Dorit Olenik-Shemesh

Objective: The article reviews literature on the implications and effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on transnational families (TNFs), gathering up‐to‐date evidence of how the pandemic changed the dynamics of TNFs in different life dimensions, how these families have coped with adversity, and how the academic debate is recognizing the complexity of transnationality in situations of crisis. Background: Transnational families consist of members who live in multiple countries while maintaining a sense of familyhood (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). The COVID‐19 pandemic presents significant challenges for TNFs as crisis responses prioritize national borders and institutions. Method: A scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., 2018), and Peters et al.'s (2015) guidance for systematic reviews. Of the 113 references identified, 29 met the scoping review's inclusion criteria. Results: The effects of the pandemic on TNFs were particularly noticeable in terms of uncertainty, psychological health, communication, social networks, care, and time use. Conclusion: Mobility restrictions and concerns about disease spread were significantly challenging. Although TNFs were able to adapt rapidly by using technology and innovative solutions to maintain their relationships, social inequalities were also exposed by the pandemic. Implications: Robust support systems are needed for TNFs, both at their point of origin and destination, to assist them in managing challenging circumstances that disrupt their daily routines and interactions. Future research could further explore and develop these support systems to better address these challenges.

Research investigating cultural dimensions explaining differences in peer aggression across countries is scant, while very few studies have investigated harmful adolescent peer aggression. We sought to contribute to this under-researched area by examining the relationship of harmful adolescent peer aggression across 12 countries (Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the Philippines, India, Italy, Mainland China, and Israel) with diverse cultural and religious values, using Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions as well as happiness scores. We aimed to compare only harmful peer aggression, cultural values, and happiness in different cultures. Data collected from over 7,000 students aged 11–16 who completed a purpose-built questionnaire that assessed harmful peer aggression, and Hofstede’s cultural dimension scores for different countries, were used in the correlational analyses. The results showed a positive association of harmful adolescent peer aggression with the cultural dimensions of Power Distance and Masculinity. A strong positive association was evident with the cultural dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance, but only for locations with Uncertainty Avoidance scores above a threshold of 60. Below this threshold, no association was apparent. A negative association was found between harmful adolescent peer aggression and the cultural dimension of long-term orientation and happiness. However, no association was evident between harmful adolescent peer aggression and the cultural dimension of Individualism-Collectivism, raising as a possible explanation that schools epitomise collective sub-cultures. The applicability of Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions in adolescent cohorts was questioned, and suggestions were made that cultural influences on adolescents living in different cultures require more research.

This study examines the role of adolescents-parents/teachers/peers relationships as explanatory variables of cyberbullying and problematic Internet-use (PIU) pre-and during COVID-19 pandemic. Questionnaires were delivered to 348 adolescents ages 13 to 18 years ( M = 15.05) at two time-points, provided a rare opportunity for assessment the pandemic effect. A significant increase was found in Internet-usage and PIU from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic-lockdown, although no change was found in cyber-perpetrating/victimization, but a decrease in cyber-witnessing. An increase was found in adolescents-teachers/peers relationships, while adolescent-parent relationships remained unchanged and strong. Intensive Internet-use was a positive explanatory variable for stronger teachers/peers relationships. When adolescent-peer relationships were stronger, the cyber-perpetrating/victimization were lower. Also, reinforcements in adolescents-teachers relationships during the lockdown may have influenced the decrease in cyberbullying.