity; sociometry; victimization